Braithwaite is now a Miniratna PSU; CMD says eyeing public listing by 2025-26

• Braithwaite is now aiming to achieve a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore by 2025-26 and is also optimistic about launching a public listing within the same timeline, said the CMD
• The diversification from wagon manufacturing to allied services of repair & maintenance & container business helped in improving the financial position of the PSU, said the CMD

New Delhi: Braithwaite and Co Ltd, a PSU under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, has been given a Miniratna status after scripting a turnaround in its performance, from a loss of Rs 8.95 crore in 2016-17 to a net profit of Rs 24.72 crore in 2020-21, said the company's Chairman and Managing Director Yatish Kumar. He added that the company is now aiming to achieve a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore by 2025-26 and is also optimistic about launching a public listing within the same timeline. Kumar said that the diversification from wagon manufacturing to allied services of repair and maintenance and expanding into container business, cranes and other areas of civil construction has helped in improving the operational and financial position of the company.

How did Braithwaite & Co Ltd script a turnaround?

"Our overhead to sales ratio was very high (31.27 percent in 2016-17) and we reduced it to around 8 percent in 2020-21 and we also diversified beyond manufacturing into services. That has helped to boost our net sales from Rs 149.77 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 609.60 crore in 2020-21 and we are hoping to end this year with Rs 700 crore," Kumar told the press.

"The plan is to reach Rs 2,500 crore by 2025-26 and become a listed company," he added.

The contribution of manufacturing to the company's turnover has come down from 90 percent to 60 percent with the remaining 40 percent coming from services.

The Braithwaite CMD said that diversification aided the PSU in tiding over the volatility in raw material prices, like steel. "This year the steel prices have gone up by more than 80 percent. Had we not diversified, our financial position would have been under stress," said the CMD.

What does Miniratna status mean for Braithwaite?

Brainthwaite said in a statement that with the Miniratna status, the company's board will be able to take decisions on capital investment and enter into technology joint ventures, and strategic alliances.

Only Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna PSUs are permitted to invest in debt-based schemes of SEBI regulated public sector mutual funds. This can now be exploited by the company for utilisation of idle funds.

Braithwaite was established in 1913 as a fabrication shop in Calcutta for using imported girder sections to build bridges. The company was nationalised in 1976 and in 2010, the administrative control was transferred from the union ministry of heavy industries to ministry of railways. The company has manufacturing units in Calcutta and another at Bhadreshwar in Hooghly district of Bengal.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated)