S. N. SUBRAHMANYAN
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro
Dear Colleagues,
Once again, we have shown what we are made of and reiterated what makes this wonderful organization so very different for all others. Yet again, as a huge team of 30,000-plus, we have shown that when the going gets tough, when the chips are down, you can always rely on L&T to deliver. Undoubtedly, we have delivered quite handsomely ending FY 2020-21 with our revenue and sales numbers almost on par with those of the previous year, and, perhaps, most significantly, our order book looking very robust at over INR 3.5 lakh crores. All this could only have been possible with your contribution, commitment, drive, and passion to convert adversity into opportunity and perform like true L&T-ites.
It is true that the pandemic has been both a learning and unlearning experience for all of us but in the final analysis, it has made us stronger, sharper, and more focused to succeed. The kind of challenges we faced across projects, offices, locations, and geographies were novel, without precedent and sudden. There were no easy, off-the-shelf solutions or mitigation plans; each had to be dealt with on its own merit. The way that all of you faced the overwhelming challenges of shortages of men, machine, and material and the loss of almost 4-5 months due to the various lockdowns, stood together as one and overcame them is extraordinary. The management recognizes that each project site, each office had to evolve their own unique brand of solutions considering the local conditions and circumstances and that we have come through with flying colours is commendable.
Leadership To The Fore
It is in times of crisis that the true mettle of leadership reveals itself and during these tough and testing days, it is heartening that several of you have taken on the mantle to lead your various sites and offices. The organization has gained immeasurably for the pandemic gave us a situation and opportunity to identify leaders. The flow and clarity of communication, both up and down, the quick appraisal of situations and even quicker and positive action on ground have been noteworthy. This is perhaps the most significant reason why we have been able to achieve so much progress since the lockdowns.
We have started to look at things differently, think innovatively and evolve clever ways to do our business that have found expression in several new solutions in automation, mechanization, and digitalization that are driving our efficiencies. Despite the on-ground challenges of limited resources, we have found fresh ways to improve productivity, cut costs and wastage, reduce execution time to speed up delivery to quality and safety. Lessons well learnt during tough times will hold us in great stead when normalcy returns. We are uniquely positioned to add immense value for our clients which if they realize, they will be more than willing to pay us a premium for the difference we bring to our delivery.
All the good work we have done in Digitalization came in extremely handy to sharpen our project planning, improve our project management and monitoring, raise our quality and safety standards, and manage our workforce more efficiently. It is great that several sites were able to convince their clients and customers for digital approvals, online payments, remote inspections & Factory Acceptance Tests, and such like. Technology is our enabler that is not only saving us cost and time but improving our bottom line. These should be the norm going forward. Our vendors and subcontractors too have been towers of strength, willing to go many an extra mile for us, once again proving that it is teamwork that really succeeds.
New Wins, New Reasons To Celebrate
While we held our own at our several on-going projects, we did not lose sight of aggressively seeking new business. Winning the largest EPC order ever awarded in India for the High Speed Rail corridor, the mandate to build the country’s longest river bridge from Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya over the Brahmaputra and the extremely challenging Rishikesh to Karnaprayag railway project that involves considerable tunnelling in the Himalayas are all reasons to celebrate as also is the huge EPC contract that our renewables arm has recently won in Saudi Arabia to build the world’s largest solar plant of 1.5 GW capacity. This puts us in the big league as the country’s largest EPC player to build hydel, nuclear, and solar power plants. By keeping our tendering process precise, our costs, competitive and rapidly mobilizing once we win orders, we will create and sustain a Virtuous Circle that will help us safeguard our profits. With more opportunities on the anvil in the water, power, metros, and railways sectors, the future holds great promise.
An External Helping Hand
While we were busy doing what we do best of building infrastructure, the government has been playing its part to create a climate to spur growth and opportunity to revive the economy. We have already seen a concerted strategy to kickstart infrastructure development and several other initiatives to ease liquidity in the market, help resolve working capital issues and redress pending disputes. Though the private sector still lacks confidence to commit investments, robust government and laterally funded projects are keeping things rolling that all augur well for the country at large.
The pandemic is still in our midst, though the good news is that we have learnt to live with it and helped along by the availability of multiple vaccines and the speed with which the population is being vaccinated, we should gradually bring the virus under control. Till such time, let us keep ourselves and our people safe and continue to move forward with focus and purpose.
All the best!