At 30%, EIL doubles its share of overseas business in first two months of FY24

The state-owned Indian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company Engineers India Ltd (EIL) has registered a nearly two-fold increase in international orders to witness an unparalleled buoyancy in the segment within the first two months of the current financial year.

For the past several years, the contribution of international business to the revenues of the New Delhi-headquartered EIL has ranged between 12-14 per cent. However, since April the company has reported an up to 30 per cent increase there.

“In FY24, the total orders are about Rs 652.8 crore, out of which Rs 209 crore is from international business,” the first woman chairman & managing director of the 58-year-old company, Vartika Shukla, told reporters during an interaction Friday. 

Under Shukla’s leadership, EIL has been pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy in geographies where it either already has a strong presence or those offering potential for its future growth. The company which added Guyana in South America as a new region in FY23, is particularly targeting Abu Dhabi and Africa for its outward push for this year. 

Referring to the rising orders from the Middle East (Abu Dhabi region), Shukla said this was due largely to an upside in investments directed at enhancing the production of oil & gas before the transition to new and renewable sources of energy peaked globally. 

“It is very important that we cash in on these opportunities wherever they are available. And such opportunities are largely available in the Middle East. We are very well-positioned because of the long relationship with our clients there,” averred Shukla. 

She said EIL’s quality of services and the competitive pricing it offered gave it a natural advantage over other global EPC firms. 

“It is easier to break in there and the volumes are large. We have almost tripled our manpower in the Middle East, which shows the confidence that our clients have in us. Hence, we are consolidating our presence in the region,” she added. 

The bulk of orders received by EIL in the current fiscal is a mix of infrastructure and oil & gas. It recently bagged a project worth around Rs 160 crore for a greenfield urea and ammonia complex in Africa as well as bagged a contract valued at Rs 31.50 crore for minor engineering works for offshore facilities from Abu Dhabi National Oil Group of Companies (ADNOC).