Financial condition of Hindustan Copper in ‘dire straits’, says CMD

PTI, Jul 19, 2020, 11:23 AM IST

New Delhi: The financial condition of Hindustan Copper is in “dire straits” primarily due to the dismal performance of the PSU in 2019-20, a top company official said while asking the employees to brace up for tough times ahead.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the PSU, Arun Kumar Shukla, in an article published in the house journal of Hindustan Copper, exhorted company employees to focus on making up for the production shortfall in 2020-21 for the survival of the PSU.

“As you are aware, the financial condition of the company is in dire straits primarily due to the dismal performance during the fiscal year 2019-20. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the situation. Under such compelling circumstances, we need to brace ourselves for tough times ahead,” Shukla said.

The company has to focus on making up for the production shortfall in FY 2020-21, come what may, for the survival of the PSU, he said.

“We need to put our minds together and think outside the box to explore all possibilities for production movement and alternative revenue generation. Optimisation and reduction of costs on all fronts, both operational and non-operational, is crucial to stay afloat,” he said in the article.

Quality assurance is essential to boost the company’s brand credibility and customer satisfaction, he said.

“The need of the hour is to…put in our best efforts and be ready to make sacrifices. The company has survived tough times and with unified efforts stunned everyone with a spectacular turnaround,” he said. Shukla said that the company is planning to increase its production capacity up to 20.2 million tonnes (MT) in a phased manner.

“The company has sought all clearances for 12 MT of capacity, which is the first phase,” he said.

The company produced around four million tonnes of copper ore during the last fiscal, he said. The PSU had reported a loss of Rs 95.61 crore for the third quarter of 2019-20 from continuing and discontinued operations.