OSW chalks out Rs 252cr capex for 2007-08

New Delhi, Jan 7 (UNI) Oswal Woollen Mills, owner of the Monte Carlo brand of wollen hosiery and cotton garments, has planned a capex of Rs 252 crore for financial year 2007-2008, of which it will raise Rs 160-180 crore through its IPO next month.

The Ludhiana-based company, which is part of the Rs 1,900 crore Nahar Group, plans to open 127 Monte Carlo outlets including four in metro cities in the next two years.

''The company presently has 23 company-owned Monte Carlo outlets and will spend about Rs 40 crore for four new exclusive showrooms to be set up in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore by 2008. The rest will be on a franchise basis,'' a company official told UNI.

OWM will also ramp up its wolllen hosiery production capacity to 1,25,000 pieces in the next fiscal for which it will spend about Rs 31 crore, he said.

The company also sells its products under the brand name 'Canterbury' for premium quality woollen hosiery garments while the specially worsted woollen yarns and hand knitting yarns are sold under the tag of 'OWM' itself. A significant amount will be spent on setting up design studios for its three brands.

''OWM also intends to add ready-made denim garments to its product portfolio in the future. The company is contemplating to sell denim fabrics to ready-made garment manufacturers in domestic and international market,'' he said.

The remaining part of the Rs 252 crore capex apart from the public offering will be raised through internal accruals and borrowings, he said and added that the company has already filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for an issue of up to 83,20,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each and will hit the capital market by February this year.

The company has a product portfolio of woollen, acrylic and synthetic blended yarns, lambs wool yarn, woollen viscose and acrylic tops, textile fabric, woollen knitwear, hosiery and cotton garments.

The group has a spinning capacity of 0.4 million cotton spindles, 25,000 worsted spindles with a turnover of 500 million dollars inclusive of exports worth 150 million dollars.

UNI