Usha launches premium fans worth Rs 40K

New Delhi, Jan 30 (UNI) In a bid to tap the super premium fan segment in India, Usha International Ltd today unveiled its high-end range of ceiling fans -- Hunter series -- at a price range of Rs 10,000-40,000 in association with US-based Hunter Fan Company.

''The company is on a definite upswing again and is working towards a higher shift for high price atractive goods,'' the company's Chairman Siddharth Shriram told reporters here while announcing the third quarter results.

Mr Shriram said that initially the new range of fans will be imported from the US but the company might consider manufacturing them in India after taking stock of volumes.

The company reported a 100 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 2.37 crore for the third quarter ended December 2006, in comparison to Rs 1.18 crore during the corresponding period last year, he said.

''We will extend our capacity or will add a production facility to meet our desired sales and exports,'' Mr Shriram said without giving further details.

The company exports mainly to European countries and West Asia. It sold products worth Rs 500-600 crore during 2006-07 and expects a 20 per cent jump in sales by the end of next fiscal.

During April-December 2006, it sold three lakh units of fans per month and aims to scale the figure to four lakh units per month by the end of fiscal 2007-08. ''This figure will scale up to a million units per month in the next five years,'' Mr Shriram said.

''We have acquired McKinsey&Co to engineer the company towards a better future, and will start our study within a week,'' he added.

Usha International is also targeting niche, lifestyle and standard segments for its range of fans, he added.

Mr Sunil Wadhwa, Managing Director, Usha International added the company enjoyed a market share of 20 per cent after the end of the quarter in consideration but will grow to 25 per cent by fiscal 2008-end.

UNI