In a letter addressed to shareholders, Himalaya Foods International Chairman, ManMohan Malik unveiled the comapany’s growth plans.
The Letter read: “In May 2022 there was fire in Gujarat plant fueled by electric short circuit in PU paneled structure in Cold stores & production halls that raged for 40 Hours and gutted all processing facilities. However the grace was; we could save all our workers & prevented explosion of huge storage of Ammonia that could have spread across all surrounding villages.
Damage is huge but we believe that Cosmos has pressed the reset button and burnt all our mistakes so that we can rebuild a new & better facility. Himalaya is blessed with the ability to have endured multiple tragedies in last one decade without loosing the courage & faith to propel into the hitherto elusive orbit of Great Success ! Immediately after the fire we swung in action and took these steps: o We created quick small capacity to work 24/7 at Vadnagar plant to meet the backlog of huge export orders. o The Paonta frozen products Unit that was lying shut at Paonta Sahib has been revived and will be in full operationEfrom this month. We are in process of selling parcels of excess land within the current year. We plan to pay balance debt of Rs 54 Crores to the banks from our sale of excess land and from Insurance Claim within this year and shall be Debt Free during the current FY ending March ZOZ3. We plan to use all cash generation to strengthen our working capital and use surplus to rebuild the Burnt-out facility to house the 10 Ton Per Hour line for French Fries. The line was purchased few years back but could not be put in operation earlier & is reflected as WIP; work in progress in Balance Sheet. We are confident to not only come out of the current situation created by Fire but shall enter the most productive period in the history of the Company. we appreciate and thank you for your patience and support in all upheavals.