The tea company is focussing on increasing yields from six gardens spread over north and south India. It has four gardens known as the Manathvadi group in the Wynad district of south India. According to Wadhawan, the company has ambitious production plans to achieve which land has to be acquired and productivity increased.

``While the company is well placed to take up the challenges of increasing productivity, acquisition of land will require government support. Investments by the company towards maximising production capacities, particularly those of orthodox teas in the south, have paid rich dividends,'' he said.

According to SiddharthRampuria, a wholetime director of the company, Assambrook was optimistic about meeting the demands of quality production both in the domestic and international markets. ``A reduction of contingent liabilities and reduction of debts would be ensured in the current fiscal,'' he said.

Acquisition of gardens or diversification are not on the agenda of the tea major, which had taken up a major restructuring exercise by merging Assambrook Investments and Assambrook Exports, two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Rampuria-controlled tea major had also sold off Vineet Udyog Ltd, an associate company.

According to Rampuria, a restructuring process has helped Assambrook step up operational efficiencies and refocus its stance on core activity of production and manufacture of tea.

On account of firm prices of tea in the last one year, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 4.36 crore as against Rs 1.20 crore in the previous year. The sales turnover increased from Rs 31.41 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 43.51 crore in1998-99.