RITES, a public sector enterprise in the consulting space, is close to bagging an overseas order to supply cape gauge rolling stock (engine and coaches), Rajeev Mehrotra, Chairman and Managing Director, RITES, said in the company’s investor call.
Cape gauge is the width between rail tracks in Africa, just as India has largely broad gauge for Indian Railways and some standard gauge for some Metrorail links. This will be the first such supply from India, Mehrotra said.
Discussing another order regarding coaches, Mehrotra said this is over and above the order to supply 160 coaches to Sri Lanka.
Leasing locos
RITES, which has diversified into the business of leasing locomotives, is looking at leasing in-service locomotives in the backdrop of Indian Railways phasing out the diesel locomotives. For RITES, this would mean a drop in money spent on locomotives by 30-40 per cent, according to Mehrotra.
RITES, which has decided to put in 24 per cent equity in Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) estimated at about ₹48 crore, considers the railway-station development space to be a good opportunity, as the company also sees the possibility of getting engineering business on “an arm’s length” basis.
Mehrotra said that RITES expected to close the year with an orderbook of ₹8,000 crore; the order-book stood at ₹5,782 crore as on December 31, 2019.
On Wednesday, RITES Ltd had reported a 10.5 per cent increase in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019 at ₹150 crore. The public sector unit’s total revenue was up 13.9 per cent at ₹663 crore.
Growth in consultancy, leasing, turnkey and power business led to an almost 16 per cent growth in operating revenue. The Board of Directors has declared a second interim dividend of ₹4 per share (at the rate of 40 per cent on share of ₹10 each).
This second interim dividend brings the company’s total dividend for the current fiscal to ₹10 per share – 100 per cent of paid-up capital, according to an official release.