I don't think it is as bad as you are saying - but hey thats why this is a market right....
It rained... alot, then it rained more...
They weren't ready for it and had to learn how to operate in those conditions
Focus moved from production to optimisation - we are now better off for the experience
They have now got the land they need for Phase 3
Its also now stopped raining - they are filling orders (JSW deliveries have begun) and are ready to ramp up in 2018
"Make Iron Ore when the Sun Shines.."
“Importantly, the operational streamlining achieved during the quarter in line with the passing of the monsoon and its impacts has laid the foundations for an anticipated boost to quarterly sales.
“With a strong customer base and growing production profile, NSL is very well positioned to unlock considerable value during the course of 2018.”
In terms of Cash in the door - given the size of our customers and their credit worthiness I wouldn't be suprised if we gave them generous payment terms. It doesn't exactly seem like India is a place where payment is made promptly either - see below link..
India has the highest DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) in Asia Pacific
On average, 55% of the total value of B2B invoices in India were reported to be paid late. Domestic B2B customers in India paid invoices late equally as often as foreign customers did. Compared to last year, the foreign default rate in India increased from 49.6% to 51.1%, whereas the default rate on the domestic market remained stable. Besides reflecting the benign economic conditions in India, this is likely to point to suppliers’ strong focus on the assessment of creditworthiness and payment history of the B2B customers to whom they offer credit terms.
Late payment of (domestic and foreign) B2B invoices in India is reflected in the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) figure resulting from survey responses. This averages 48 days (regional average: 41 days), is the longest in Asia Pacific and is nearly two weeks longer than one year ago. This likely points to significantly lower efficiency in the collection of long outstanding invoices of high value. As it will be expanded later on in this report, more suppliers in India (11%) than on average in Asia Pacific (7%) are of the opinion that the collection of long outstanding invoices, also from emerging markets, is the greatest challenge to their profitability this year.
More than five times as many Indian suppliers expect an increase in DSO over the next 12 months (75%) than an improvement (15%). This may reflect their concerns about efficient collection of outstanding invoices. Only 14% of Indian suppliers do not anticipate changes in DSO over the same time frame.
Domestic customers of suppliers in India are the slowest payers in Asia Pacific
Domestic and foreign B2B customers settle past due payments almost within the same time frame as they did last year (on average, 35 days after the invoice due date). It is worth noting that domestic B2B customers of suppliers in India appear to be the slowest to settle overdue invoices in Asia Pacific. Payment timing of overdue invoices from foreign customers (averaging 43 days late), instead, is the second lowest of the countries surveyed in the region, after those recorded in Australia. This means that Indian suppliers interviewed turn overdue invoices into cash, on average, around 65 days from the invoice date. This is slightly above the average for Asia Pacific (nearly 60 days).
Payment practices by industry in India
Suppliers surveyed in India reported trading on credit terms mainly with B2B customers in the agriculture, construction, chemicals, consumer durables, food, metals, machines and electronics industries. Invoice payment terms extended to B2B customers in the construction industry appear to be the longest (averaging 47 days from the invoice date) compared to all other industries with which suppliers surveyed in India trade on credit. These latter are significantly above the country and regional averages (around 30 days each).
Despite being granted longer than average terms for payment of invoices, B2B customers in the construction industry take the longest to pay overdue receivables (on average, 60 days after the invoice due date). The construction industry generated the largest proportion of past due B2B invoices. Around 65% of the total value of B2B invoices issued by Indian suppliers in this industry were paid late.
Based on survey responses, late payment of invoices due to liquidity constraints from customers occurred most often in the food and beverages and in the metals industries (67% of suppliers surveyed in India mentioned this). Nearly 55% of Indian suppliers (40% in Asia Pacific) reported that their B2B customers in the machines industry paid invoices late most often due to an intentional use of outstanding invoices as a form of business financing.
(20min delay)