La Opala sets up new plant in Uttranchal, targets Rs 100 crore

Kolkata, May 31 (UNI) India's leading glass tableware manufacturer La Opala RG Limited, is setting up the most modern production unit in Uttaranchal by next year at a cost of Rs 35 crores, besides increasing its annual business target to Rs 100 crores by March 2009.

Announcing this and the 2005-06 financial results of the Rs 47 crore company immediately after an extended Board meeting, La Opala RG Chairman A C Chakraborty and its Managing Director Sushil Jhunjhunwala here today said during the last fiscal the profit after tax of the company stood at Rs 4.30 crores, up from Rs 2.80 crores in the previous year.

On the basis of the company's improved all round performance the La Opala Board of Directors had recommended an annual dividend of 22.5 per cent for 2005-06 for its shareholders, compared to 17.5 per cent, as announced in the previous year, Mr Chakraborty said.

Referring to his expansion plan for the current year when the company's overall business was likely to grow by 30 per cent to cross the Rs 70 crore mark by March next before touching Rs 100 crores by next year, Mr Jhunjhunwala said keeping this in mind and to further widen the export market they had had acquired about 25 acres of flat land at Sidcul Industrial Park in Sitaraganj area in Uttaranchal for establishing a 4,000 tonnes capacity state of the art La Opala glassware plant by February next.

" We are also planning to introduce a number of new and innovative tableware products from our new plant next year", he said.

Of the total investment of Rs 35 crores in the project, Rs 15 crores had come from internal accruals, while the rest came from bank loans and from shareholders through equity distribution, stated Mr Jhunjhunwala while replying to a query.

He said aided by the most sophiticated glassware technology La Opala had already captured about 60 per cent market share of glass tableware within the country. " We are confident of capturing over 85 per cent domestic glassware market share by 2008-09", the company MD claimed and said the overall market was growing at the rate of around 30 per cent per annum.

About the export scenario, Mr Jhunjhunwala said last year they had exported different La Opala products to more than 20 countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the USA to the tune of over Rs 15 crores. " With some more countries coming into our business fold during this fiscal, we have targetted to grow by 25 per cent to earn about Rs 25 crores from the export", he said.

About the reason behind deciding to set up La Opala's second plant in Uttaranchal after the one set up at Madhupur in Jharkhand about a decade ago, both Mr Chakraborty and Mr Jhunjhunwala said after scouting for the right site in five states of West Bengal, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, they had decided for the last one because of the huge busket of financial and technical incentives they had offered for the project. These included 10 years tax holiday and five years huge subsidy in electricity.

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