Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Thursday signalled a shift in its strategy and wants to develop its own products and look for customers, The Hindu Business Line reported.

HAL chairperson and Managing Director R Madhavan told reporters at the Aero India 2019 event that the state-run company “was not interested in the Rafale project any more in the current phase”.

“We are not interested in offsets and direct purchases,” he said. “That was the government’s decision to take it as a direct purchase and we are not interested in it. If it’s coming as a business to us, we will be interested in it.”

Asked about the financial health of the company, Madhavan said the profitability of the company has been growing and the perception that it was being rejected in favour of private companies is incorrect, The Economic Times quoted Madhavan as saying.

“Our condition is stable and the cash flow problem is a thing of the past,” said the company’s director of finance Anantha Krishnan. “With the new budget getting passed, our cash flow problems will be sorted out. “Our profits are growing each quarter and we have achieved a growth of 13% in the third quarter. The financial condition is not an issue at all.”

Meanwhile, Madhavan said the Indian Air Force could place a Rs 50,000-crore order for an advanced version of the indigenously produced Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, in the next two to three months, the Hindustan Times reported.