Kirloskar Pneumatic, which registered a turnover of Rs 42 crore during the first five months of the current year (almost the same as for the corresponding period for the previous year) with order bookings of about Rs 70 crore, should be able to wipe out its losses during the current year and post a respectable profit, he added.

Kirloskar Pneumatic has reduced 300 workers during the period May-August 1998. It has also started a process of re-engineering its products to reduce material content and manufacturing expenses.

The company recorded sales of Rs 163 crore (Rs 210 crore) and a loss of Rs 3.98 crore (gross profit of Rs 9.61 crore) during 1997-98. It has put its road-railer project on hold for now owing to the tight money position. The project involves the development of multi-modaltransport in which the railways have revived interest.

Giving an overview of the company's performance during 1997-98, Kirloskar said sales of the air compressor division dropped to Rs 67.9 crore, from Rs 109.4 crore, while sales of the air conditioning and refrigeration division fell to Rs 52.8 crore from Rs 59.5 crore. The transmission division sales rose to Rs 41.7 crore from Rs 42.8 crore. Among the thrust areas for the current year are marine and industrial gear box businesses.

Kirloskar said air conditioners for buses and the railways will be introduced in the current year. The market for air conditioning units for the railways is estimated at about Rs 20 crore, amounting to about 1,000 units annually.

Kirloskar Pneumatic had made an open offer to acquire 20.51 lakh shares of KG Khosla Compressors Ltd at Rs 21 per share. Kirloskar Pneumatics and others have now raised their stake in the company to about 42 per cent. The company invested Rs 6 crore in the acquisition.