GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT
Business Today India|March 17, 2024
Bharat K. Sheth, Deputy Chairman & MD of Great Eastern Shipping, took the tough decisions early and that has helped the firm pounce on opportunities when they arise
Krishna Gopalan
GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT

LIKE FOR MANY executives across the world, the Lehman moment in 2008 was a big wake up call for Bharat K. Sheth. "We were always conservative as a company. Lehman taught us we were not conservative enough for Black Swan events and that was a huge learning," says the Deputy Chairman & Managing Director of The Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd.

It was time to get back to the basics, and that meant revisiting the risk model. From a fundamental point of view, it was about defining risk and how to prepare for the unexpected. "Shipping is a very capex-intensive business, and everything hinges on capital allocation. The question is: What is the leverage within which you are willing to play the game," explains Sheth.

A decision to cut back on debt was taken. Interestingly, the company was in very good shape (it had a triple A rating), and this was done proactively. There was a committed capex of $1.6 billion, but banks were understandably nervous, and funding could have become a challenge.

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