Dear Shareholders,

It is with the sense of satisfaction that I present to you Zicom’s Annual Report for the financial year 2008-09. It was a year when everything went wrong for the global economy. The world economy was pressurized under the collective assault of financial market irregularity, corporate frauds and a new form of terror attack. The economic slowdown has affected the corporate world globally, as well as our company. However, I'm pleased to note that we not only withstood these turbulent times, but also showed good progress on business front.

The landscape of the security business has undergone a sea change after the 26/11 terror attack. The unique business model of Zicom, where we addressed the security needs of not only corporates, industries, retail and residential segments, but also government and public sectors, has helped us to weather the storm and also opened before us different avenues for growth.

During the last financial year the company has proactively worked on cost reduction and employee performance improvement. Our plan-review-correct cycle has been reduced to have more focus and attention on priorities. Employees were enrolled in the process of rationalisation of branches and stores. The sense of togetherness and belongingness has helped us to navigate these difficult times. Most of our senior management personnel have been with the company during this crisis.

The business of Building Solutions Group was affected due to slowdown of the new construction activity, which was driven during the last five years by growth of software, IT, banking and retail sectors. This slump in business was compensated for by Special Projects Group due to increase in orders from government and public sector undertakings.

On the subsidiary front, Zicom Retail's business learnt the hardship of driving the growth with minimum advertisement support and more emphasis on Below The Line activities, such as road-shows, tie-ups and demonstrations. Despite of slowdown in the gulf market, the business of Unisafe, Dubai remained more or less on target. This was possible due to close control exercised over key business processes of project execution.

The financial year 2009-10 is an extremely crucial year for your company. The increasingly competitive market environment in the backdrop of the recent terrorist attack throws open both challenges and opportunities. Your company, with deep understanding of the security market, will adopt an appropriate strategy to drive growth. In the coming year, the emphasis on growth in our retail business will continue. We will soon be launching innovative products coupled with better quality service, thereby introducing more options to our existing as well as our prospective customers. Unisafe will continue its focus on infrastructure development projects in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

The international crisis has damaged sentiments rather than fundamentals in India. While the short term indicators may be negative, in the long term, the economy is expected to resurrect, the ripples of which are already being seen in the current financial year. The new UPA government has come to power bringing required stability for reforms and revival of the economy. The government has already initiated several steps to curb adverse effects of global recession on Indian economy through several fiscal measures. This includes additional spending on infrastructure, reduction in interest cost and social welfare programs for the masses. Also the priority for the government is to create a secure environment for the growth of business. The city infrastructure needs improvement to accommodate threat perception caused by the new form of terror. We are excited about the immense potential of city surveillance mechanism, which I’m sure is a priority for the government. The other priorities of government such as Ports, Airports, Power Plants and Roads will throw open opportunities for ample growth.

As the demand and sentiments improve, Zicom is well placed and will continue to build upon strong fundamentals based around the brand equity and trust earned over the last 15 years.

I am confident that in the coming year, your company would strive to achieve better business performance based on various strategic initiatives already underway, aimed at enhancing the stakeholders' value. To us, you are our partners in progress. We look forward to your continued support.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our employees and business partners for their commitment and support.

Feel Safe,

Manohar Bidaye
Chairman