SAIL-Tata Steel's mjunction to look at various verticals to boost earnings

Mjunction services, an online procurement and sales platform floated jointly by the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel, is now eyeing new verticals to boost revenue.

"We are now looking at various other verticals like tea, power, construction, automobiles and logistics to help increase our revenue," mjunction MD and CEO Viresh Oberoi told PTI.

Oberoi said mjunction had facilitated the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) to buy power online to meet its shortfall.

"So far, the Distribution Company (DISCOM) was purchasing power offline. Now after an online purchase, the company has been able to save a lot," he said. 

He said that this model was also being extended to tea companies.

"We are discussing with the tea companies regarding their purchase of tea from small Bought Leaf factories," he said.

Oberoi said that mjunction had helped Tata Tea buy 10% of their annual procurement of tea from Bought Leaf factories from Dooars and Assam regions. This will be extended to South India also, he said.

"We are now looking at construction, logistics and automobiles," Oberoi said.

He said that every year, there has been a 15% to 20% rise in revenue by new services.

For getting into more such areas, he said the company had set up an incubation cell to develop ideas.

Among financial services, mjunction will also enter online bill discounting business for which it had got the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) approval.

About financials, he said the company had been making profits and the value of transactions done was Rs 45,000 crore in the last fiscal.

"We are now looking at a top line growth of 30% year-on-year, out of which 20% will be from new businesses and 10% from old ones", he said.  

(Source: DNA, Assorted with PTI,  January 4, 2016)