We have raised a share capital of 24,81,500 between 2016-18, Rs. 2 88,000.00 in 2018-19 and only Rs. 70,000 in 2019-20. Our fixed assets stand at Rs. 1,111,318, with current assets of Rs. 201,376. We have not issued any cash dividends to our shareholders so far. We have an operating deficit of Rs. 287,956 in this reporting year.
These figures, at first sight, may look disheartening. Still, we need to appreciate the long-term strategy of the Cooperative, which is to create a substantial membership base to run our well-managed services for the benefit of the members in a financially sustainable fashion. This will require significant organisational capacity building, and we may be unable to offer dividends during this phase. However, we need to see how we are already collectively reaping the colossal benefit, which is much larger than our capital investment. Our members’ collective benefits derived in this reporting year alone can be estimated at one crore, as reported under point 5. Many of our shareholders have already reaped substantial benefits above their share investment. This is in the true sense and the spirit of cooperative principles.
We are striving to achieve break-even. Our primary source of revenue is from beneficiary enrollment, which we anticipate may take a hit initially due to the COVID-19 situation early next year. Still, we believe this phase will pass, and we will be on the path of strong membership growth. In the meantime, we have cut substantial operating costs associated with our head office’s rent burden by sharing it with the physiotherapy unit. Moreover, one of our two staff has resigned due to personal reasons, and we have decided not to replace him.
We are satisfied that the net worth of the Cooperative as a social enterprise is much more than its tangible assets. The steadily increasing beneficiary base, tie-ups, and growing brand familiarity among the public are non-tangible assets that the Cooperative will leverage in the future. As a result, we will be in a stronger position to open our diagnostic centres and hospitals. Still, to fulfil this vision, appreciation of the strategy and active participation of the shareholders are requisite pre-conditions.
