STEADYING THE WARSHIP

Sanjeev Singhal led the revival of the company by adhering to timelines and tapping foreign orders

- BY KRISHNA GOPALAN

A visit to Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders offers a stunning view along the city’s 17-kilometre freeway with the sea forming the backdrop. Top that up with a history that goes back to 1774, and it really cannot get any better.

Chairman & Managing Director Sanjeev Singhal feels obvious joy while talking about the business. Just think about it. MDL, as it is known, started as a dock to service the ships of the East India Company merely 17 years after the British got a serious foothold in India by seizing control of the province of Bengal in the famous Battle of Plassey. Incorporated in 1934, the well-known name in the business of shipbuilding and submarines was acquired by the government in 1960. The storied company has since built 805 ships and is the only shipyard in the country that builds destroyers and submarines at the same location.

A major milestone for MDL was going public in October 2020 which, Singhal says, transformed the “shy company” into one that is tracked with a lot of interest. “It was a new experience for us,” he says. The public offering, right in the middle of the pandemic, was a resounding success. It was subscribed 157 times. The stock has not disappointed. From an offer price of ₹145 per share, it hit a peak of ₹2,930, and was trading around ₹2,249 on March 6.

GETTING IT TOGETHER