Calcutta, April 12 (PTI): Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL) is back in black after 40 years with a net profit of Rs 4 crore and a topline of Rs 111 crore in 2016-17.
"The company has made a turnaround in 2016-17 after a gap of 40 years by registering a net profit of Rs 4 crore against a loss Rs 9.13 crore in the previous year. In the next fiscal, we are targeting a profit of Rs 10 crore with new initiatives," BCPL managing director P.M. Chandriah told reporters here. "Team work led to the turnaround," he added.
"If I am given five years' time, I will make this a Rs 200-300 crore company with a Rs 30-40 crore profit," Chandriah said, while speaking about the government's outlook on a possible divestment.
The Centre was contemplating divestment or the induction of a strategic partner as the PSU was a loss-making entity since 1977 when the government took over the company set up by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray in 1901.
The cabinet in December last year had cleared the sale of BCPL, India's first pharma company. It is one of the PSUs that the NITI Aayog has identified for the sale of the government's majority stake to private companies in order to bring in greater efficiency and professionalism in functioning.
"There is nothing as of now. But, I don't know what the government will do. However, I have already pulled this company out of coma and now it requires a bit of care and I think this company has potential to become profitable on a sustainable basis," he said.
In the current fiscal, the company will begin commercial production of injectable antibiotics that have potential to generate an additional revenue of Rs 50 crore.
BCPL is expecting a reduction of interest burden of Rs 8 crore for government loans.
The PSU also aims to pay off the remaining Rs 13 crore loan of United Bank of India in 2017-18 to reduce its interest burden.
However, the accumulated loss of Rs 260 crore can only be managed by either writing off or selling 25 acres of surplus land it has on its books, BCPL officials said.
