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RITES aims for 365 orders a year, says Chairman Rahul Mithal

2023-09-04

RITES, a government-owned company, is embarking on an ambitious endeavour to acquire 365 orders annually, with the aim of achieving an "order-a-day" target by the close of this fiscal year, as revealed by RITES Chairman Rahul Mithal.

Last year, the company received 250 orders, followed by 70 orders in the first quarter of the current fiscal year and 42 orders in the second quarter. Mithal stated, "Our aim is to reach an order a day (calendar days) i.e., 365 orders in a year. The trend is already there, and we aim to reach that goal by the end of this financial year."

At the end of the first quarter, the company's order book amounted to Rs 57 billion, with Rs 27 billion coming from consultancy services, a similar amount from the turnkey segment, Rs 1.5 billion from leasing, and Rs 1 billion from its subsidiary, Railway Energy Management (REMCL).

The pandemic significantly affected the export of rolling stock, posing a major challenge. Mithal explained that during the COVID-19 period, the company did not receive orders for about 2-2.5 years. To mitigate this, they aim to secure an order immediately to generate revenue at the beginning of the next fiscal year.

RITES is eyeing opportunities in African and Southeast Asian countries as their economies rebound post-pandemic. However, substantial results from these efforts are expected in the next fiscal year.

In the current quarter, the company has already secured 42 orders for consultancy services, and they plan to bolster their project consultancy revenue stream.

"Our niche strength is consultancy, and our mission is to be a go-to consultancy company," Mithal added.

Exports constitute another significant revenue stream for the company, providing a healthy topline margin. RITES has emerged as the lowest bidder for export orders from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, involving locomotives and wagons.

Furthermore, RITES has received orders for feasibility studies for ropeways, integrated modal stations, and multi-modal logistics parks from National Highways Logistics Management (NHLML), an arm of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).