Dear Stakeholders,
Reflecting on our journey over the years, I am humbled by the milestones Triveni has achieved to become a world-class entity. Our legacy of expansion, excellence and innovation encourages us to scale newer heights. The invaluable contribution of all our stakeholders as well as the efforts and dedication of our employees continues to be our driving force.
With the future brimming with opportunities, we are all set to shape a better tomorrow that will power the next phase of growth. We strive to build the right competencies, including better technology, digitalisation and an innovation-driven and passionate team. The intent is clear – make Triveni future-ready and resilient to effectively handle challenges and capitalise on opportunities.
Strength in adversity
In the year gone by, Triveni demonstrated resilience to report a satisfactory performance despite the immense challenges. Adverse climatic conditions and the spread of red rot disease impacted sugarcane yields in the state of Uttar Pradesh, presenting tough times for the sugar industry. Triveni was no different as we registered lower sugarcane crush in SS 2023‑24. To ensure sufficient sugar stock availability, the Government limited sugar sacrifice through the B-heavy route for ethanol and restricted sugar exports. This along with the stoppage of Surplus rice by FCI, impacted feedstock availability for our Alcohol business. While we swiftly shifted to maize feedstock, it led to lower operating capacities and margins. The Water business witnessed a muted period due to project delays. The Power Transmission business was a silver lining, yet again delivering a stellar performance, with a growth of 29.5% in revenue, 40.1% in segment profits and 42.3% in order booking.
Overall, our net revenue from operations declined by 7.1% to ₹ 5,220.1 crore in FY 24 and EBITDA was marginally lower by 1.1% to ₹ 688.4 crore. The revenue contribution of the non-Sugar business increased from 34% to 38% in FY 24. This was partly on account of the decline in the Sugar business, along with our ongoing efforts to achieve healthy diversification and ensure more predictability in revenue and profits.
Investing in the future
At Triveni, we have always been inspired to look beyond the challenges. We invested a substantial capex of ₹ 357 crore in FY 24, which is poised to be a key enabler of our future growth.
We have already commissioned a 200 KLPD multi-feed distillery at Rani Nangal which not only enhances distillation capacity but also provides feedstock flexibility. Previously announced projects are on track for scheduled commissioning. These include i) enhancement of crushing capacity at Sabitgarh by 2000 TCD (from 7000 TCD to 9000 TCD) ii) a new bottling plant at Muzaffarnagar facility for high-quality IMFL products iii) enhancing annual capacity of gears facility (not including Defence) from ₹ 250 crore to over ₹ 500 crore.
Digital technology is yet another area where we are making strides. Deployment of advanced technologies like GPS-based farming services, satellite mapping to detect diseases, drones for insecticide spraying and IoT-based supply chain management are revolutionising sugarcane farming. Several digital projects are underway aimed at further empowering our farmer partners.
The Power Transmission business is also deploying augmented reality technologies to train people and remotely support customers. The business is set to significantly increase manpower to support expanded capacities, ramp up R&D and innovation and strengthen international expansion.
Delivering value to everyone
Triveni is a stakeholder-centric company and remains steadfast in its commitment to creating sustainable value for all.
Consistent with our focus on delivering healthy returns to shareholders and balancing financial stability, the Board of Directors approved a total dividend of ₹ 5.75 in FY 24, amounting to 575% of the face of equity share of ₹ 1. This results in an outgo of ₹ 125.9 crore in dividend. Our contribution to the exchequer remained robust at ~₹ 1,200 crore. We remain aligned with various Government initiatives, including water management-related projects and the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme’s target of 20% blending by 2025-26. This year, we supplied 1,82,707 KL of alcohol including ethanol to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). Our ongoing efforts in these areas will be instrumental in addressing the challenges of climate change and water scarcity.
Triveni continued to empower its communities. With a spending of ₹ 11.37 crore in community projects, we positively touched over two lakh lives in the areas i.e. education, healthcare, women empowerment, promotion of sports, environmental sustainability, etc. Our farmer network stands strong at over three lakh and thirty five thousand and we ensured unwavering support with sugarcane development programmes and digital technologies. This year, we continued to help farmers shift to high-sucrose and high-yielding sugarcane varieties, which are more disease-resilient.
For our employees, we have implemented a comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) system that is designed to proactively manage and mitigate risks in the workplace. The implementation of enhanced training programmes and stricter adherence to safety protocols resulted in 12% decrease in work-related injuries during the year. We also supported employee growth with various learning and development efforts.
Towards new horizons
We are operating in dynamic times, where despite the short‑term challenges, the opportunities are numerous. A booming economy, expectations of favourable policy decisions and the Government’s commitment to EBP programme targets and self‑reliance journey augur well for the sugar and alcohol industries. With our enhanced capacities, we remain well-positioned for improved performances. In Sugar, we continue to judiciously invest in enhancing sugarcane crush rate, sugar quality and operational efficiencies.
The focus on Make in India and industrialisation along with the long-term prospects for water and wastewater treatment solutions globally provide a positive outlook for our Engineering businesses. In Power Transmission, our extensive international customer outreach efforts and continued investments in R&D and infrastructure position us to capitalise on the global opportunity landscape.
As we remain sharply focussed on execution and doing the right things, we seek the continued support of all our stakeholders. Your faith in us has been a source of inspiration. I express my gratitude to each one of you. I thank our employees and the entire leadership team for their exemplary dedication and agility that helped us tide through the challenges, and position us for a stronger future. I thank our farmers, customers, partners, vendors, employees and shareholders for their support, encouraging us to take on bigger ambitions and achieve greater success in the years to come.
I also take this moment to highlight key developments within the Board. We bid farewell to Ms. Homai A. Daruwalla, who exits the Board on the completion of her tenure. We are grateful for her services and invaluable contributions to the Company. Joining us on the Board as Independent Non-Executive Directors are eminent members: Siraj Azmat Chaudhry, Dr. Rajender Pal Singh, Manoj Kumar Kohli and Dr. Meena Hemchandra. I am sure the Company will benefit from the extensive experience and expertise they bring.
With the support of our valued stakeholders, we are enthused to create a brighter, more promising tomorrow where we grow together and create value for all.
With best regards,
DHRUV M. SAWHNEY
Chairman & Managing Director
