"Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. it's about keeping
your team focused on a goa l and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especia l ly
when the stakes are high and the consequences rea l ly matter. It Is about laying the
groundwork for others' success, and then standing back and letting them shine"
Dear Shareholders
It is my privilege to write to you as the Chairman of STLL and I feel honoured to
accept the responsibility to Chair the Board. I am happy to present to you the 25th Annual
Report (Silver Jubilee) of STLL for the Financial Year 2016-17.
The one characteristic that has defined the global economy over the last decade or so,
is "uncertainty" - uncertainty that has brought its share of challenges and
opportunities. The year 2016-17 had its share of uncertainty which affected the
performance of the Company:
> The single biggest event that left its mark on each and every sector of the
domestic economy was "demonetisation". The Central Government's decision to
demonetise almost 86% of the currency notes in circulation, caused severe cash shortage in
the domestic economy, which prefers cash as the mode of payments, even today. This cash
shortage led to a strain on the consumption demand and business activity for a greater
part of the second half of the year. Stressed loans plaguing the banking sector and the
stretched corporate balance sheets continued to be a drag on capital investments, which
have remained much below the trends over the past few years. Low inflation and a largely
accommodative monetary policy, though, provided support in an otherwise difficult growth
environment.
> The new financial year has started on an encouraging note with the Government seen
keenly pushing the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from the second
quarter of the financial year. GST is being looked at as the single biggest indirect tax
reform and is poised to push India's economic growth forward by creating a single national
market and enhancing the efficiency of inter-state movement of goods and services.
However, given the wide scale of implementation, it is likely to cause some disruptions in
the initial period and the Company will have to face this hurdle as it adapts to this new
landscape.
It gives me great pleasure to share with you an update on the overall performance of
your Company in 2016-17. It was yet another difficult year for the global economy,
characterised by low growth and geopolitical uncertainties. In India, the overall market
showed signs of recovery in the latter half of the year but faced a temporary slowdown in
November due to demonetisation. In this challenging business environment, Sindhu Trade
Links Limited (STLL) delivered a resilient performance in 2016-17.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COMPANY'S PERFORMANCE DURING 2016-17
WERE :
• Sales of the company went up by 32.84% to 887 Crore
• EBIT of the Company went up by 1.72% to 146 Crores
• Profit After Tax recorded increase of 0.88% to 76.94 Crore Company's business in
logistics has grown at a rate of 29.46% from last year. The Company has acquired 25 new
loading machines from Libherr to strengthen its logistics business.
The Company has also invested, through its foreign subsidiary M/s Param Mitra Resources
Pte Limited, over $ 72.9 Million in the last 5 years and demonstrated a strong commitment
to building its business outside India. The Company is aiming towards to capture the
international market's coal mining and the Company' subsidiaries currently own 3 coal
mines and has minority stake in 3 coal mines in Indonesia. The company aims to be the
lowest cost coal producer in the coming years and using multi-dimensional marketing and
end use strategy for coal which will be produced by several mines acquired by the Company.
This year the company' subsidiary Param Mitra Coal Resources Pte Limited through its
subsidiary M/s Dragon Power Investments Limited has entered into an agreement to purchase
another coal mine in Indonesia which will be completed in the next year 2017-18.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every employee as well as those
who work with us across the value chain for their unstinting support and hard work in the
service of our Company. I would also like to thank you, our shareholders, for your
continued trust in the business.