Balmer Lawrie bullish on demand for warehousing space in eastern region

Kolkata: Diversified public sector undertaking (PSU) Balmer Lawrie & Co said on Tuesday that it is aggressively enhancing its presence in warehousing space with the eastern region of the country witnessing a surge in demand for such infrastructure facilities for export-import cargo after two years of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

The company has increased the space of its existing warehouse facility at Hide Road in the western part of Kolkata by 43,000 square feet to strengthen infrastructure, a senior official said.

With the capacity addition, the warehousing facility now has 87,000 sq feet of space to cater to the growing demand.

'Surge in demand for warehousing space'

"After two years of the pandemic, the eastern region saw a surge in demand for warehousing space, primarily on account of EXIM (export-import) cargo, and the trend is expected to continue. The increased capacity of the warehouse will fuel the ambitious growth plan of the company and cater to the enhanced demand. It will generate additional revenue for the PSU," the official said.

Engaged in providing end-to-end logistics services across the country, Balmer Lawrie also has temperature-controlled warehouses at its multi-modal logistics hub at Visakhapatnam, he said.

Balmer Lawrie targeting revenue of Rs 6,000 cr by FY26

The company, which is targeting a revenue of Rs 6,000 crore by the end of the 2025-26 financial year, is expecting to clock a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal, as against Rs 1,592 crore in the previous year, the official said.

Due to the pandemic, the travel and vacation vertical of the company has been making losses and revenues from this segment had shrunk considerably, he said.

The industrial packaging (IP) division of the Kolkata-headquartered company is "doing well with orders pouring in," he said.

However, its city-based plant for industrial packaging remained closed due to lack of business.

The logistics business has been the most profitable vertical of the PSU, while the lubes and lubricants segment clocked a revenue of Rs 315 crore till December 2021.

The company has also embarked on a restructuring exercise to meet the future challenges, he added.

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