The Hindu Business Line : Finolex to foray into electrical switches

AFTER establishing its leadership in the cables industry, the Rs 650-crore Finolex Cables Ltd has decided to expand its product basket and transform itself into an electrical equipment company.

As a first step in this direction, the company would be launching two specific ranges of electrical switches in January next year, according to Mr Deepak K. Chhabria, Managing Director.

He was in city to announce the fourth annual Finolex Alok Suraksha Samman Award. The award is been given to those Durga Puja organisers who follow safety measures in the handling of electrical arrangements.

Talking about the company's foray into other electrical products, Mr Chhabria said the growth in the cables sector has reached a near saturation point. "In such a scenario, if one needs to grow fast, it is necessary to expand the base," he told reporters.

At present, Finolex Cables has eight factories in three places namely, Usra, Pimpri and Pune in Maharashtra. Switches are produced at a unit in Usra. "The size of the Indian electrical switch industry is approximately Rs 1,000 crore and most of it is in the unorganised sector. However, there are a few good and established players there too," he said.

Investment: The company is likely to invest Rs 50-60 crore during 2005-06 against the outfit's annual average capital deployment of Rs 20 crore.

In the first quarter of 2005-06, Finolex Cables recorded a 30 per cent growth both in topline and bottomline. Mr Chhabria expects this growth to continue throughout the year.

Merger: At present, Finolex Cables is merging two of its wholly owned subsidiaries — Finolex Wire Products Ltd and Finolex Finance Ltd. The merger proposal is currently awaiting court approval.

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