Broadband technology company Sterlite Technologies (STL), announced that it has bagged a multi-year order of about Rs 170 crore to build a unified network management system for Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). The company said that it has already been supplying optical fibre cables and has developed a communication network for PGCIL.

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In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ankit Agarwal, MD, of the company, shed light on the order details and the company’s outlook.

Agarwal believes the recent order win has cemented the company’s relationship with Power Grid. Explaining the deal’s intricacies, he said that offering a solution to Power Grid provides automation and actionable insights to reduce power outages.

He said, “This is a win-win both for the customer as well as for STL and we believe that we should have further such opportunities coming up.”

On optical cables segment, he mentioned that the company is seeing an extremely strong run rate. Highlighting it further, he added that the company is seeing strong tailwinds in the US and Europe. According to him, optical interconnect orders were at Rs 700 crore and will grow at a fast pace, going ahead. Additionally, Agarwal mentioned that he is excited about Bharat Net and defence opportunities in India.

Also Read: Looking at cash generation to reduce debt by Q4FY23: Sterlite Technologies

He said, “We also have a very strong system integration business. We have been actively working with the defence, army and most recently with the Navy in building their complete network across the country and building their own security. As some of these opportunities come up particularly in India and now also in the UK, we continue to see how we can augment such opportunities.”

On the provisions and receivables figure in Q3, he explained that both are from a public sector company. He explained that the provision made in Q3 was a one-time provision, made as per prudent accounting norms. Detailing its impact on the bottomline, he said it came to around Rs 180-200 crore.

“This was linked to a public sector account and something that dates as far back as 18-24 months. So as we continue to review it on a monthly and quarterly basis, for this quarter and Q3FY22, we felt it’s prudent to take that into our books and hence we took it. We do not expect such provisions going forward,” said Agarwal.

Watch the video for the full interview.

(With PTI inputs)

(Edited by : Dipikka Ghosh)

First Published:Jan 27, 2022 1:24 PM IST