ITI hoping for a Rs.2000 cr turnover in 2006-07

Bangalore, Dec 15: Limping in the red for the last four successive years, Indian public sector telecom major ITI hope to end the current fiscal with a turnover of over Rs 2,000 crore banking on bulk order from BSNL.

Addressing the 56th AGM of the Company here today, Incharge CMD Pritam Singh said the Company already had orders worth Rs 1839 crore and an Advanced Purchase Order of Rs 568 Crore should see the Company cross the Rs 2000 crore turnover once again this year. At its peak, the Company had recorded a turnover of Rs 2317 crore in 2001-02 when the company had turned out a profit of Rs 22 crore.

However, subsequent years saw ITI slip back to losses with the loss for last fiscal being Rs 429 crore.

He said the Company reported a 26 per cent an increase in sales at Rs 1749 crore last year. The performance achieved in the face of growing competition and lack of financial resources represented 40 per cent jump over the 2003-04 turnover of Rs 1257 crore, when ITI faced the brunt of steep crash in equipment prices.

''The year (2005-06) proved significant for ITI by virtue of its rapid strides in technology acquisition'' Mr Singh told the share hodlers adding that there was a spurt in manufacturing activities also with supplies of GSM mobile infrastructure equipment manufactured indigenously at new facilities Mankapur and Rae Bareli yielding Rs 500 crore against an order of three million lines worth Rs 900 crore for west Zone.

Mr Singh said ITI was also expecting orders woth over Rs 300 crore for 2.1 million lines of CDMA-Wll., In a first major initiative in the country to manufacture and service GSM equipment for export markets, ITI had seured a LOI from Alcatel for two million lines,. Under this, an initial order for supply of 600 base Transreceiver system and 900 Transreceiver had been received, he said.

Expressing confidence that ITI was geared up to meet requirements of emerging markets with turnkey solutions for GSM networks, CDMA-WLL and CDMA-Integrated Fixed Wireless Terminals and Defence projects, Mr Singh said the Company recently completed the mammoth ASCON Phase III for the Indian Army. This underlined ITI's ability in standing up to the challenge of making critical communciation possible by means of efficient project management.

He said ITI had also successfuly produced Wireless Siren Systems with simultaneous voice broadcast facility, Intermediate Data Rate Modem and had diversied into non telecom products such as Bank mechanising gadges, switch mode power supply systems and solar panels.

He said the Company had provided Voluntary Retirement to 400 employees last year taking the total staff strength to 13213 since 1991.

UNI