INTERVIEW - Patel Engg sees 30 bln rupees orders in Q1

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Patel Engineering has emerged as the lowest bidder for irrigation and hydro-power projects worth 30 billion rupees expected by the end of June, the first quarter of FY11, a top official said on Monday."It's from central government agencies...One is an irrigation project in Vidharbha and another a small hydro power project," Rupen Patel, managing director, told Reuters in an interview.The construction and engineering firm is expecting a 20-25 percent growth in revenues in FY11 based on its order book position of about 100 billion rupees as on March 31."I would expect that if EBIDTA (earning before interest depreciation taxes and amortization) is maintained, we will still have a growth of about 20-25 percent. Because I don't see any negatives, order book is in place, so it is only performance."Of the total order book, 47 percent is from hydro projects, 45 percent from irrigation and the remaining from roads and specialised projects, he said.The company also has 18-lakh square feet of space under construction of which 90 percent has been sold, he said."Mumbai has 1-million-square-feet under construction (commercial) and we anticipate revenues of about 100 crores (1 billion rupees) per year on a lease model," Patel said.The real estate in Mumbai projects are slated to be completed in 13 months at the cost of about 2.25 bln rupees, he said.Patel Engineering continues to scout for sewerage and water treatment firms overseas, he said."I am talking to some companies, but I am not going very aggressively on that. The market is not opening up that fast."POWER PROJECTSPatel Engineering is scaling up its hydro power project in Arunachal Pradesh to 140 MW from the earlier 90 MW and is awaiting approval from Central Electricity Authority (CEA)."The financial closure will take place in the last quarter of this year, CEA approval is expected by July or August and environmental (clearance) will take 3-4 months," he said.The firm will start construction of a thermal power project in Tamil Nadu, where tender work for sourcing the equipment is on, in the last quarter of FY11, he said.Patel engineering posted a consolidated net profit of 1.93 billion rupees on revenues of 30.81 billion rupees."This year we did exceptionally well considering the market, because the revenues grew by 25.26 percent and profits by 41 percent."(For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)

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