VA Tech Wabag gets Rs 880-crore overseas orders; revenue, profit jump in Dec 2020 quarter
Leading water technology company VA Tech Wabag has secured multiple orders worth about Rs 880 crore (€100 million) in Switzerland, Tunisia and Libya even as it has reported a 17 per cent rise in net revenue and 36 per cent jump in net profit for quarter ended December 2020.
The Chennai-based company said its Swiss subsidiary received its biggest ever order worth €26 million for design and building of lake water treatment plant from Energie Service Biel/Bienne for replacing the existing facility which is more than 50 years old. The replacement will ensure water security to the city of Biel and Nidau.
The plant will purify water using a multi-barrier treatment, including reverse osmosis. The project will be executed over a period of five years and VA Tech Wabag will deliver the electro-mechanical equipment for all treatment steps as well as the automation, starting with the raw water intake up to the distribution pumps to the network of the municipalities.
“We are extremely delighted with this biggest ever order in the history of WABAG Swiss. This order was awarded to us based on our technological superiority and the successful implementation of our pilot plant. We thank the utility of Biel ENERGIE SERVICE BIEL/BIENNE for the faith reposed in us for executing this important project”, said WABAG Swiss CEO Peter Hartmann.
VA Tech Wabag has also bagged an order worth €11 million for a 30 million litre per day (MLD) water treatment plant at Kasseb, Tunisia. Along with a local civil partner, the company has secured the order to design and build the WTP at Kasseb Dam from Societe Nationale D’exploitation Et De Distribution Des Eaux (’SONEDE’).
The project scope includes design, engineering, construction, supply, installation and commissioning of WTP using advanced Lamella clarifier technology. The project funded by KfW, will be executed over a period of 20 months. The project also includes operation & maintenance of the plant for six months.
The repeat order from SONEDE further consolidates VA Tech Wabag’s position in the north African market, where it has also bagged a €62 million framework order for a 30 MLD thermal desalination plant at Bomba, Libya.
The company said WABAG Austria has signed a repeat contract with General Desalination Company of Libya (‘GDCOL’) to design and build three thermal seawater desalination – multi-effect distillation (MED) plants in Bomba.
The scope of the contract includes design, supply, construction, installation, commissioning, training of the customer’s operating personnel and spare parts for 24 months plant operation.
The project comprises three thermal Desalination lines and three steam boiler plants that will produce 30 MLD of drinking water from seawater and is an extension of the existing MED plant complex. This plant will provide drinking water capacity for more than 300,000 people in the region.
The order is the largest thermal desalination plant order in the history of WABAG. This contract will be activated for execution upon receiving of L/C from the customer.
“We are pleased in several ways about the new order. With a value of more than €60 million, the BOMBA project will contribute significantly to our European operations. Furthermore, it reaffirms the decision to remain committed to our technologies and competences for thermal desalination in developing geographies and thus contribute to the improvement of quality of life in the region”, said Wabag’s Head of Europe Cluster Mahmut Gedek.
Meanwhile, the company has announced that its consolidated net revenue was Rs 796.02 crore in December 2020 quarter, up 17.16 per cent from Rs 679.44 crore in December 2019 while net profit rose 35.7 per cent to Rs 41.78 crore in December 2020 from Rs 30.78 crore. EBITDA stood at Rs 73.80 crore, up 5.29 per cent from Rs 70.09 crore in December 2019.
The company’s consolidated revenue for the nine months ended December 2020 jumped to Rs 1835 crore from Rs 1772 crore in the corresponding period of last year while net profit was Rs 57 crore as against Rs 26.27 crore.
The company said its order intake was to the tune of Rs 971 crore and total order book stood at Rs 10,700 crore. Since March 2020, the company said it has also seen gross debt reduction of 26 per cent and net debt reduction of 31 per cent.
“Our third quarter performance reflects the improvement in execution momentum as most of our sites have started operating normally. It’s heartening to note that even during this tough economic situation globally, we could add about Rs 1500 crore worth of orders majorly from the MEA region to our already robust order book”, said VA Tech Wabag’s Group CFO Sandeep Agrawal.
