Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore to become profitable again

Kochi: Ailing public sector fertiliser manufacturer Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) is hoping for a turn around this fiscal with its total production expected to cross 1 million tonnes. “All our eight plants are now operational after a long time,” FACT chairman and managing director Jaiveer Srivastava told reporters here. “We are now operating at a capacity of 117 per cent, which is more than the target fixed for us.”

The latest plant to open was the caprolactum plant, he said. “We started it with the raw material we had stocked when we shut the plant four years ago,” he said. Only two Indian companies manufacture caprolactum and they together cannot meet the requirement. “So, we have no apprehension on selling the product,” he said. The loan of Rs 1,000 crore which the Central government sanctioned last fiscal helped the company meet its working capital requirements.

“We resumed use of LNG as feedstock by May 18 and from then onwards, we have been working systematically to increase production in all the plants.” The company is hoping to return the Rs 1,000 crore loan this year, he said. “Our sales have improved in line with the production, and hence we hope for a turn around,” he said. The company had an interest outgo of more than Rs 250 crore last year, which is unaffordable, he pointed out.

“So our efforts are to bring down this cost.” The board has sent to the Union government a revised aid package for Rs 836 crore which includes the request for waiver of about Rs 600 crore in interest alone. The proposal for a urea-ammonium plant is under the consideration of the government and the company, he said. “We had shut down the plant in 2002-03 and it will require an investment of Rs 5,000 crore to reopen it. “The Chief Minister has taken up the project with the Centre and eventually we hope we will be able to restart the plant,” Mr Srivastava said.

Threatening letter for FACT’s marketing boss

FACT chairman and managing director Jaiveer Srivastava on Thursday threw light on the strained relations inside the company when he revealed the contents of a letter the newly-appointed director (marketing) Ashok Kumar Verma received even before he took charge. The anonymous letter in the name of ‘officers of FACT’ termed Mr Verma as Mr Srivastava’s man and warned him against ‘trying to rule us”.

“We will teach you a lesson, we will break your leg,” went the letter, adding that Mr Srivastava is “marked for death”. It also says “our government is ruling the state,” Mr Srivastava said he has informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about the letter and hoped that the state government would take necessary action. “I am not afraid of such letters as I have been here for the last three-and a half years trying to safeguard the interests of the company,” he said. “But it is enough to scare a newcomer.”