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The country’s largest dry cell battery maker Eveready Industries is expecting to make operational its ₹100 crore plant at Assam by March.
According to Amritanshu Khaitan, Managing Director of the Kolkata-based company, its new manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 400 million batteries will come up at Goalpara in Assam.
“This facility is expected to come on stream by March,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s 81{+s}{+t} AGM here in the city.
The company has an existing capacity of over 1.3 billion pieces across manufacturing facilities in Kolkata, Chennai, Haridwar, Maddur (near Bengaluru), Noida and Lucknow.
Batteries account for 59 per cent of the company’s turnover; while flashlights account for 15 per cent. Lighting (including LED light sales) and electrical and packet tea sales account for 21 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.
New verticalsAccording to Khaitan, growth is expected to come from the company’s foray into new verticals such as kitchen appliances and LEDs.
Available across e-commerce platforms like Snapdeal, Amazon, Flipkart and in modern retail stores (like Spencers), the appliances portfolio includes food processors, mixer grinders, juicers, rice cookers and so on.
The plan now is to set up an exclusive network for appliances business. “By August, distribution channels should be ready,” he said.
Eveready is targeting a market share of 4-5 per cent in the appliances segment by 2020. Interestingly, he pointed out that appliance and LED lights both are being outsourced, in line with the company’s “asset light model”.
The company is targeting a 5-10 per cent market share in LED.
Q1 net upThe company, however, reported an approximate 10 per cent rise in net profit to ₹22 crore for the first quarter of the fiscal ending June 30, 2016. Its net profit last year stood at ₹20 crore (apprx).
During the period, its income from operations moved up by a mere one per cent at ₹371 crore (₹367 crore).
On Monday, Eveready stock closed at ₹268.20, down by 0.54 per cent, on the BSE.
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