Chairman’s Speech

33rd Annual General Meeting

Dear Shareholders,

I am delighted to connect with all of you once again, albeit in a virtual setting. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I extend heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for taking the time to join us today. Your unwavering trust, encouragement, and wholehearted support to the Company and its Management are deeply appreciated.

I trust that you have received and reviewed the Company’s Annual Report and Audited Accounts for the financial year ended March 31, 2024. With your kind permission, I shall consider them as read.

To provide a comprehensive understanding of your Company’s performance during the year, I would like to begin by briefly outlining the prevailing macroeconomic environment in 2023-24. Following that, I will present the key highlights of your Company’s performance and shed light on the path forward:

As we reflect on the past fiscal year, we are proud to showcase our achievements and the progress we have made in realising our strategic goals. Currently, we have a sufficient sales force in place, with a few more team members added to support the new business lines acquired both domestically and internationally. Our focus is on ensuring efficient business management and streamlining operations throughout. With the existing team, I believe we can achieve significant sales growth, emphasising more effective and smoother business operations. As we continue to strategies and expand our horizons, our evolution from a primarily CIJ-focused company to a diverse provider of coding and marking solutions underscores our commitment to innovation and collaboration. Through strategic initiatives, we have nurtured our own technologies, facilitating expansion beyond our traditional offerings. This strategic evolution has enabled us to collaborate with various industries, driving growth in our non-CIJ business segment. By leveraging our expertise and fostering partnerships, we have diversified our product portfolio and outpaced the market. This approach has helped our Company gain market share steadily over the past few years. This success highlights our dedication to strategic planning, expansion into new territories, and collaborative efforts, propelling us towards continued growth and leadership in the industry.

Macro-Economic Indicators

Despite global challenges, the world economy is projected to showcase a consistent growth rate of 3.2% in FY 2024-25. A slight uptick is likely in advanced economies, while emerging markets are forecasted to witness a modest slowdown. In 2023-24, the Indian economy surged with GDP growth reaching 8.2%, positioning the country as the world’s fastest-growing major economy and the fifth-largest globally. This favourable economic climate in India is driving the demand for coding and marking solutions across various industries aligning with Control Print’s expertise and offerings.

Financial Performance

Control Print’s revenue saw substantial growth, rising from ₹ 291.41 Crores to ₹ 343.7 Crores, representing a notable increase of 17.94%. This positive trend highlights our capability to boost sales and enhance our market footprint. In addition, our net worth experienced a significant surge from ₹ 284.23 Crores to ₹ 328.10 Crores, demonstrating a substantial 15.43% growth. This boost underscores our financial stability and the value we have generated for our shareholders. Moreover, our EBITDA showed remarkable improvement, jumping from ₹ 78.43 Crores to ₹ 90.71 Crores. This leap points to our enhanced operational efficiency and effective management of costs and resources. Our Company’s profitability also saw a significant rise during this period. Our Profit before Tax (PBT) grew from ₹ 62.40 Crores to ₹ 75.25 Crores, reflecting a commendable growth of 21%. Additionally, our Profit after Tax (PAT) increased from ₹ 51.93 Crores to ₹ 55.61 Crores, marking a substantial 7.08% rise. These results highlight our dedication to maximising profitability and delivering shareholder value. As for our Company’s capital efficiency, our Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) improved significantly, surging from 21.59% to 24.63%. This improvement indicated our effective use of capital and higher returns on investment. Our Earnings Per Share (EPS) also showed notable growth, rising from ₹ 31.80 to ₹ 34.44, showcasing our commitment to enhancing shareholder value on a per-share basis. Furthermore, I am pleased to report that we have maintained a consistent dividend pay-out of ₹ 9 per share, reflecting our commitment to rewarding our valued Members.

Key Developments and Strategies

Currently, Control Print’s top priority is to maximize sales in India and Internationally. With this aim, our Company has significantly increased investments in Control Print B.V., a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) based in the Netherlands. This structure includes three companies, one of which is Markrpint B.V., second is Codeology Group Limited, acquired in this financial year has enhanced our product offerings in India and opened up the UK market for our products. Since, Codeology’s established customer base provides an excellent cross-selling opportunity. And the third is CP Italy S.r.l. represents a major opportunity in a related market, focusing on single-unit dose or low single-serve products. This strategic, long-term investment targets a large addressable market and creates new growth opportunities. As a part of our sales strategy, we have diverted our focus from smaller customers to larger deals with bigger clients, making use of our core strengths. These clients value the 99.5% reliability that we offer, compared to the 98% reliability of secondary players, including imports from China. This transition has led to the development of a new sales model focussing on high-value longer-gestation deals. Although we sold fewer printers in FY 2023-24 approximately 2,800 compared to approximately 3,200 in the previous year, the profitability and lifetime value of these sales have increased. Our goal is to boost sales volume further, while maintaining high quality standards, enhancing profitability and generating more business over the printer’s lifetime.

Way Forward

Looking ahead, our business profile would be distinct from our traditional coding and marking endeavours, driven by our recent acquisitions abroad. We are exploring new opportunities in these areas and have also made substantial investments therein. For our community of investors, it is essential to understand the nature of these investments and the rationale behind them.

We have undertaken three distinct types of expansions, all carefully planned.

1. We are enhancing our digital printing capabilities for coding to meet the rising demand for printing more detailed information online.
2. We have ventured into the track and trace business through our software division, where we have invested significantly over the past two years. This investment is now bearing fruit, as we are receiving positive feedback and a steady stream of orders, reaching the breakeven point.
3. We are expanding to new geographies, a strategy that we have discussed previously. These initiatives represent our commitment to diversifying our operations and exploring new markets for growth.

 As we forge ahead with our strong capabilities to drive stronger progress, we extend our sincere appreciation to the Board of Directors for their passionate and skilful leadership. We also express our profound gratitude to all our stakeholders for their continued trust and support. Moreover, our journey would be incomplete without acknowledging the persistent efforts of all our employees. Their commitment to crafting top-notch products aligns well with our Company’s strategic goals and sustainability endeavours. Together, we will continue to propel innovation, exceed expectations, and create a brighter future for Control Print Limited.

Regards,
Basant Kabra
Chairman & Managing Director