Kuala Lumpur, 14 Dec – Eversendai Corporation Bhd, one of the country’s leading integrated steel contractor and fabricator, is looking at turning into a RM2 billion turnover company by 2017.
Its Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director Datuk AK Nathan (pic) said with several projects in the pipeline as well as those in the bidding process, the company will be able to achieve its target in the next five years.
“We are moving in line with what we have already planned and we will achieve that. I would not be surprised if we achieve it earlier. Our target is 2017,” he told Bernama in an interview recently.
Eversendai, which was listed on Bursa Malaysia last year, recorded a turnover of RM746.914 million in the nine months ended Sept 30, 2012.
Nathan said last year, the company hit RM1 billion in revenue and it is looking at surpassing that figure this year.
“With all these orderbook in hand and new jobs in the process of being concluded, we foresee a very exciting this year and next year,” he said.
The group, which currently has an orderbook worth RM1.5 billion and in the midst of bidding for some RM12 billion worth of jobs locally and around the world, is already present in six countries to date.
The current orderbook can last the company for three years, he said.
Nathan, who proudly admitted that he is a product of the Look East policy mooted by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, does not believe in depending only in a single market to survive.
Entering into other world markets….
After already stamping a strong mark in India and the Middle East, he is now entering the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) market and is currently eying the African continent to spread his wings.
“We already got the job in Azerbaijan but have not sorted out the paperwork yet, so we cannot declare the job yet. There are also few other projects in the pipeline in that region,” he said.
On the African continent, Nathan said it offers good prospect as the region comprises countries that are still growing in terms of development.
“Some of these countries have oil find so when there is an oil find, the country becomes richer and have more money to spend for development. With this kind of development, we will have more opportunity,” he said.
Turning to the local scene, he said the company is gradually increasing its presence locally by bidding some of the development and infrastructure projects.
“In Malaysia, we are targeting about RM500 million to RM1 billion worth of jobs next year. It will be a combination of few such as infrastructure and high-rise buildings,” he said, adding that contribution from local projects to the group’s revenue will increase to 15 per cent with these projects in hand.
He said the contribution from local business to revenue will increase to about eight per cent from last year’s five per cent while contribution from overseas last year was 95 per cent.
“Eversendai is a very strong company with very strong fundamental values and with such fundamental values, we are already contributing overseas, I think we can very well contribute in Malaysia,” he added.
-Bernama
