The Hindu Business Line : Aditya Birla Nuvo Q1 net doubles

Aditya Birla Nuvo, which has interests ranging from fertiliser, carbon black, textiles and garments to telecom and financial services, has doubled its net profit from Rs 33 crore in the first quarter of last fiscal to Rs 66 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Its consolidated turnover for the quarter was Rs 1,459.12 crore, which was 88.6 per cent more than the figure for the corresponding previous period.

Mr Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director, told Business Line that the five value businesses of the company mirrored a growth of between 25 per cent (fertiliser division) and 40 per cent (textile division) during the quarter.

In the high-growth business, the insurance sector reflected a slower growth rate, which has now prompted the company to sharpen its focus on this segment. "Of course, there will be no short cuts as far as our strategy for this segment is concerned. We will have a long-term focus by increasing sales through deeper market penetration and launching of new, innovative products."

He also said that the company's capital expenditure programme for the current fiscal was Rs 480 crore, which would encompass expansion of facilities in its carbon black, textile, fertiliser, BPO and other segments.

Apart from this, the company proposes to invest another $500 million for its telecom business, in tune with the completion of acquisition of 15 per cent (7.5 per cent through its subsidiary) equity stake in Idea Cellular for Rs 1,372 crore in June this year. The company's total investment in Idea stands at Rs 2,130 crore for 35.74 per cent equity stake.

"We plan to get into three new circles immediately - Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. We have applied for licences for other circles as well."

The company sees significant growth prospects in the carbon black sector, especially with the rise in sales of vehicle tyres, which accounts for major consumption.

The company, which has a capacity of 1.70 lakh tonnes per annum, plans to expand its Tamil Nadu plant by 55,000 tonnes at a cost of Rs 90 crore, apart from setting up a greenfield plant of similar capacity. "We may opt for Western India for our new carbon black plant. We expect to finalise the plans by the end of this fiscal," Mr Aga said.

On its fertiliser division, he said that after the successful launch if its new variants of eco-friendly urea-based fertilisers like neem-coated and zinc-coated variants, a new product, which will be sulphonated, would be launched soon.

"We will not be charging any premium on these new products and is part of our initiative to develop deeper customer relationship."

Its strategy for the garments segment includes increasing quality reach of Peter England and doubling of retail space in the next two years.

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