Aditya Birla Group to focus on cash conservation in near term

In a letter to the shareholders of Hindalco Industries, an Aditya Birla Group company, Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla also said that the group will also emphasise the safety of its teams and assets.

"In these turbulent and dynamic times, the Group's near term focus is to hold the ship steady and to see it through the turbulence - by emphasising on conservation of cash, the safety of its teams and assets, and strengthening its business relationships," Birla said.

He also said that the group is also closely examining the evolving changes in the business environment and their implications, to position itself well for leveraging the opportunities through and after the economic revival.

The Chairman said that over a longer historical arc, the Aditya Birla Group has witnessed dramatic disruptions across periods, businesses, and geographies but has come out stronger always.

"A wide range of insights and experiences accumulated over diverse situations, allows the Group to fortify its businesses from both the immediate and the lingering effects of economic pain, caused by the pandemic," he said.

He said that the group's businesses proactively created 'Business Continuity Plans' working through different scenarios. Over the last few months, business models have been re-assessed, to identify strategic and tactical opportunities to improve effectiveness, prune avoidable costs as well as prepare for the new normal, Birla told the shareholders.

About the new opportunities ideated and explored in Aditya Birla Group, he said that the retail business has made an "emphatic" foray into masks, chemical business is producing disinfectants, and the fibre business is now manufacturing anti-bacterial fibre.