L&T wants to achieve revenues of ₹2 lakh crore by 2021 without compromising on the margins and achieving an order inflow in excess of ₹2.5 lakh crore per annum, said Group Executive Chairman A M Naik on Friday.

He was addressing the shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM).

Naik said: “We believe that the economic conditions are now starting to turn in favour of our company. Combined with the right strategy and on-ground execution, our target, though ambitious, is achievable.”

He pointed that the opening up of the defence sector will lead to business opportunities worth ₹13 lakh crore over the next 10 years. With the resolution of issues relating to fuel supply and a clearer understanding of nuclear liability issues, the nuclear power sector is expected to grow significantly in the years ahead.

The estimated opportunity from this sector over the next 10 years is up to ₹50,000 crore.

Naik interacting with the media after the AGM said the ₹4,300 crore orders for making big artillery guns will come up in four to six weeks, and hopefully, the group stands to win ₹50,000 crore defence orders by December 2017.

Naik said that that the group is keen on restructuring Infrastructure Projects Development Company (IDPL), which hopefully will happen by March next year.

The power plant run by the group in Nabha, Punjab, will have to wait for restructuring as it is facing some legal problems, which needs resolution. The group’s debt equity is healthy at 0.35:1 and it will become healthier as it becomes asset light and consolidated, he said.

On the opportunities in the international market, Naik said that the opportunities in the Middle East have slowed down due to crash in oil prices. Many infrastructure projects have been suspended for at least three years. Therefore, the group has started focussing on new orders from seven countries in Africa and Far Eastern countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia,

Philanthropic activities

Naik also shared his vision about carrying out philanthropic activities from his earnings as the Chairman of L&T.

He said he got motivated by his grandfather who helped the poor and underprivileged.

“My father also left Mumbai and went back to the ancestral village in Gujarat and joined an upcoming school as its Principal, which benefitted 20 schools in that area. When I remember that work, I worry that what should I give back to the society,” he said.

Naik said that when the opportunity came in 1995, he had donated ₹4 lakh to a local hospital to build a new floor in the hospital.

comment COMMENT NOW