Nothing is different, and yet, everything, as we know, has changed. We are living amidst a serious health crisis today. The world is fighting an unseen enemy in the name novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). The pandemic has been relentless on human lives and is ravaging every economy across the globe. When India got introduced to the virus, the Government took a prompt action and announced a nationwide lockdown to arrest the spread of the virus. Social distancing became the need of the hour and economic activities came to a standstill. Supporting the decision, we, at Lumax Industries, briefly suspended our operations, choosing to maintain business continuity while working remotely. This crisis brought along challenges that made us change the course of our actions. Today, as the world fights this foe together, it has made us look at things differently.
If you ask us about our strategy to overcome these tough times, our answer would be ‘Same passion. Renewed perspective.’. While our vision remains the same, our plan of action has changed. The goal is the same, but our approach route is different. Our passion and purpose are the same, but we are navigating our way into the future with a renewed perspective. We are hopeful that the world will find a way out of this global health crisis and soon economic activities will start resuming in a staggered manner.
The auto industry was already reeling under a slowdown from 3rd quarter 2018, recording the slowest demand in almost 2 decades. Various factors like, strict lending rules due to NBFC credit squeeze, central elections and negative rural sentiment, led to dampened demand. However, the BSIV to BSVI transition brought with it hope for revival, but the outbreak of Coronavirus derailed all projections. The subsequent lockdown impacted the economy adversely and further dented the already bleeding auto industry.
The FY 2019-20 was characterised by a difficult demand environment and weaker-than-anticipated financial performance.
During the FY 2019-20, the Company succeeded in overcoming a non-conducive social and industrial environment. I would credit this success to the Company’s degree of receptiveness and adaptability. We did not resist the change and persistently kept moving ahead in an efficient and effective manner. Lumax Industries has always been proactive in the adoption of new technologies. This approach helped us deliver quality and technologically advanced lighting products to our customers. Our focus on developing new products remained consistent, reaffirming our industry leadership.
During the year, our portfolio flourished with new customers, which we are optimistic will add to our business. Strong support from our partners and long standing relations with our customers have strengthened our presence across markets, enabling us to steer through these difficult times. As a dominant player in the lighting business, we benefitted from the slew of new model launches by OEMs and entry of new OEMs in the country.
Collaboration with industry stakeholders is an essential aspect for developing technologies and products that meet the changing market requirements. This year, our partnership extension decisions were based and aimed at accelerating the development and commercialisation of new products. Leveraging our significant relationship with Stanley Electric, in the automotive lighting business, we are expanding our collaboration to include electronic components and parts — the future of automotive. It is an opportune time for us to expand our portfolio to add electronic parts, bringing design, development and technological expertise to prepare and keep pace with global vehicle models with high electronic components per vehicle.
The Board of Directors continued to perform intensive supervision on the implementation of Company strategies. This included implementation of the operational excellence strategy across all work systems, and good control over the Company’s position in the automotive market. The Board continued overseeing the Company’s efforts towards adapting technological developments and facing market challenges and disruptive trends. The Company focused on improving the quality of human resources to stay ahead.
Social considerations are equally important to us while we deliver on customer expectations. Well being of the society is the cornerstone of our business philosophy.To foster an inclusive corporate culture, we respect diversity, provide equal opportunities, and demonstrate high ethical standards. Another clear priority is ensuring safe working conditions and strengthening leadership within the Company. We have also laid out strategies to resume operations at all locations that abide with the Government guidelines.
The upcoming year, against the backdrop of a slow economic growth and Covid-19, is expected to be challenging, and hence, contributing to a sluggish automotive market. We are cautious on our demand outlook. To surf through these testing times, our focus will be on improving operational efficiency. Our aim is to mitigate, to an extent possible, the near-term performance headwinds related to demand from OEMs. We are shifting our perspective from pure production performance to surviving in an environment of unpredictable change. We are being prompt and receptive to the changing market conditions. While our passion remains the same, we are changing our perspective to restrategise and build a robust supply chain, making manufacturing more agile.
The performance achieved by the Company during FY 2019-20 can be credited to the cooperation of all parties and stakeholders. I would like to sincerely thank the shareholders who always put their trust in the Company’s ability. I also appreciate the Board of Directors who have given their best efforts in optimising the Company’s performance. More importantly, I express my utmost appreciation for all the employees who have given their best contribution to achieve the Company’s targets and goals. We are committed to continue working optimally and create sustainable growth for the Company.
Chairman Emeritus
Chairman and MD
Joint MD
