Dear Shareholders,
The financial year 2021-22 was another year that tested the resilience
of economies and businesses worldwide. The Indian economy also continued to navigate
headwinds of slow growth and high inflation during the reporting period. However, the
economy is gradually reviving, as the macro parameters are encouraging.
India's Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management industry is growing
consistently on the back of growing urbanisation and increasing affluence.
Additionally, the government is rigorously encouraging the local bodies
by providing grants to setup scientific waste processing facility instead of
non-scientific dump yard across India, which also provides strong motivation of
growth for the companies like us.
As an industry pioneer, with more than two decades of experience, we
have built a strong and resilient business model, with emphasis on circularity,
reliability and sustainability. Our business of solid waste management services has huge
positive implications for a rapidly growing economy and a fast-urbanising society. The
consumption trajectory of our country is expected to grow significantly in coming years,
as a large section of the population adopts urban lifestyles. Our resilient business model
is underpinned by our diverse customer base. The essential nature of our service and the
annuity-like characteristics of our revenue are positive factors.
Talking about our performance, despite challenges in the operating environment,
we ended the fiscal year on a positive note reporting a record high revenue of H 667 Crore
(39%
YoY increase). This was supported by strong performances across our
sites. The increased activity from our new contracts in Varanasi, Noida, New Delhi
Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and Jhansi during the year also contributed to our
performance.
I am also pleased that our performance in the fourth quarter of the
fiscal year has been the best ever quarterly performance since the inception of your
Company. At this stage of our journey, we are even more confident to continually build on
our capabilities to maintain a strong performance.
Over the years, our unique cluster- based approach for project
selection has enabled us in lowering our fixed cost of overheads and improving our
efficiencies. We continue to advance our long-term strategic priorities of providing the
best workplace for our employees, investing in technology that differentiates AWHCL and
enables us to permanently reduce our cost to serve, and also leverage our sustainability
platform for future growth.
Our key competitive advantage is our experience in project execution
across the country. We are already seeing several municipalities coming up with tenders in
the MSW market for both waste transportation and processing. We believe this will provide
us with an excellent opportunity for expansion. Moreover, in the new fiscal we will
continue to focus on winning contracts in new municipal areas. As we look ahead, in terms
of our geographical presence, expanding our footprint in other parts of the country will
be our key expansion strategy in the next three years.
In line with our aim to be recognised as a Company which provides a
sustainable living environment, we have signed an EPR agreement for PET bottle disposal
with a large beverage company. During the course of our engagement, we aim to
process and safely dispose of at least 1,500 tons of PET bottles. Also, we would like to
focus on enabling an outreach program and enhancing resource extraction by adopting a
circular economy feature in the services that we provide in cities that we currently
cover.
I am also pleased to report that during the year our major subsidiary
Antony Lara, has been awarded by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) with the
prestigious "Merit For Excellence for Managing Municipal Solid Waste In India".
This award is dedicated to all our employees who continue to deliver, during and despite a
tough working environment.
In addition, Navi Mumbai and Noida, two of the cities in which your
Company provides services, are among the only nine 5-star rated cities in India. The Star
Rating Protocol of Garbage Free Cities was introduced as a SMART framework by Ministry of
Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in 2018, to holistically evaluate cities across solid
waste management parameters. Navi Mumbai also has the privilege of being categorized as
'Divya' (meaning Platinum) under the Prerak Daaur Samman, a new performance category
introduced under Swachh Survekshan 2021 - an honour accorded to only five cities in India.
These awards to our cities are testimony of our continuous endeavour to
provide quality service to our clients, help them in the path of sustainability and
deliver a better quality of living to its residents.
We take great pride in the positive impact we have on the environment
and the economy with our technology- enabled waste management services. We are looking for
new segments of waste management, which include construction and debris/demolition waste
processing, vehicle scrappage, among others.
With growing population, we are seeing waste management as a solution
to be a recurring theme being adopted by municipalities more aggressively. Over the long
term, the domain of waste management is likely to grow, with greater emphasis on vehicle
scrapping, scientific disposal of biomedical waste and overall higher segregation of
municipal solid waste. With your support and guidance, we are confident of crossing many
more milestones in the years to come.
In conclusion, I would like to convey my heartfelt appreciation to my
team for their hard work and dedication.
I also thank our shareholders, customers, business partners and all
other stakeholders for reposing their faith in our vision and capabilities.
With warm regards,
Jose Jacob Kallarakal
Chairman and Managing Director