#CSStart#
<dhhead>Chairman & MDs Message</dhhead>
Dear Shareholders,
As your Company Marks the Gold, the 50th
anniversary, I am filled with a sense of pride as I look at the illustrious legacy and the
journey that has brought us to this remarkable milestone. Over the past five decades, your
Company has grown from humble beginnings to being granted the prestigious Navratna status
this year, committed to delivering consistent results and creating value for stakeholders.
Fifty years ago, our founders laid the groundwork for what has become a
thriving and resilient organisation and I feel truly humbled as we pay gratitude to the
founders and predecessors for their dedication & commitment and the continued trust
reposed by all our stakeholders. In the year that went by, your Company achieved a consolidated
revenue of
2,539 crore against 2,730 crore in
FY23. The operating revenue, excluding other income, stood at 2,453
crore against 2,628 crore in FY23 mainly due to the impact on two fronts the export
revenue, and the opening up of the Indian Railways quality assurance works among four
players. The fall in revenue on account of these two high-margin businesses also led to a
fall in profits and profit margins. Profit Tax stood at 670 crore as against 774 crore in
FY23, and Profit After Tax at 495 crore as against 571 crore in FY23. Identifying
these two challenges at the beginning of the financial year itself, we had a three-pronged
strategy:
Leveraging our core strength & expertise, with increased
focus on project consultancy & effective execution, your Company achieved highest-ever
consolidated consultancy revenue of 1,289 crore in FY24. Turnkey and leasing segments
also recorded the highest-ever revenue of 903 crore and 138 crore, respectively.
Bidding aggressively and competing globally, your Company not
only broke the nearly four-year drought of no Export orders but also secured orders
exceeding 2,300 crore during FY24. Furthermore, your Company achieved the target of
becoming a '1 order a day
Company' by Q3, a milestone we are confident your moving forward.
Taking the challenge of the changed dynamics of the Quality
Assurance business head on, we pursued several possible opportunities and by the end of
the year, your Company had a substantial volume of new business with a diverse client base
for this vertical. of having expertise across nearly all sectors of Infrastructure
Consultancy, a number of important projects were completed this year. Redevelopment of the
Ayodhya Dham Railway Station, consultancy services for the Gwalior Airport, Nagpur Metro
Phase-I, New Umbergaon-Sachin stretch on Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, Railway
Electrification of about 512 RKM, Railway sidings at coal, power and steel plants, Highway
projects across the country and abroad, DPR for tunnels between Abu Road and Taranga Hill,
DPR for a Multi Modal Logistic Park at Kalinganagar in Odisha, the Sholingpur Ropeway in
Tamil Nadu, Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Chandigarh Tricity were a few examples of our
varied skill and wide multi- sectoral presence. fi Building on the vision for
Green Consultancy, the Sustainability Unit expanded its horizon into becoming
the Sustainability & Green Mobility Unit, focusing on seizing
opportunities in this emerging domain. Under the RITES Videsh strategic
initiative, a focal point for consolidating international business revenue in both Exports
and Project Consultancy, projects are being aggressively pursued across continents. The
resilience of your Company to the changing market dynamics has encouraged the Board of
Directors to recommend
1:1 Bonus Equity Share for shareholders on July 31, 2024. Your
Companys Board of Directors has also recommended 5 per share as a final dividend in
dividends totaling 13 per share which have already been paid during the year.
The total dividend of 433 crore at 18 per share, on accrual
basis, takes the dividend payout to the highest ever i.e. 95.2% of the profits earned.
Your Companys Subsidiaries & Joint Ventures, REMC Ltd., SRBWIPL and RAPL have
contributed ably to the overall performance. During FY24, REMC Ltd. registered the
highest-ever total revenue of 153 crore and Profit After Tax of 81 crore, up by 30.9%
& 37.6%, respectively, over FY23. It continued playing a pivotal role in Indian
Railways Net Zero mission facilitating the procurement of 874.5 MUs of green energy
this year. SRBWIPL delivered the first private client order of 186 wagons and achieved 296
crore as total revenue and 8.06 crore as profit, giving the dividend amounting to 2.40
crore to its shareholders. RAPL is aggressively pitching to secure orders across
sectors in the African region. Changing Lives, our CSR initiative,
encapsulates a large gamut of endeavours including health, women empowerment, and skill
development, with an emphasis on aspirational districts across the country. With a
contribution of 13.31 crore towards CSR activities in FY24, your Company underscores its
commitment to creating a lasting and holistic impact, enhancing social value.
Guided by a strong value system, your Company also takes pride in being
a responsible corporate entity, adhering to laws and regulations, emulating best corporate
governance practices, and fostering a culture of compliance, accountability, transparency,
and ethical conduct across the organisation. This commitment to the highest degree of
compliance and transparency was recognised with the ICAI Award for Financial Reporting and
the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) Award for the Best Presented Annual
Report.
As the shift to competitive bidding CompanysUSP across sectors
increases, your Company is continuously striving to become more agile, tackling the
evolving dynamics with greater effectiveness. And while this presents a challenge, we
perceive it as an opportunity to tap new clients. With a focused approach and a commitment
to devising strategies to be more competitive and increase our win ratio, the steady
influx of fresh orders and an order book of 5,690 crore at the years
end reinforce our confidence to continue building on our legacy, fuelled by the same
passion and purpose that has defined us for half a century.
None of the above achievements would have been possible without the
continuous support and guidance of our parent Ministry and our stakeholders, for which we
are grateful. As we look to the future, with the trust of our clients, the strength of our
capabilities, the dedication of Team RITES, and the guidance of our
Board, we remain confident in our ability to realise our dream of achieving the global
benchmarks of a Go-To Programme Management Consultant for
infrastructure projects across sectors. As we Dare to Dream, what
cannot and will not change is our commitment to our core values of: Integrity,
Professionalism and the relentless pursuit of Excellence. With Best
Wishes, Rahul Mithal tothe threeinterim
Chairman & Managing Director and CEO