The theme of the Tata Chemicals 79th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Mumbai was 'transform, grow.'

This is much in line with the kind of the transformation that Tata Chemicals has been bringing to the business over the last financial year.

Over the last year, the Tata Group has exited businesses like fertilisers and increased focus on growing segments like food and consumer.

In June 2018, Tata Chemicals completed the sale of its Haldia fertiliser unit in West Bengal and the trading business to Netherlands-based Indorama Holdings.

The company has announced a revised reporting structure, which now breaks up the business into segments like basic chemistry products, consumer products and specialty products.

Addressing shareholders at the AGM, the management said that Tata Chemicals is looking at increasing cost efficiencies across businesses.

The big focus will be on scaling up nascent businesses which have good potential.

One such business is the consumer business. The company already has a presence in salt, spices, pulses and it's looking at scaling this up further.

Tata Chemicals is looking at increasing direct distribution to ensure that products are widely available in the market.

In an earlier Interview to CNBC-TV18, R Mukundan, managing director and chief executive officer, Tata Chemicals had said that the consumer business had the potential to scale up to Rs 5,000 crore over the next 3-4 years.

With its balance sheet significantly strengthened owing to divestments undertaken, the company expects to invest funds in capacity expansion across businesses.

At the end of Q4FY18, Tata Chemicals reported a consolidated net debt of about Rs 1,800 crore and hopes to be debt free very quickly.

With business momentum coming back, Tata Chemicals expects FY19 to be better than FY18.

First Published:Jul 26, 2018 7:45 AM IST