Performance of four state govt agri PSUs slides

With a total of 55 PSUs owned by the State, the government releases a performance report of PSUs — Review of performance of state PSUs — every year. According to the report, the total turnover of 55 PSUs was Rs 1,11,460.19 crore in 2017-18, which was Rs 1,08,010.55 crore in 2016-17, registering a growth of 3.19 per cent.

Out of the 55 PSUs, 32 PSUs have earned a total net profit of Rs 569.32 crore. As many as 23 PSUs have suffered a total net loss of Rs 17,992.88 crore. Four PSUs of agriculture and allied sectors are among the 23 PSUs that suffered losses in 2017-18.

The four PSUs — Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation Ltd (TAFCORN), Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation Ltd (TANTEA), Tamil Nadu Medicinal Plant Farms and Herbal Medicine Corporation ltd (TAMPCOL) and Arasu Rubber Corporation Ltd (ARC) — together incurred losses to the tune of Rs 16.29 crore.

All four PSUs have registered negative growth in investment, net profit and net worth. Their investment also declined from Rs 53.7 crore In 2014-15 to Rs 44.6 crore in 2017-18.

Even as investments had increased to an all-time high of Rs 88.9 crore in 2015-16, it had declined to Rs 84.78 crore in 2016-17 and further slid to Rs 44.6 crore in 2017-18. The turnover has reduced from Rs 215.38 crore to Rs 181.73 crore. The NET profit had registered a negative growth resulting in a loss of Rs 16.29 crore. The NET profit in 2016-17 was Rs 1.96 crore. Due to erosion in profit, the cumulative loss of all the four PSUs increased from Rs 85.01 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 116.33 crore in 2017-18.

As a result of a decrease in net profit and an increase in cumulative loss, the net worth of the four units has decreased from Rs 173.87 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 127.96 crore in 2017-18. The net worth has been declining since 2014-15, according to the report.