Loss-making public-sector Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTPL) , a leading manufacturer of titanium dioxide, a crucial ingredient in the paint, rubber, textiles, plastic, cosmetics and paper industries, has scripted a turnaround and is finding its feet amidst the pandemic-induced maelstrom.

TTPL has made steady progress in performance from 2014-15 to 2018-19. The long-struggling company saddled with heavy losses turned around during this period mainly by diversifying activities, explains AA Rasheed, Chairman.

Survives closure threats

The company had been facing closure threats from both the Kerala State Pollution Control Board and the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for non-payment of Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) dues incurred for import of machinery for the abandoned pollution control project.

The pollution-related issues were successfully tackled by by commissioning the effluent treatment plants, namely the neutralisation plant at a cost of ₹39.38 crore and the copperas recovery plant at ₹36.5 crore, Rasheed told BusinessLine.

Value-added products

Introduction of value-added products coupled with effective curtailment of production cost and entry into newer markets that offered better prices helped boost the turnover from ₹132.62 crore in 2014-15 to ₹208.67 crore in 2018-19, the highest achieved in the company’s history.

Improvement in the top-line was matched by an increase in profits that ended the loss-making streak from a peak of ₹23.69 crore in 2014-15 to a profit of ₹17.71 crore in 2017-18 and ₹8.12 crore in 2018-19 (after providing an amount of ₹18 crore in 2018-19 towards write-off of EPCG expenses).

EPCG expense write-off

This expense is pending before the Policy Relaxation Committee of the DGFT in Delhi. If the case is decided in favour of the company, the provision of ₹18 crore will be added back to the profit.

Considering the long-pending issue after consultation with the statutory auditors and as a matter of accounting prudence, the company has chosen to provide for this amount, Rasheed explained.

The company has no loans outstanding other than working capital loan for regular operations. During the period under reference, it also repaid a loan of ₹45 crore drawn in 2008-09 from Union bank of India for an expansion project, but later abandoned. This was settled in full out of internal accruals.

No outstanding loans

The employer-employee relations remained cordial with the management implementing a long-overdue pay revision during 2018-19 resulting in an increase of 16 per cent in wages and salaries. The company also ventured in to manufacturing hand sanitisers, which have been accepted well by the market.

TTPL has also taken care to ensure the welfare and well-being of the neighbourhood by setting up a drinking water facility, conducting of medical camps, and providing fund support to schools. It was also actively involved with flood relief activities during the 2018 floods in Kerala, Rasheed added.

Environment, ecology

It also lent a supporting hand to the fishermen families hit by the Ockhi cyclone of 2017 as well as during the pandemic-led lockdown. Significantly, it embraced the concept of environmental and ecological upkeep by taking to vegetable and fish farming in a more organised manner, he said.

It harvested purely organic vegetables and supplied them to the company canteen free of cost while earmarking the surplus stock to employees in what has since been acclaimed as a trend-setting move which would subsequently be emulated by the other public sector units in the state, he pointed out.

‘Rings in total change’

He further added that the overall increase in greenery and the fish ponds have changed the ambience of the company premises and given it a refreshed and positive vibe. In this manner, the period under reference will go down in history for ringing in a total change in the performance of the company.

The pollution-free environment and a thriving ecology around the plant must surely have helped change employee outlook that is reflected in its improved corporate performance.

The ‘nature-positive’ business model followed by TTPL aligns with the UN Environment Programmes’s call to businesses to reduce carbon footprint, conserve natural resources, safeguard biodiversity and create value for nature and people, Rasheed said.