In conversation with Kapil Garg, Managing Director of Asian Energy Services Ltd

We are bullish on all business segments and see growth opportunities in each one of them, affirms Kapil Garg, Managing Director of Asian Energy Services Ltd.

In Q1FY24 revenue grew by 71 per cent on a YoY basis and the company reported a net loss of 3 crore which has been decreasing from the past few quarters. Could you shed some light on what were the significant contributing factors to this performance?

The company's Q1 performance was a result of contributions from all of our business verticals, with major contributions from the material handling segment and the O&M segment. We are confident of delivering superior numbers in the coming quarters on the back of a robust order book spread across all segments.

What is the current competitive landscape of the company and what are your plans for enhancing the competitive position of the company?

We are uniquely placed in a business environment where the competitive landscape across all segments is mild, and growth opportunities are plentiful. The company has always followed a strategy of taking on projects and contracts with healthy margins, along with constant investment in new technologies to enhance our competitive position.

Regarding the growth trajectory of the business going forward, which segments do you think will bring in the majority of the revenues and why? 

We are bullish on all business segments and see growth opportunities in each one of them. The idea behind diversifying the company's service offerings was to reduce dependency on any one business segment, and going by the company's robust order book and growth opportunities evident across all segments, we have accomplished what we set out to achieve. If you ask me for one particular segment, I believe the material handling segment will see the highest growth in the coming years.

The company has an order book of Rs 900 crore. Tell us more about the order book and the execution plans for the same.

The order book now stands at approximately Rs 950 crore, with projects diversified across the segments of seismic, O&M and material handling for a vast array of clients. Currently, the focus is on the efficient execution of these contracts and we are confident of the timely completion of all projects underway, with a significant quantum of our existing order book being executed over the next 18 months. We are also working on expanding our order book at a healthy pace.

What is your outlook on the seismic services business segment for the next couple of quarters? 

We have recently secured 3 new seismic contracts from ONGC, GAIL India and Vedanta, and we will begin execution of all 3 of them very soon. These contracts will provide the company's seismic services segment with a hefty surge in revenue in the coming quarters. We see good visibility in upcoming seismic tenders, and both this year and the upcoming fiscal should be a good one for the seismic services business.