(AVIATION WEEK'S INDIA THOUGHT LEADERS Q&A SERIES)
By Anantha Krishnan M. | Aviation Week
Bangalore, India | May 28, 2010
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) sits on a robust order book close to Rs 80,000 crore, showing the company’s resounding health. As the backbone of the armed services, especially the Indian Air Force (IAF), HAL has firmed up a flight path to stay on top as South Asia’s market leader. Brightening its outlook are a series of fixed-wing and rotary platform projects. The offset policy has also been a huge blessing, with a number of global leaders working closely with HAL. Provisional sales for 2009-10 stood at Rs 11,415 crore, up about 10% over the previous year, while the profit before tax for the year stood at Rs 2,617 crore, with growth of 12% over the previous year. The order book has also swelled by more than Rs 12,000 crore during the year. At the company’s controls is a man who has ushered in a new shop-floor-driven, intense working philosophy. AVIATION WEEK met HAL Chairman Ashok Nayak as part of its India Thought Leaders (ITL) series.
AW: How far has HAL been able to penetrate the global market? Where do you position HAL by 2012?
A.N.: HAL is emerging as a globally competitive aerospace company, winning the confidence of customers through the supply of high-precision structural work packages to leading global aerospace companies such as Airbus and RUAG in Europe, Boeing in North America and Embraer in South America. We will gradually focus on export of indigenously developed helicopters and trainer aircraft in the future. We will strive to harness the opportunities that emerge through offset. These should take the HAL export sales to substantially higher values in the years to come.
