Havells sales to touch Rs 2,000 cr by March' 08

Faridabad, Nov 12 (UNI) Havells India, one of country's leading electrical products firm, today said it expects a total stand alone sales odf Rs 2,000 crore by the end of this fiscal.

''Last year, we had a sales of Rs 1,550 crore and we expect it to touch Rs 2,000 crore by March 2008,'' company's Joint Managing Director Anil Gupta told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference.

The 2007-08 sales are expected to rise 29 per cent riding strong demand from the housing sector and industrial growth, he added.

He said Havells made a profit of Rs 70 crore in the first half of this financial year.

The Delhi-based firm had made the country's largest ever aquisition of the Dutch-based SLI Sylvenia's lighting business in the electrical product segement for 300 million dollar in April this year.

Mr Gupta said the company's subsidiary Sylvania is expected to register a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore by March 2008. With market access to 40 countries, Havell's now owns brands like Sylvania, Concord: Marlin, Lumiance, Marlin, Claude and LinoliteSylvania.

Havells India has earmarked a capital expenditure Rs 225 crore for this fiscal, out of which Rs 150 crore has already been put in for various expansion plans, and the rest will be infused by the end of this financial year, he said.

''There would be a delay in production at an electric motor plant the company is setting up in Rajasthan,'' company Managing Director Qimat Gupta said.

The plant is now set to begin production in January 2008. It was earlier expected to begin production by September 2007.

The plant and machinery was bought from Spain and that took time, Qimat Gupta, said. He said the plant would make three billon units annually by 2009.

Havells has spent Rs 80 crore in the first phase on the plant, which will produce motors with capacities ranging from 0.25 horsepower to 500 horsepower, the company said.

UNI