Thomas Cook India : Transcript of the 44th Annual General Meetings of Thomas Cook (India) Limited held on 29th September, 2021

Transcript of the 44th Annual General Meeting of Thomas Cook (India) Limited held on 29th

September, 2021 at 3.00 pm through Video Conferencing/ other Audio Visual Means

Mrs. Kishori Udeshi, Chairperson - Ladies and Gentlemen, it is 03:00 pm and with your permission, I call this meeting to order.

Greetings from Thomas Cook India Group. I would like to warmly welcome you to our 2021 Annual General Meeting. This AGM marks our Second Virtual Annual General Meetings of this kind and my premiere address as Chairperson of the Company.

Let me introduce myself. I'm Kishori Udeshi, non executive chairperson and independent director. It's the second time that we miss an opportunity of face to face interaction because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the virtual format has enabled our shareholders to participate in the annual general meeting and to engage directly with us, as well as for you to vote on our resolutions

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank you all for joining us today on this virtual meeting. Before we proceed further I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my colleagues on the Board, Mr. Madhavan Menon - Managing Director, Mr. Mahesh Iyer, Executive Director and Chief executive officer, Mr. Nilesh Vikamsey - Independent Director and chairman of the Audit Committee, Mr. Sunil Mathur - Independent Director and chairman of the Nomination and remuneration Committee, Mr. Pravir Vohra - Independent Director and Chairman of Risk Management Committee and Stakeholder Relationship Committee, Mr Sumit Maheshwari, non- executive director and Mrs. Sharmila Karve Non executive Independent Director, Mr. Gopalakrishnan Non executive Independent Director. Mr. Chandran Ratnaswami non-executive director has sought leave of absence from the AGM due to his preoccupation.

I've been informed that we have the requisite quorum present and I declare this annual general meeting open.

With your permission, I take notice convening this meeting and the Directors report and the audited accounts already been circulated to you as read. Members may note that the statutory registers and documents required to be made available for member's inspection at the AGM are available for inspection through the electronic mode by members at the AGM.

Let me begin with the overall strategy that the Company adopted during the pandemic and the transformational developments during fiscal 2021 and thereafter.

The pandemic has created a Black Swan situation for the entire world. We are extremely grateful to all our frontline workers who have risked their lives to keep us safe. We are thankful to all our employees who delivered on their commitments despite these challenging times. Moreover, as we speak, there is positive news related to the progress of the vaccination drive across the country. We are happy to

inform that almost all our employees are vaccinated and the rest are waiting for the completion period. Additionally, we have introduced an Employee Covid Care Plan to extend support for family members of our employees who left us on account of Covid. This includes a one-time payment of a minimum of Rs. 10 lakh, extension of medical coverage for dependents, counselling support, personal loan waivers and immediate financial support to help family members recover.

Moreover, Thomas Cook India through its CSR arm - Fairfax India Charitable Foundation supports the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme through a unique Public Private Partnership model that harnesses government infrastructure, private sector expertise and financial support from corporates and individuals. I am happy to highlight that your Company is one of the very few which has maintained its resolve to contribute 5% of its profits towards CSR in these challenging times. Till Mar 31st 2021, your Company has successfully reached 13 states & Union Territories to provide support to 68 dialysis centers and has installed 199 dialysis machines and has invested around Rs. 9 million towards this cause. Since inception, the programme has resulted in installation of 536 machines with a total investment of Rs. 25 MN by Thomas Cook India.

Additionally, Thomas Cook India during the year extended its support towards building Covid support infrastructure. Your Company in consultation with Confederation of Indian Industry identified Kolhapur & Yavatmal districts as centres for improving oxygen supplies. This project was conducted through Fairfax India Charitable Foundation & Bengaluru International Airport Limited with total spends of Rs. 11.3 MN.

Thomas Cook India has also extended its support to St Stephen's Hospital, New Delhi towards sourcing of ventilators & patient monitoring systems, Pushpa Hospital, Coonoor with ICU & patient monitoring infrastructure. The above projects amounted to Rs. 10.5 mn and were supported by Fairfax Financial with implementation support by GiveIndia Foundation.

While the impact of the pandemic varied from industry to industry, the global Travel & Tourism and Civil Aviation industries were the worst hit as a result of total disruption of global travel during the last fifteen months. According to a recent report by UN World Tourism Organization, international tourism and its closely linked sectors suffered an estimated loss of USD 2.5 trillion in 2020. In India too, the successive waves of COVID-19 have devastated the travel and tourism industry. According to

the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), the estimated industry's losses for FY21 amounted to Rs. 15 trillion.

The green shoots and slow recovery recorded in Q1 CY21 were diminished with the sudden onset of the second wave when localized lockdowns and restrictions were imposed by various state governments crippled the tourism industry once again. According to the recent report published by the Ministry of Tourism, the Foreign Tourist Arrivals during January- April 2021 were only 0.4 mn tourist compared to 2.4 million in the same period last year, registering a fall of 84.0%. While the pandemic and the subsequent impact on the macroeconomic environment along with government restrictions posed severe challenges to our operations, the global movement towards innovation and digitisation provided us a thrust to rethink traditional norms and build on advancing our positions and expanding our opportunities to add value to our customers and business.

This brings me to my next area of discussion - which highlights the key initiatives undertaken by our company during the year.

The pandemic initially threw up significant challenges in business continuity and created enormous uncertainty about how demand for our services and offerings would pan out. Your Company quickly adopted measures to first make the work environment safe for its employees and instated back2Work and business continuity teams.

As highlighted in our previous AGM, the group kick started a comprehensive Reimagine Program, last year which focused on rationalisation of costs, fast tracking digitalization initiatives, innovation in business portfolios, strengthening of operations all of which are aimed towards becoming a more agile organization. So while the story of 2020 was more about resilience, in 2021 it is all about transformation. As we entered another year where business operations stood influenced by limitations due to the pandemic, the Group continued to take these initiatives forward with dedicated efforts across business functions.

Our extensive strategic reset on multiple levers will empower us towards growth and ensure that the business remains future-oriented,consumer-centric and nimble.

The Group's commitment towards executing its cost control program vigorously, drove the organization into generating significant savings of Rs. 6.8 bn exceeding its saving target of Rs. 5.6 Bn for FY21. We proactively identified opportunities to increase financial stability by prioritizing operational expenses, streamlining processes and focusing on collections. Alongside, structural initiatives such as integrated teams, enhanced use of automation and leaner organization design have resulted in a slimmer and more productive organization.

A fundamentally important element of all our plans is digitization along the value creation chain. We have deployed several technology-based solutions across our functions, to optimise resources and keep operations running. Be it a digital platform for marketing and communications outreach, or building infrastructure to enable virtual sales - we have adapted our business processes and made our operating model future-ready.

A key design of our business involves proximity to customers. Our transformation in the way we connect with our customers is led by an omni channel approach with a focus on contactless and digital ecosystem. This offers a seamless and consistent experience to our customers encompassing the new age travellers as well as existing target segments. For example, our virtual stores which are first of its kind in this industry, ensured continuous service to our customers along with convenience and safety simultaneously.

In the travel segment, we utilized the past year, to gauge the needs and changes in the travel tourism sector and increased our preparedness to capitalize on growth opportunities. We displayed agility and in a record time were able to enhance digital adoption and introduce innovative holiday solutions. Our "Assured" Safe Travel Program further evolved into TravShield" - a 360° safety program designed on best-in-class protocols.

Foreign Exchange- Our foreign exchange services re-opened in April last year. Since then the company has made strides on several initiatives such as the virtual branch model which bodes well for our customers on 'contactless' transactions, convenience, accessibility and safety. The segment's business around remittance and loading on prepaid cards continued to gain traction. To support the contactless experience, the Company introduced a Customer Digital interface and Digital Payment

Gateway to facilitate contactless end to end transactions. We have also introduced new B2B tools and extended our reach by way of FxMate program.

Coming to our souvenir imaging company - Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging or DEI

As international travel is inching towards normalcy with the rollout of vaccines, DEI is progressively gaining traction along with the current focus on domestic tourism. The entity has also extended itself to new areas related to experiential photography along with efforts to explore new geographies to expand its network and create growth opportunities.

Quickly discussing an update on Sterling Holidays & Resorts. During the year, the company leveraged its time to plan & execute several initiatives, such as Sterling CARES which is a Safety & Hygiene protocol, new avenues for revenue generation within the resort and launch of Vantage which is a lighter version of the membership plan. Aligned with the benefits of reimagine strategy, Sterling Holidays in Q4FY21 reported a return to profitability.

As I conclude, I believe it's imperative to highlight the resilience that the Company and its entities have displayed. Focus by Madhavan Menon - Managing Director and his management team on agility has ensured we navigate through these adverse times with laser sharp focus on cost and cashflow management. Additionally, in my interaction, be it with the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer - Mahesh Iyer or other business and support heads, there has been an extraordinary delivery on service and numbers.

Additionally, financial support and confidence reposed by our parent - Fairfax Financial Holdings in our ability to deliver, has and will aid the Group to remain steadfast in its commitment to capitalize on growth opportunities. The trust and confidence of our stakeholders including you, our valued shareholders, has been a crucial factor in our journey. I feel humbled to thank each one of our customers, employees, partners, shareholders, for your continued support. Last but never the least, your Company is fortunate to have amongst the best in the financial field as Board Directors and I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to my colleagues on the Board for their unstinted support and guidance.

I would now like to inform the Members that in compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act