Blue Star Ltd - Stock Valuation and Financial Performance

Blue Star is India's leading air conditioning and commercial refrigeration company. The company has huge stores for room ACs, packaged air conditioners, chillers, cold rooms as well as refrigeration products and systems. Blue Star’s integrated business model of a manufacturer, contractor and after-sales service provider enables it to offer an end-to-end solution to its customers, which has proved to be a significant differentiator in the marketplace. In fact, every third commercial building in India has a Blue Star product installed.

The Company fulfills the cooling requirements of a large number of corporate, commercial as well as residential customers. Blue Star has also forayed into the residential water purifiers business with a stylish and differentiated range including India’s first RO+UV Hot & Cold water purifier; as well as the air purifiers and air coolers businesses. The Company also offers expertise in allied contracting activities such as electrical, plumbing, fire-fighting and industrial projects, in order to offer turnkey solutions, apart from execution of specialised industrial projects.

Blue Star's other businesses include marketing and maintenance of imported professional electronics and industrial products and systems, which is handled by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company called Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Ltd. The Company has manufacturing facilities at Dadra, Himachal Pradesh, Wada and Ahmedabad, which use modern, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment to ensure that the products have consistent quality and reliability.

Business area of the company

Blue Star offers one of India’s widest range of air conditioning and commercial refrigeration products, as well as a comprehensive range of air purifiers, water purifiers, air coolers, cold storages and specialty products. The diverse air conditioning product range serves both commercial and residential segments, and includes a solution for every need. Blue Star serves homes through precision inverter, split and window ACs. Commercial complexes and condominiums are served through a wide range of state-of-the-art VRFs and ducted systems. Showrooms, offices and ATMs use the Company’s commercial solutions including a range of standard split ACs as well as mega split, cassette, and verticool ACs. Blue Star’s chillers adorn landmark buildings and mega structures such as airports, malls, hospitals and industrial establishments.

Products

• Room Air Conditioners
  
• Water Purifiers
  
• Air Purifiers
  
• Air Coolers
  
• Cassette Air Conditioners
  
• Mega Split Air Conditioners
  
• Verticool Air Conditioners
  
• Water Coolers
  
• Central Air Conditioning
  
• Commercial Refrigeration
  
• Cold Storages
  
• Speciality Products

Awards and recognitions

2016-17

• Blue Star was recognised as the ‘MEP Company of the Year’ at the Annual Metro Rail India Summit 2017.
• Blue Star Oman Electro-Mechanical Company LLC has won the ‘Most Promising MEP Contractor’ at the Dossier Construction’s Infrastructure Awards & Summit 2016.
• Blue Star received the Brand Excellence Award in FMCG sector (Consumer Durables) in 2016.
• Blue Star chillers were certified by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) for achieving a 100% success rate in the performance testing of the air cooled as well as water cooled chillers in 2016.
• The Company won the Water Digest Awards 2017 for the ‘Best Domestic RO+UV Purifier’ in the country.

2017-18

• Blue Star was recognised as the MEP Contractor of the Year at the 'Construction Week India Awards 2017’.
• Blue Star received a commendation, ‘Strong Commitment to Excel’ at ‘CII-EXIM Bank Awards for Business Excellence, 2017’.
• Blue Star won the IDC Insight Awards for Operational Excellence 2017 for its mobile-based Preventive Maintenance Service app.
• Blue Star won an award for its mobile field service app at the ‘12th Annual CIO 100 Symposium and Awards ceremony 2017’ and at the ‘Manufacturing IT Summit 2017’.

2018-19

• Blue Star was recognised in “Best Brands 2019” by the Economic Times group.
• Blue Star was felicitated at the YES Bank Best CFO & Digital Transformation Awards 2018, with an award for its remote monitoring project ‘rView’, under the category ‘Best Customer Excellence’.
• Blue Star’s Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Service Group won a ‘Customer Excellence in Manufacturing and Engineering’ award for its Service Management Mobile app at the Indian Merchants’ Chambers Digital Technology Awards.
• Blue Star’s Himachal Pradesh Plant won the ‘KK Pillar Best Kaizen’ award at the 11th National TPM Circle Competition organised by CII.
• Blue Star Customer Service Group won the ‘Gold Plus’ award at the CII-EXIM Bank Awards for Business Excellence and was also commended with the ‘Gold Plus’ award at the 26th Quality Summit 2018.
• Blue Star won the 'MEP Contractor of the Year' award at Construction Week India 2018 Awards for the third time at the 8th edition of the Construction Week India 2018 Awards.
• Blue Star’s Water Purifier Division’s innovative product, Stella, was awarded the ‘Best Domestic RO+UV Water Purifier’ in the country for the third time in a row and Blue Star’s Research & Innovation Center (R&I)-WPD was awarded the 'Best Water R&D and Technological Breakthrough’ for its product, ‘Eternia’ at the 13th edition of Water Digest Awards.

2019-20

• Wada Plant won the ‘Excellence Award’ for ‘5S’ Kaizen Implementation.
• Dadra Plant won the first prize at the 31st Quality Circle Regional Finals organised by CII.
• Won the prestigious Golden Peacock awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance-2019.
• Won the prestigious Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Ethics-2019.
• Best Governed Company award in the medium listed company category at the 19th ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance.
• Won the ‘MEP Contractor of the Year’ award at Construction Week India 2019 Awards for the fourth time at the ninth edition of the Construction Week India 2019 Awards.
• ‘Cold Room Manufacturer of the Century’ at the ‘Hall of Fame Awards’ by the Indian Food Service Equipment Council
• Gold Award for quality concepts in the International Convention on Quality Concepts, Japan.
• CIO Award for digital transformation.
• Negative Temperature condensing unit adjudged ‘Innovative Refrigeration Product of the Year 2019’ at Refcold India Emerson Awards

History and milestones

• 1943: Blue Star was founded in 1943 by Mohan T Advani, an entrepreneur of exemplary vision and drive. The Company began as a modest 3-member team engaged in reconditioning of air conditioners and refrigerators.
• 1943-46: Within three years after inauguration, the Company obtained the sole agency of US-based Melchoir Armstrong Dessau Company and several other companies manufacturing air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Shortly after, the Company was selected by Worthington, the US leader in air conditioning, as its India based partner - these were the first of numerous foreign associations to follow. An expanding Blue Star then ventured into the manufacture of ice candy machines and bottle coolers, and also began the design and execution of central air conditioning projects. This was followed by the manufacture of water coolers.
• 1949: The proprietorship company set its sights on larger expansions, took on shareholders and became Blue Star Engineering Company Private Limited. After this, it witnessed constant and profitable growth, expanding into new product lines, and in a big move, also began exporting to Dubai.
• 1960: During these years, a team of dedicated professionals further grew the company. Employee strength crossed the 1000 mark and the company went public in 1969 to become Blue Star Limited, as it continues to be called today.
• 1970: In 1970, the company took up the all-India distributorship of Hewlett-Packard products. In addition, a series of prestigious projects were entrusted to Blue Star - skyscrapers such as Air India Building, Express Towers, the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, as well as several others. Revenues touched the ?10 crore mark and staff strength doubled to exceed 2000.
• 1978: The company began building upon existing overseas presence. Blue Star set up a joint venture with Al Shirawi in Dubai and went on to execute some outstanding projects in Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. To complement its air conditioning projects and undertake turnkey industrial projects, an Industrial Division was set up in 1978.
• 1984: Ashok M Advani and Suneel M Advani, the sons of Mohan T Advani, took over the reins of the company, after spending nearly 15 years within the company steadily climbing up the ladder. A renewed thrust was placed on the company's core business areas - air conditioning and refrigeration, and distribution of professional electronics equipment - and the company emerged a market leader in these focus areas.
• 1990: India entered an era of economic liberalisation and witnessed an upsurge in competition as the dynamic business scenario attracted the world's most forward-looking corporations. It was time to relook at existing business competencies, re-engineer those that were obsolete and forge ahead in acquiring new business competencies. Blue Star rose to the challenge and expansion continued unabated.
• 1997: In keeping with this focus, an advanced manufacturing facility was set up at Dadra, in technical collaboration with Rheem, USA, to enhance manufacturing competency. Today, it bears the distinction of being regarded as a state-of-the-art plant India-wide. The dealer network was strengthened and expanded to bring products within easy reach of every customer across India.
• 2000: The software unit was spun off into a separate company, Blue Star Infotech Ltd, the export of air conditioning products from the Dadra factory began and contract manufacturing for local and foreign brands commenced. A new corporate vision was developed - ‘To deliver a world-class customer experience’.
• 2002-03: Blue Star crossed the Rs 500 crore milestone in 2000 and the Rs 600 crore milestone in 2002-03. With the boom in construction activity and increased infrastructure investments, the company leveraged its leadership position to grow aggressively. In the following three years, the company nearly doubled its revenue, clocking Rs 1,178 crores in 2005-06.
• 2008: The company ventured into the electrical contracting business, offering customers mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services. From a logistical and technological perspective, this move was facilitated by the company's acquisition of Bangalore-based Naseer Electricals Private Limited.
• 2010: Blue Star strengthened its electro-mechanical projects business through the strategic acquisition of DS Gupta Construction Private Limited, the largest independent plumbing and fire-fighting contracting company in India. This move fortified Blue Star's position, placing it among India's leading companies in the MEP field.
• 2011-15: Blue Star was witnessing a significant demand from the residential segment given the higher disposable income and the growing middle class who are upwardly mobile and seek comfort. The company significantly altered its marketing mix, launching a contemporary and stylish range of split air conditioners to appeal to home consumers, as well as distribution through home appliance retail outlets and enhanced advertising budgets. This foray met with resounding success and Blue Star's room air conditioners sales grew considerably, despite almost flat sales growth in the overall room air conditioners industry.
• 2015: Blue Star crossed the Rs 3,000 crore revenue milestone in 2015. The company identified a new value proposition of 'Nobody Cools Better' which highlights the unmatched expertise, experience and deep understanding of the science of cooling that Blue Star offers to its customers. In 2015, the PE&IS business of the company was transferred to a separate subsidiary called Blue Star Engineering & Electronics in April 2015. The PE&IS business is distinctly different from the air conditioning and refrigeration businesses of the company with minimal business synergy between the two. This independent identity along with specialised resources will enable the business to maximise its full potential. Blue Star has proven that an Indian manufacturer could develop the technology and build a product that meets global standards. Today, Blue Star's room air conditioners are available in 3,500 outlets in over 500 locations spread across the length and breadth of India, via exclusive and multi-brand sales and service air conditioning dealers, retail showrooms and modern trade. The company has also built up a strong installation and service franchise network to support the retailers. It is also working on identifying and developing new opportunities in markets such as the Middle East, North Africa, SAARC and ASEAN regions. This focus will significantly enhance the Blue Star brand beyond India while providing growth opportunities for its businesses, and will go a long way in establishing Blue Star as a true global player.
• 2017: In FY17 Blue Star pioneered Precision Inverter ACs with ‘Precision Cooling Technology’ where the temperature can be set in decimal points. With the objective of further expanding its International footprint, Blue Star Limited formed a wholly owned subsidiary company, Blue Star International FZCO, with effect from April 18, 2017, headquartered in Dubai, UAE that manages the Global Products Sales Division and Global Projects Division including the Joint Ventures for the Company in Qatar, Malaysia and Oman.
• 2018: 2018 marks the Platinum Jubilee Year for Blue Star as the Company will be completing 75 years on September 27, 2018. With an annual revenue of Rs 4600 crores in 2018, the Company has extended its reach with 2900 channel partners, 5000 stores for room ACs, packaged air conditioners, chillers, cold rooms as well as refrigeration products and systems, along with 765 service associates reaching out to customers in over 800 towns.
• 2019: The company celebrated its Platinum Jubilee this year by launching 75 new models of room air conditioners. The range included energy-efficient inverter air conditioners capable of delivering 30% extra cooling over and above its rated capacity, leading to faster temperature pull-down. The Company has also unveiled a new line-up of super-efficient inverter ACs with a high Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) which consumes 18% less power compared to the existing 5-star ACs, thus setting a new benchmark on the energy-efficiency front.
• 2020: The company has launched wide range of new products and solutions with Virus Deactivation Technology (VDT). Blue Star’s new range of products and solutions with Virus Deactivation Technologies has the capability to deactivate viruses including COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) with up to 99.9% efficacy, when air passes through these systems. Also, the company launched new range of best-in-class residential air conditioners (ACs). This new range caters to the expectations of those customers who desire premium, high-quality ACs but at attractive prices.