Quarter Result - 'Aksh Optifibre Reports Firm Q1 FY 18 Margins'

Aksh Optifibre Limited [BSE: 532351 | NSE: AKSHOPTFBR], the leading Indian manufacturer of Optical Fibre, Optical Fibre Cables, Fibre Reinforced Composites and a major e-Governance & Turnkey service provider reported its Q1 FY18 financial results. 

Mr. Satyendra Gupta, Deputy Managing Director at Aksh Optifibre Limited, commented, “The quarter went by featured steady margins growth, where top line remained a little subdued due to constraints faced from the supply of raw material. However the Company expects revenues to grow going forward, as the Company has taken steps to counter the raw material related issue by doing backward integration and has successfully set up its additional optical fibre capacity, which will get operational in the early third quarter of financial year. The key accomplishments of this quarter were securing the prestigious Jaipur Smart City Project and healthy order book in OFC & FRP segment. We are moving towards a path to accelerate growth with a focus on three key priorities: growing revenues, expanding our product portfolio, and strengthening Aksh’s presence on the global front.”

Q1 FY18 Financial Summary

• Gross Revenue at Rs. 123 Crores, down by 15% on QoQ basis, highest ever in Q1

• EBIDTA at Rs. 11 Crore, higher by 61% on QoQ basis

• PAT at Rs. 2.18 Crore, against the loss of Rs. 0.58 Crore during last quarter.

Management’s consistent efforts in the past few quarters towards achieving greater operational efficiencies and enhanced business efficacy has resulted in recording stable margins growth during the quarter gone by. The Company also witnessed certain challenges in sourcing the key raw material for its optical fibre cable segment at the economically viable prices, hence the Company remained strategically selective in its order execution to maintain healthy bottom line.  On the back of robust order book of above Rs 300 Crore, the management is confident about the healthy revenue growth in the quarters to come. Also, In order to offset the dependency on the soaring raw material prices and its supply related constraints, the Company has already embarked upon its journey towards backward integration and has successfully set up additional optical fibre towers in its Bhiwadi plant facility, which will become operational during early third quarter of the financial year, whereby doubling its optical fibre capacity.

The Company’s diversification plan to venture into country’s under penetrated ophthalmic lens segment is progressing successfully, and Company’s state of the art ophthalmic lens plant in Kaharani (Rajasthan) is progressing as per schedule and will be operational within the second quarter of financial year.

In sync with the smart cities mission of The Government of India, Aksh has successfully forayed into Smart City projects with a vision for planned development and progressive growth in various cities of the country. The Company has been awarded the eminent Jaipur Smart City Project. The project envisages development of Smart City through laying of optical fibre cables, providing smart lighting systems and IP based traffic surveillance solutions.

Outlook

The Company’s management is confident about the unparalleled and robust demand in the optical fibre segment which is growing at a torrid pace and is set to maintain its buoyancy globally as well as domestically. Impetus in the optical fibre cable segment is expected to witness growth due to installation of broadband data lines, proliferation of connected devices (IoT) and the rise in adoption of 3G, 4G and evolution of 5G telephony.

World’s installations of optical cable totalled 229 million fibre-km in H1 2017, which represents an increase of 9% from H1 2016. The corresponding amount of bare fibre shipped to cable manufacturers is expected to close calendar year 2017 to a record level of 500 million km.

About Aksh Optifibre Limited

Aksh Optifibre Limited is an over 30 year old organization which started with the manufacturing of Optical Fibre (OF) and Optical Fibre Cables (OFC) in 1994. In 1996-97 Aksh acquired Fibre Reinforced Plastic Rods (FRP) business which is a key raw material for Optical Fibre Cables. AKSH went Public in the year 2000 and is listed on National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange. AKSH OPTIFIBRE LIMITED is one of the leading providers of transmission solutions for the telecom industries globally. Various products & services are embedded in our diversified portfolio. The Company also delivers to e-governance services through its flagship programme 1 STOP AKSH with Government of Rajasthan and Aadhaar enrolment work with UIDAI.