Best of times are well within reach, says Anand Mahindra

Mumbai:  Mahindra Group will continue to invest in successful businesses and prepare for the future by nurturing and investing in verticals that have a potential of over a billion-dollar market cap, while ‘appropriate action’ is being taken on those not lived up to their plans, its Chairman Anand Mahindra said Friday.

Addressing the company’s shareholders at the annual general meeting, Mahindra said the COVID-19 pandemic has turned lives upside down and the economy faces an uncertain future. He, however, added that it has given “us an opportunity to reboot our thinking, to reinvent our approach and to recommit ourselves to our financial goals”.

Recollecting how the group navigated what it “appeared to be the worst of times” in 2002 when the share price of M&M had come down to Rs 56, he said the group took action to turn things around with a ruthless focus on financial returns.

He added that “in 2018, we were declared to be the best-performing stock on the Nifty since 2002”.

“We have the ability to turn the worst of times into the best of times. And, it is our happy experience that the worst of times is often just the trigger that propels us towards the best of times,” he said.

Today, Mahindra said, “The pendulum has swung again towards tough times. Since 2018, the upward graph has shown quite a dip. The last couple of years have been tough for the whole world and we are no exception.”

He added that side by side, with pursuing ambitious goals, “we had to battle on many fronts and face a number of so called ‘black swans’. The COVID-19 crisis, however, has given us an opportunity to reboot our thinking, to reinvent our approach and to recommit ourselves to our financial goals”.

Reiterating that growth continues to be the group’s goal, he said, “If anything, our focus on growth is sharper than before. We have already started identifying and taking appropriate action on businesses that have not lived up to their business plans.”

Mahindra further said, “We will commit ourselves to ambitious growth by continuing to invest in our successful businesses and prepare for the future by nurturing and investing in businesses that have a potential of over a billion dollar market cap.”

He added that far from abandoning dreams, the group is reigniting itself in a calibrated, strategic and well-thought-out manner.

“Today, our factories are humming again, we have reinvented our business, we have moved sale online (and) we are all set to rise,” Mahindra said.

He said, “I think life has led us full circle. In 2002, when we seemed to be facing the worst of times, we committed to a focus on financial returns — and succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations.”

Mahindra also said that in 2020, tough times are back again and the company is rededicating itself to those financial goals and growth aspirations with a laser sharp focus on financial returns. “I firmly believe that the worst will soon be behind us and the best of times are well within reach.”

(PTI)