HYDERABAD: Labour unrest erupted at the Regency Ceramics plant in Yanam just three days ahead of a board meeting scheduled for Jan. 30 to consider the troubled company’s unaudited financial results for the last quarter. Founded by G N Naidu in 1983, the company claims to be the country’s largest tile manufacturer but has been in the red for at least six years. The company manufactures ceramic tiles at its production facilities at Yanam and has a dealer network of 1,000.
Regency has been in the red for more than six consecutive financial years since 2005-06. The losses stood at Rs 0.36 crore in financial year 2007, going up to Rs 1.6 crore in FY 11. The spate of bad results forced the company to refrain from giving dividends to shareholders in the past few years.
In April 2009, Regency Ceramics opted for a corporate debt restructuring package with lenders whereby unsecured loans of Rs 15.89 crore were converted into equity share capital. As a result, the authorised share capital increased from Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore in FY10.
As of Dec. 2011, promoters control more than half the stake in the company with a 57.33 per cent stake of which 32.19 per cent has been pledged. They also hold an additional 17.49 per cent stake indirectly through entites chiefly -- Regency Transport Carriers Ltd, Regency Farms Ltd and Green Wave Marine Harvest Ltd.
The remaining 27.18 per cent is with the public, mutual funds and financial institutions. Regency was pulled up by EPFO in Dec. 2010 for defaulting on Provident Fund, pension & EDLI contributions, administration charges and penal damages aggregating to Rs 34.70 lakh. The matter is still under evaluation.