Voltas plans new plant in Uttaranchal

New Delhi, Apr 16: Voltas Ltd, diversified engineering and services company, will set up a new manufacturing unit in a phased manner in Uttaranchal in June this year.

The new plant will cater to the production of cooling appliances (CABD) and assembly of packed units, ductable splits and chiller packages (ACBD). The first phase of the project is expected to be operational by June 2006.

Backed by a strong financial profile, Voltas is likely to explore the debt route for funding its expansion plan. It enjoys a strong position in its core businesses and the group support.

Voltas performance in the last two years has been driven by improving prospects in the sectors it caters to. Its businesses are expected to contribute strongly to growth in revenues and profits of the company in the medium term, an analysis by a rating agency said.

Voltas revenues have grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 8 per cent in the last two years to Rs 1,396 crore with operating margins of the company improving to 3.7 per cent in the same period, driven by cost control measures, including reduction in manpower as well as divestment of the Hyderabad unit and other known core businesses.

Voltas is part of the Tata Group which holds a 27.6 per cent in the company.

A lot of companies are making a beeline to Uttaranchal since the hilly state offers a host of tax incentives to new investmenst.

UNI