Braithwaite eligible for Miniratna Category II tag

The company had to keep its plant closed during the first quarter due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Railway PSU Braithwaite & Co, which was put on the disinvestment list in 2010, has become eligible for the Miniratna Category II status after posting a net profit of Rs 19.78 crore in FY20. Chairman and managing director Yatish Kumar, speaking after the PSU’s board meeting, told FE the company’s revenue in FY20 has jumped 83.96% over that of FY19, its net worth has crossed 31% compared to the previous fiscal, and it has reported tax before profit for three consecutive years.

The company’s net profit in FY20 has grown more than 151% against FY19. “All these [factors have] made us eligible to become a Miniratna Category II company, which will enable Braithwaite to explore the overseas market and pursue exports,” Kumar said.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 19.78 crore in FY20 against Rs 7.86 crore last fiscal. It clocked a revenue of Rs 587.25 crore in FY20 as against Rs 319 crore last fiscal. Profit before tax jumped 161% to Rs 23.90 crore compared to Rs 9.14 crore in FY 19. ‘“We hope to become a Miniratna Category I company this fiscal after we achieve a net profit of Rs 30 crore,” Kumar said, adding this would be possible in the current fiscal too, as the PSU has been registering growth since July.

The company had to keep its plant closed during the first quarter due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But in the three months since June 8, when it resumed operations, it has maintained an average growth of Rs 8 crore in terms of value, compared to the same period last fiscal.

Braithwaite now plans to manufacture containers at its Angus unit to avoid importing containers from China. For this, it will need to invest around Rs 5 crore, which it will do from its internal accruals. “We will only need to put in some equipment for quality testing. Otherwise, everything required for wagon manufacturing is also used for manufacturing containers,” Kumar said.