pds multinational fashions ltd share price Management discussions

1. Economic Overview

1.1 Global Economy

Global growth is estimated to have surged to 6.1 percent in 2021—its strongest post-recession pace in 80 years, as a relaxation of pandemic-related lockdowns in many countries helped boost demand. With the successful rollout of vaccination across most major economies and continued fiscal and monetary support, economic activities steadily returned to pre-pandemic levels. Recent data point towards moderated global growth, after a de-growth in 2020. Output and investment in advanced economies are projected to return to pre-pandemic trends next year. Divergent growth is being observed across the world, from advanced economies such as the US, to emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Growth in most EMDE regions in 2022-23 is projected to revert to that of pre-pandemic years. However, rising inflation stemming from pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions continues to weigh on the recovery, further accentuated by the evolving geo-political tensions. Global growth is expected to moderate to 3.6% in 2022 and expected to continue in 2023 (Source: IMF). Despite the slowdown, the projected pace of expansion will be sufficient to return aggregate advanced-economy output to its pre-pandemic trend in 2023 and thus complete its cyclical recovery. A solid rebound is projected for investment, based on sustained aggregate demand and broadly favourable financing conditions. The near-term global outlook is a touch below previous forecasts, with a modest downgrade to growth in both advanced economies and EMDEs. Supply bottlenecks and labor shortages are assumed to gradually dissipate through 2022, while inflation and commodity prices are assumed to gradually decline in the second half of the year. Wage pressures are assumed to moderate thereafter in advanced economies while remaining contained in most EMDEs.

World Economic Outlook Projections (Percent change)

Economy	2019	2020	2021	2022 (P)	2023 (P)
World Output	2.6	-3.4	6.1	3.6	3.6
Advanced Economies	1.7	-4.6	5.2	3.3	2.4
Emerging Market and Developing Economies	3.8	-1.7	6.8	3.8	4.4

Source: World Economic Outlook, April 2022 by IMF https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/SPROLLs/world-economic-outlook-databases#sort=%40imfdate%20 descending

1.2 Domestic Economy

The Indian economy grew by 8.9% during FY 2021-22, after recovering sharply from a degrowth of 6.6% in FY 2020-21 (Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation). Despite facing a more severe second wave, India managed to largely sustain the recovery momentum, driven by its successful vaccination drive, and better preparedness against any external shocks.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has maintained its accommodative policy stance, retaining the repo rate at 4%. Enhanced capital expenditure and higher government spending boosted overall sentiments. However, supply chain disruptions and higher crude prices remain a drag. For FY 2022-23, the RBI expects GDP to grow by 7.8%, without widening the fiscal deficit further, thanks to the government’s pragmatic efforts to propel growth through focused spending.

Key Schemes and Programmes

The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India has launched various schemes for the promotion of textile industries in India over the years to help the country regain its lost share in the global market. While schemes such as Silk Samagra, Powertex India, Samarth are aimed towards enhancing and empowering economically weaker individuals and units and boosting its infrastructure, there are schemes undertaken to ensure sustainable fashion and promoting manufacturing facilities in India. Some of them include:

• Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SAMARTH) - This programme seeks to address the skilled manpower requirement across textile sector and is formulated under the broad policy guidelines of "Skill India" initiative. This further aligns with the framework adopted for skilling programme by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The scheme is approved for implementation till March, 2024.

• National Technical Textile Mission: With an outlay of 1,480 cr, the National Technical Textiles Mission (2020-21 to 2023-24) aims at developing usage of technical textiles in various flagship missions and programmes of the country including strategic sectors.

• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme - The PLI Scheme for textiles is expected to promote production of MMF apparel, MMF Fabrics and Products of Technical Textiles in India, and strives to create 60-70 global players, attract fresh investment of ~19,000 cr and generate ~7.5 lakh new employment opportunities.

• PM-MITRA: Instituted to attract investment for ‘Make In India’ initiative and to boost employment generation through setting up of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks in greenfield and/ or brownfield sites with world class infrastructure.

• Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP): The scheme provides support for creation of world-class infrastructure facilities for setting up of textile units.

• Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS): To enable textile industry to comply with the various environmental standards and norms, the IPDS scheme was introduced. This scheme would support the development of new Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP)/ upgradation of CEPTs in existing processing clusters as well as new processing parks specially in the coastal zones.

• Special Package for Textile and Apparel sector: 6,000 cr package was launched in June 2016 to boost employment and export potential in the apparel and made up segments.

• Various sectoral schemes to support traditional textile sectors such as handlooms, handicraft, silk and jute.

• Project SURE (Sustainable Resolution) has the objective of setting a safe course for fashion industry that contributes towards a clean environment in India. The project was launched jointly by the Union Textile Ministry along with the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), United Nations in India and IMG Reliance.

• Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) (up to March 2022) aims to promote business facilities in the country and exports by Make In India and Zero Impact and Zero Defect in manufacturing. It is a credit linked sector scheme and one-time capital subsidy is granted by nodal financial institutions for qualifying benchmarked machinery.

Rates and caps of subsidies under ATUFS

Segment	Subsidy Rate	Subsidy Cap
Garments and Technical Textiles	15%	30 cr
Weaving, manufacturing, jute, silk and handloom	10%	20 cr

Source: http://texmin.nic.in/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20%20 for%20ATUFS%20dated%2029.02.2016.pdf

2. Industry Overview

2.1 Fashion Industry

The global fashion industry has gradually started to bounce back after nearly two years of disruptions, brought on by COVID-19. Despite ongoing headwinds, there were signs by mid-2021 that things were taking a turn for the better, particularly in markets where vaccination rates were high. Adapting to changing customer preferences has been a top priority for companies, as the pandemic led to a surge in e-commerce. Overall, the industry is witnessing a recovery and is expected to grow faster in the coming years, aligned to the various megatrends that have emerged. However, short-to-mid term challenges such as supply chain disruptions, uneven demand and margin depletion due to inflation persist.

From a category review standpoint, discount and luxury fashion segments ended up outperforming the wider markets. Return-to-work and occasion styles topped consumer shopping lists and the sportswear industry saw a breakout year. Economic stability of the wealthier demographics ensured a steady demand for bags, luxury jewellery and ready-to-wear products, leading to luxury brands grabbing the position of top performers. As the market begins to revive, retailers need to tap into the consumer spending on wardrobe-refresh – something that is bound to go up in the post-pandemic era.

Looking ahead to 2022, in aggregate, McKinsey Fashion Scenarios suggest global fashion sales will reach 96 to 101 percent of 2019 levels in 2021 and 103 to 108 percent in 2022. Still, while overall sales are expected to make a full recovery next year, performance will vary across geographies, with growth likely driven by the US and China and Europe expected to bounce back even amid persistent challenges.

Despite widespread operational disruptions, the pandemic has done little to slow down the megatrends reshaping the industry. In fact, these have accelerated over the past year, with industry leaders making bold moves in digital, taking action on environmental and social priorities and focusing more sharply on diversity, equity and inclusion in response.

While overall fashion sales are expected to make a full recovery next year, performance will vary across geographies. The market environment will remain complex and inconsistent.

Overall, global fashion sales are on track to pick up momentum in 2022, as increasingly hopeful consumers unleash pent-up buying power, refreshing their wardrobes as social life begins to resume in many key markets around the world.

2.2 Growth Drivers

From a demand perspective, younger cohorts such as Gen-Z and wealthier consumers from middle-income groups and upwards are predicted to demonstrate the strongest appetite for leisure spend (including fashion, dining out, travel, entertainment, electronics, etc.) in the US through 2021 and beyond. Fashion is one of the top three categories on which they seek to splurge or treat themselves.

New Product Launches to Meet Emerging Fashion Trends

The last two years saw a sharp increase in consumers opting for sportswear, activewear, athleisure and loungewear products. Post-pandemic lifestyle changes, like work-from-home, attention to fitness and social distancing, influenced these consumer preferences. As the COVID situation starts to normalise, rebooting wardrobes will become essential, with people spending more on office wear and occasion-specific clothing. It is imperative for brands and retailers to introduce new products, based on these evolving trends.

Sustainability Becomes Mainstream

In a bid to reduce its environmental impact, the fashion industry is constantly innovating to imbibe sustainability in every stage of its business. The adoption of closed-loop recycling is an important step in this direction, as it limits the extraction of virgin raw materials and reduces industrial waste to a great extent. Brands have started using ‘product passports’ to enhance authenticity and recyclability of their products while boosting customer loyalty, owing to increased transparency.

Digital Offerings

Building Novel Virtual Experiences

The younger generations’ fascination with the metaverse and virtual goods, point towards an untapped growth potential for fashion players. Exploring the uncharted avenues of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), gaming and virtual fashion, can immensely boost community building and revenue generation, in a creative manner.

Prioritising Social Commerce

Shopping via virtual channels has witnessed a surge, as customers grow comfortable with advanced functional features that provide a seamless experience, from browsing to check-out. This paves the way for brands to experiment with emerging technologies, such as augmented reality try-ons and livestreaming, to create deeper customer engagement.

Size-inclusive Fashion

For years, retail stores reduced plus-sized clothing to just one or two racks in a corner, with heavy preference given to straight-sized fashion. But statistics reveal that plus-sized people are not a minority. In fact, 42% of US teenagers are obese and two-thirds of women in the UK wear size 18 or above (Source: Euromonitor). Wide-spread movements around body-positivity and ‘fat acceptance’ has made the fashion industry sit up and take notice. This has resulted in size-inclusive fashion gradually becoming mainstream, as brands rush to accommodate these changing trends.

Localised Supply Chains

Disruptions are expected disruptions to continue due to high fuel costs, bottlenecks at ports and other inflationary pressures. This presents an opportunity for fashion players with local and integrated supply chains to consolidate their position by catering to customer demands in their respective regions of operation.

2.3 Outlook

The fashion industry continues to evolve and grow aligned to newer consumer preferences and in more ways than one. The growth drivers indicate that the pandemic has weaved new opportunities into the industry and opened up newer avenues for fashion players. The fashion industry has picked up pace and is headed towards a steady recovery. Retailers and brands have closely monitored the changing dynamics of consumer behaviour and utilised the learnings from the pandemic-induced economic shocks, to better prepare for the ‘next normal’. Consumers are poised to increase spending on back-to-work clothing as well as on attires fit for social gatherings. During the pandemic, consumers had no option but to turn to online shopping.

Leveraging this digital transformation, the industry has a huge scope to enhance the virtual shopping experience while enriching community building.

Resilience is not just a feature of the customers, companies too have been responding with unique solutions to logistical challenges owing to rising shipping costs, material shortages and bottlenecked ports. Several companies have reported difficulties in smooth handling of inventory flows and linked lower sales projections to the blockages of supply chains. Increased nearshoring, in-store supply stocking and agile operating models are quickly being adopted to mitigate the persisting operational disruptions (Source: State of Fashion 2022 by McKinsey & Co. & BoF).

is the largest exporter of apparels in the world while the European Union is the largest importer, followed by the US.

The US along with China, are expected to be major growth drivers in 2022. Supply chain bottlenecks do persist, but the growth of the apparel industry is soon expected to surpass pre-COVID levels. Rising per capita levels, favourable demographics, shift in consumer preferences to high-quality, branded products, and the evolving retail landscape across brands, are some of the key demand drivers. As consumers increasingly demand complete traceability, brands will have to focus on establishing higher degrees of transparency in their business approach. Sustainable production practices, ensuring fair labour wages and increased personalised engagement with consumers through digital channels will be the determining factors that redefine the apparel industry in the coming years.

2.4 Apparel Market

The global apparel market is projected to $2 trillion by 2025 from $1.2 billion in 2020 (Source: Wazir Analysis). China

Global Apparel Market Breakup ($ billion, unless mentioned otherwise)

Region	2019	2020	Y-o-Y change (%)	2025 (P)	CAGR 2019-2025
EU	264	219	-17	280	1%
US	235	171	-27	265	2%
China	181	173	-4	340	11%
Japan	106	83	-21	110	0.5%
India	78	55	-29	135	10%
Brazil	48	34	-30	60	4%
Canada	33	27	-19	37	2%
Rest of World	690	517	-25	780	2%
World	1,635	1,280	-22	2,007	3.5%

Source: Wazir Advisors Annual Report - Indian Textile and Apparel Industry 2021

3. Business Overview

PDS Limited, referred to as "PDS", the "Company" (Formerly PDS Multinational Fashions Limited) is a global fashion infrastructure company that serves as a sourcing, manufacturing and supply chain platform, catering to 190+ fashion brands and retailers globally. Operating with a unique business model, we have established our presence with over 50 offices across 22 countries. Driven by a dedicated talent pool of employees and associates, including factory associates, we ship c.1 million garments daily, on a global scale. With a strong focus on delivering sustainable products and technologies to customers and suppliers, we continue to enhance our sourcing and manufacturing capabilities through innovative designs, to connect the right product to the right market through the right factory.

3.1 History and Evolution

The idea of PDS germinated with two flagship companies – Norwest Industries Limited in Hong Kong and Poeticgem Limited in the UK - launched by the promoter family in 1999. Starting out as a single entity, PDS gradually progressed into a hub and spoke model with a strategy to onboard entrepreneurs and their teams based on product specialisation, geographical advantage, or existing customer base. With our asset light business model, rather than acquiring companies, we partnered with them to ensure mutual growth. We then transitioned into a platform model where new partners were onboarded to the PDS Group in a plug and play format. This gave them the opportunity to work closely with the biggest brands in the fashion industry and learn industry-best practices. This, in turn, accelerated our expansion process and strengthened our operational capabilities. Today, we have evolved to operate on a unique collaborative model, with refined processes and a solution-based approach. We continue to meet customer requirements using an efficient team and inter-business unit collaborations, to leverage our strengths and economies of scale. During FY 2022, we simpli_ed our corporate name from PDS Multinational Fashions Limited to PDS Limited.

3.2 Business Verticals

We have three distinct business verticals:

1. Sourcing

2. Manufacturing

3. PDS Venture Tech Investments

3.2.1Sourcing

In recent years, the fashion industry has experienced tremendous transformation, especially in the way consumers perceive brands. As consumers put more emphasis on buying from sustainable businesses, brands have turned to sourcing operations in a conscious manner to practice sustainability. Being a reliable partner to several global brands and retailers, our sourcing business is equipped to manage the entire supply chain with a sustainable approach. Backed by our market expertise and technical know-how, we provide a one-stop solution for in-house product development, design and sampling, through our designers located across London, Hong Kong, New York, Barcelona, Dusseldorf, New Delhi, Shanghai, Colombo, Santiago, and Brussels.

We majorly target pre-sold goods in this segment, helping us operate on an asset-light model, especially on inventories, making the sourcing business structure inherently risk- averse.

The sourcing business reported a topline growth of 40% and an EBIT growth of 3%. This reflects the following aspects which have impacted this year’s profitability. The sourcing business operating margins were impacted by investments in new business verticals which are currently in gestation phase, increased freight costs due to increased sales to the US geography on landed basis, costs attributable to ESOPs and negligible high margin PPE business in FY22.

3.2.2 Manufacturing

To cater to the ever-rising and dynamic demands of our customers, we have manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Our manufacturing facilities are LEED Platinum and Gold certified, another testament to our commitment to sustainability.

Our manufacturing segment reported a growth of 92% with an annual topline of 547cr. Further, even on a full-year basis, PBT losses have declined by 82% from ~104cr last year to 19cr this year. The Company’s efforts over the last 12-15 months have finally started to show results with the business reporting PBT margins of 3.1% in Q4FY22 vs a loss of 11.8% last year in Q4FY21. The Company is focussing on increasing efficiencies, driving bulk orders, and disciplined execution.

3.2.3 PDS Venture Tech Investments

Our investments in emerging ventures are shaped by our drive for sustainable solutions backed by innovation and technologies. Our venture investments have well-defined goals that promote a circular economy, carbon neutrality, giving back to nature, elimination of waste, and making the planet greener. We prefer funding ventures in the seed stage, or pre-series/early-stage ventures. These investments enhance our value proposition for our customers and our vendor partners; help secure long-term growth. Some of our core investment areas include sustainability, technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), online marketplace, digital, retail services, and brands.

3.3 Business Performance

3.3.1 Operational Highlights

• In FY 2021-22, the Company set up an independent office infrastructure to act as an exclusive vendor for Hanes Brands Inc. in Bangladesh. This office has the potential to cater to $400 million merchandise value annually over next 4-5 years

• We have also entered into a strategic collaboration with s.Oliver Group by acquiring their India operations, which has the potential to translate into an annualised 375 cr ($50 million) sourcing opportunity, where we are responsible for exclusively sourcing merchandise for the s.Oliver from India and Sri Lanka

• In the initial quarters of FY 2021-22 the Company launched Lilly + Sid, an award-winning, sustainable kids wear brand from UK in the Indian market. This brand was launched with an exclusive tie-up with Reliance Retail’s fashion marketplace Ajio.com, supplemented by the brand website lillyandsid.co.in

• The Company also launched 100% organic kids wear brand Turtledove London in India. The brand works only with SEDEX certified factories and procures Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton, creating stylish unisex clothes, responsibly

• Geographic expansion with deeper penetration into North American market led to a 16% contribution in the revenue mix, from 8% in FY 2020-21

• Our sustainability-focused manufacturing facilities have reported bottom line profitability in Q4FY22 largely driven through higher capacity utilisation

• Entered strategic partnerships in Sri Lanka to increase manufacturing capabilities and deepening our commitment to apparel SMEs

• We have also become a member of Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) to scale impact improvement

3.3.2 Financial Highlights

• Strong optimism, product and geographic diversification led to crossing of the $1 billion revenue milestone. Revenue increased from 6,213 cr in FY 2020-21 to 8,828 cr in FY 2021-22, a growth of 42%

• EBIT margin grew by 62 bps, from 3.2% in FY 2020-21 to 3.8% in FY 2021-22.

• Profit Before Tax increased by 82% from 170 cr in FY 2020-21 to 310 cr in FY 2021-22

• Profit After Tax increased by 97% from 148 cr in FY 2020-21 to 293 cr in FY 2021-22

• During the year, the Company declared 238% dividend of 23.85 per share (subject to shareholder approval)

• Process efficiencies and rigorous monitoring resulted in reduction of working capital days to -ve 3 days in FY 2021-22 from 5 net working capital days in FY 2020-21

Consolidated Financial Review

Particulars	FY 2017-18	FY 2018-19	FY 2019-20	FY 2020-21	FY 2021-22
Income from operations	4,924	6,486	6,648	6,213	8,828
Other income	24	16	27	37	86
Total income	4,948	6,502	6,675	6,250	8,914
EBITDA	38	112	186	230	323
EBITDA Margin (%)	0.8%	1.7%	2.8%	3.7%	3.7%
Profit before tax	24	69	91	170	310
Profit after tax	20	69	81	148	293
Profit after tax margin (%)	0.4%	1.1%	1.2%	2.4%	3.3%
Earnings per share ()	(3.01)	16.83	17.67	32.37	95.38
Cash flow from operations	58	213	281	379	403
Return on net worth (%)	3.6%	13.8%	13.3%	20.7%	31.3%

• Income from operations grew by 42% to 8,828 cr in FY 2021-22 vs 6,213 cr in FY 2020-21

• Total income of 8,914 cr in FY 2021-22 as compared to 6,250 cr in FY 2020-21

• EBITDA margin was fiattish at 3.7% in FY 2022-21 when compared FY 2020-21, on account of negligible higher margin PPE business in FY2021-22 compared to last year, ESOP costs, impact of new business currently in gestation phase, and increased freight costs

• Profit before tax increased by 82% from 170 cr in FY 2020-21 to 310 cr in FY 2021-22. Profit after tax increased by 97% from 148 cr in FY 2020-21 to 293 cr in FY 2021-22. Net profit margin improved to 3.3% in FY 2021-22 from 2.4% in FY 2020-21

• Cash flows from operations stood at 403 cr in FY 2021-22 against 379 cr in FY 2020-21

• Basic earnings per share stood at 95.38 in FY 2021-22 as against 32.37 in FY 2020-21 growth of 195% vs last year

Key Financial Ratios

Sr No. Particulars	FY 2020-21	FY 2021-22	Change
1 Interest coverage ratioa	7.76x	12.09x	4.33x
2 Current ratio	1.12x	1.11x	-0.01x
3 Debt equity ratiob	0.68x	0.67x	-0.02x
4 Operating profit margin (%)c	3.2%	3.8%	0.6%
5 Net profit margin (%)d	2.4%	3.3%	0.9%
6 Return on net worth (%)	20.7%	31.3%	10.5%
7 Debtors turnover ratio	6.83x	6.21x	-0.62x
8 Inventory turnover ratio	26.30x	24.23x	-2.07x
9 Return on capital employed (%)e	25.8%	37.9%	12.1%

a) Interest coverage ratio is calculated as Earnings Before Interest, and Tax (including other income) over Interest. The change is attributable to 70% increase in Earnings Before Interest, and Tax vs. 9% increase in Interest. b) Debt equity ratio is calculated as Total Borrowings over Total Equity (including Non Controlling Interest) of the Company. The change is attributable to a increase in Total Debt and increase in Total Equity due to higher Profit After Tax. c) Operating profit margin is calculated as Earnings Before Interest and Tax (including Other Income) over Revenue from Operations of the Company. The change is attributable to increase in Other Income. d) Net profit margin is computed as Profit after Tax over Revenue from Operations. The change is attributable to increase in Earnings Before Interest and Tax.

e) Return on capital employed is calculated as Earnings Before Interest and Tax over Total Equity plus Net Debt. The return on capital employed improved during the year because of increase in Earning Before Interest and Tax and reduction in net borrowing.

PDS has emerged stronger than before in FY 2021-22, through a strategic play of geographic and product diversification, along with strengthening our focus on customer-centricity. PDS has already leaped over the pre-COVID levels and the financial and operational milestones achieved this year are testimonies to it. Taking a targeted approach to double our growth with a strong commitment, fortifies the future and sets us apart in the industry.

4. Outlook

During FY 2021-22, COVID-related uncertainties petered out in geographies that made significant progress in vaccination levels, resulting in growth in these markets. However, global markets are expected to remain complex due to inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, logistical bottlenecks, manufacturing delays, and political uncertainties.

For the fashion industry, growth has resumed with the unleashing of pent-up demand for return-to-office and occasion-specific clothing. The global fashion growth will reach to 96-101% of 2019 levels in 2021 and to 103-108% of 2019 levels in 2022 (Source: State of Fashion 2022 by McKinsey & Co. & BoF).

At PDS, we are turning challenges into opportunities by learning from the last two years and strengthening our business model with agility. After achieving new milestones during the year, we are aiming higher and wider with our geographic and product category expansions, strengthened team, enhanced scale, and a greater focus on sustainability.

We continue to implement various cost-optimisation measures (e.g. choosing the right partner manufacturer for the right order) and efficient logistics to maximize returns. With the help of our asset-light model, maturing of our new business verticals over the next 2-3 years, and turnaround of manufacturing, we are set to generate higher returns on capital employed. We are expecting to enhance long-term value for our shareholders through our investments in sustainable and tech-backed ventures.

5. Technology and Infrastructure

Our experienced technology team keeps our information technology infrastructure running and has enabled our teams to work from home without any disruptions or security compromise. We implement cutting-edge technologies in our business to stay ahead of the curve. These include 3D design, sampling and fit to reduce lead times. Our virtual showroom helps us in reducing travel costs and sample freights. These initiatives also enable us to reduce our carbon footprint and further our sustainability agenda.

6. Risk Management

We have a well-defined risk management framework, which identifies relevant risks, defines and prioritises them and undertakes measures to mitigate the same.

7. Human Resource Management

With our ‘People First’ approach, we aspire to make PDS a ‘Great Place to Work’, where employees trust each other, take pride in what they do, and enjoy the company of the people they work with. During FY 2021-22, we partnered with Great Place to Work? Institute to conduct the Employee Engagement Survey.

The employees of the Company as of March 31, 2022 are 144. The total employees of PDS Group are c.3,300 and 5,800+ factory associates.

Please refer to page 48 for a detailed discussion on our people practices.

8. Internal Audit and Controls

We have a robust system of internal controls, designed to ensure the reliability of financial and other information and records for preparing financial statements and other data, and for maintaining accountability of assets. This internal control system is supplemented by a comprehensive programme of internal audits, reviews by senior management and documented policies, guidelines, and procedures. The internal audit findings provide vital inputs for risk identification and assessment. Further, periodic assessment of business risks is carried out to identify significant risks to the achievement of our business objectives.

Disclaimer

Statements in this management discussion and analysis describing the Company’s objectives, projections, estimates and expectations are categorised as ‘forward looking statements’ within the meaning of applicable laws and regulations. Actual results may differ substantially or materially from those expressed or implied. Important developments that could affect the Company’s operations include competition, employee cost and significant changes in the political and economic environment in India, environmental standards, tax laws, litigation and labour relations amongst other factors.