The Rs 1,000-crore PSU, incurring an annual loss of around Rs 100 crore, has registered a loss of Rs 25.43 crore from its sales of Rs 197.49 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 1998, as compared to a loss of Rs 29.51 crore from sales of Rs 272.29 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year.

Each of the machine tools, automobiles (tractors) and watches divisions roughly contribute to one-third of the HMT's total turnover and losses. The company's Ajmer facility alone is understood to have incurred a cumulative loss of Rs 65 crore.

According to HMT executive director SK Chaturvedi, the board at its last meeting approved the revival plan to be implemented through a series of stringent measures, including increasing productivity, brand promotion and vigorousmarketing drive. He hoped the PSU would turn around by June. "We still have the best of the plants at all the locations to manufacture world-class precision goods; we just need to reactivate them and refurbish our image," he said.

In an informal chat with a visiting team of journalists from Ahmedabad, Chaturvedi said, "We have nobody but ourselves to blame for slipping down from 40 per cent market share once to eight per cent now. We had not cared to brace ourselves with the liberalisation."

"A large number of staff, including persons of general manager's rank, had left the organisation to join the rivals (like Titan). However, our biggest threat was to come from watch manufacturers in the unorganised sector and fake parts and components. We have even detected our dealers' connivance in selling other brands, subsequently getting their licences cancelled."

He claimed that HMT watches, ranging in prices from Rs 250 to Rs 70,000 (latter ones more a jewellery items), were still valued for theirprecision.

In the last FE-MODE survey of India's top 50 brands, consumers had voted `HMT' as the fifth most popular brand (next only to Britannia, Nirma, Doordarshan and Amul). It was only in socio-economic classification (SEC) by the top SEC A/B group that `Titan' was voted to fifth slot, relegating HMT to the tenth position.

It was found only in the city-wise analysis that Ahmedabad consumers, acting in a peculiar regional pattern, had voted Nirma as the most popular brand, followed by Parle, Amul and Thums Up pushing Titan (12th) above HMT (15th). In the same streak, it were only Ahmedabad consumers which showed more preference for Zee (9th) rather than Doordarshan (14th).

Referring to divestment plan for HMT's tractor division, Chaturvedi said, it was put on the backburner for some time but was now being revived with Mahindra & Mahindra coming forward with the highest bid. HMT tractors above 51 HP capacity still commanded a 40 per cent market share, the demand for which is likely to increase, hesaid.