Welspun Enterprises, PSP Projects and Ahluwalia Contracts (India) were announced and awarded as India's fastest growing construction companies in the ‘Small’ category at the 19th edition of the CONSTRUCTION WORLD ANNUAL AWARDS (CWAA) – a calendar event for all industry stalwarts – held this year on October 22. The awards are organised by CONSTRUCTION WORLD, the largest circulated construction business magazine in India.

Further, the data that led CW to its winners – India’s Largest and Fastest Growing Companies – has been collated and compiled by FIRST Construction Council (FCC) that engages in researching information and ranking construction and infrastructure companies.

The CWAA was part of the 7th INDIA CONSTRUCTION FESTIVAL (ICF) organised by FCC, an infrastructure think-tank set up in 2003, focused on providing latest updates on the construction industry in India, and dedicated to promoting its causes and needs. FCC provides a platform to promote the adoption of best practices and to be the torchbearer for all policy initiatives that are needed to enhance the importance and welfare of the construction industry and the industry’s unified voice.

The winners

Construction companies have been categorised as under:

1st rank: Welspun Enterprises won the 1st rank for the Fastest Growing Construction Companies in the Small Category.

Part of the Welspun Group, the key activity of Welspun Enterprises is the infrastructure business. Apart from that, it holds equity investments in Welspun Natural Resources Pvt Ltd (oil and gas exploration). In infrastructure, Welspun Enterprises has developed and operates PPP projects in various sectors like roads, water and urban infrastructure. In the highway sector alone, it has successfully completed six BOT (toll) road projects with a total length of over 500 km. Welspun Natural Resources owns a 35 per cent stake in Adani Welspun Exploration Ltd, a JV with the Adani Group, and has interest in various oil and gas exploration blocks in India and abroad, either directly or through its subsidiaries and JVs.

The company is unique in the Indian infrastructure space as it has a significant net cash balance, unlike most other companies that are burdened with high amounts of debt. It has a differentiated business model with a focus on HAM projects. Further, in EPC as well, construction is outsourced to the best-suited contractor and Welspun focuses on high value-added activity projects. The company has an order book of Rs 8,400 crore as on March 31, 2021. It has an adequate cash balance of Rs 375 crore to fund the future equity requirements of its project portfolio. It is also well diversified with water EPC at 30 per cent; HAM EPC at 35 per cent, BOT at 10 per cent and normal EPC at 25 per cent. Going ahead, the company is likely to continue to explore inorganic growth opportunities through a measured evaluation of risk-return parameters.

2nd rank: PSP Projects won the 2nd rank for the Fastest Growing Construction Companies in the Small Category.

Incorporated in August 2008, PSP Projects is a construction company offering a diversified range of construction and allied services. It is a one-stop shop providing planning and design to construction and post-construction solutions. The company has a proven track record in delivering on-time and quality projects across diverse industry segments and projects, by leveraging technology and best industry practices. To date, it has completed 166 projects with a focus on industrial, institutional and high-profile government projects. A key factor is long-standing relationships with customers who have provided repeat business.

On March 31, 2021, the order book of PSP Projects stood at Rs 4,120.97 crore (Rs 3,073.56 crore in FY20). It also has growing prequalification credentials. In FY21, the company completed 23 projects despite the COVID-19 challenge. In fact, the average size of the order book increased over the period. The company is well diversified on the geographical front as well category-wise. On the financial front, it posted a top line of Rs 1,240.86 crore in FY21 compared to Rs 1,499.26 crore in FY20. For FY21, EBITDA stood at Rs 132.52 crore as against Rs 190.94 crore in FY20. PAT for FY21 was Rs 81.04 crore as against Rs 128.03 crore in FY20.

3rd rank: Ahluwalia Contracts (India) (ACIL) won the 3rd rank for the Fastest Growing Construction Companies in the Small Category.

Ahluwalia Contracts (India) (ACIL) is an engineering and construction company delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and buildings projects for clients in India. Four decades of a strong, customer-centric approach with sharp focus on world-class quality have enabled ACIL to deliver projects that leave a lasting legacy. Its extraordinary track record of success in all segments of construction has earned it the reputation of a technology-driven, resource-rich organisation with high standards. ACIL’s pursuit of engineering and construction perfection, which have been achieved through ground-breaking technologies, creative systems and procedures, has aided the company in delivering challenging projects and solutions on time, maintaining the best quality and within budget. The company has expanded its expertise across industries and geographies with experiences in working on residential, commercial, institutional, corporate offices, power plants, hospitals, hotels, IT parks, metro stations and depots and automated car parking lots for both government and private clients.

As for financial performance in FY21, the company has witnessed a slight decline in its gross order book by 0.72 per cent compared to the previous financial year to Rs 12,262.55 crore. Revenues from operations increased 5.16 per cent from Rs 1,884.97 crore in FY 20 to Rs 1,982.19 crore in FY21. EBITDA witnessed an increase of 0.80 per cent from Rs 153.01 crore in FY20 to Rs 154.24 crore in FY21. Subsequently, PAT increased by 19.87 per cent from Rs 64.44 crore in FY20 to Rs 77.24 crore in FY21. As a result, the EBITDA margin declined by 34 basis points to 7.78 per cent, whereas the PAT margin grew by 48 basis points to 3.90 per cent.

Click here to know who were the Fastest Growing Construction Companies in the Large Category. 
Click here to know who were the Fastest Growing Construction Companies in the Medium Category. 
Click here to know who was the Person of the Year in the Public Sector.
Click here to know who was the Person of the Year in the Private Sector.

The 19th CONSTRUCTION WORLD ANNUAL AWARDS 2021 was presented by Apollo Tyres; with Platinum Partner as APCO Infratech; Gold Partner - Larsen & Toubro; Silver Partner - Tata Projects; Associate Partners - Welspun Enterprises, Shyam Steel, Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon, Action Construction Equipment, J Kumar Infraprojects, KNR Constructions, GR Infra, Terex India, Sany India and BC India.