The financial woes of the Travancore Cements Limited (TCL) appear no way near end as an initial attempt by the State-owned public sector undertaking (PSU) to tide over the crisis by selling off its property has now fallen flat.
With no buyers forthcoming for its land in Kakkanad, the company has now been forced to revise the opening price marked for the property. A tender floated by the company had set the opening price for the property at 20% higher than the fair value.
In view of an underwhelming response, it has now issued a revised invitation by adjusting the opening price to align with the fair value itself. In an effort to attract potential buyers from West Asia, the company has advertised the revised tender in Gulf-based newspapers too.
“The sale of the land is expected to fetch us an amount that will be enough to settle all our dues to suppliers and retired employees, besides securing a fair working capital,’’ said a company source.
The company aims to raise at least ₹40 crore through the sale of its 1.13 hectares of land, located at Vazhakala in Kakkanad. The proceeds from the sale is also expected to enable the company to resume the production of white cement.
While the lack of working capital has severely impacted production, the company has also failed to fulfil its provident fund obligations to employees since 2020. Adding to its woes is a huge backlog of debts on various counts including land lease, GST dues, and power dues that has accumulated over the past several years.
TCL, which is into manufacturing of white cement and wall putty under the brand name Vembanad, has ceased the production of white cement production with contractors refusing to supply clinker, a critical raw material. Despite this setback, wall putty production continues, albeit at a reduced volume.
Established in 1946, TCL raked in profits till 2000 but was severely bruised by the ban on dredging in Vembanad Lake for clams, its key raw material.
