The country's leading auto parts maker, Bosch on Tuesday said it expects to invest about Rs 400 crore in its operations this calendar year on the back of a robust demand for its products.

The investment is about 33 per cent higher than the capex in the previous year. This is part of a Rs 1,300-crore investment it has planned between 2011 and 2013. Bosch has also posted a 45 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 859 crore during 2010. largely because of a 34 per cent growth in the automobile sector. Nearly 75 per cent of Bosch's total sales is from the automobile sector.

“Our growth is in line with the good growth in the automobile market,” the company's managing director, Mr V K Viswanathan, told newspersons. He said new investments will be sourced through internal accruals. Bosch Ltd has about Rs 3,000 crore in cash reserves. “We don't expect the industry to grow as much as it did in 2010 but certainly it will be in double digits which is quite healthy,” he said.

Bosch which counts Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors as its customers posted a net sales of Rs 6,630 crore during 2010 which was a 40 per cent increase over the previous year. Exports notched up a 45 per cent growth while domestic sales grew about 39 per cent. Europe contributes about 60 per cent of total exports for Bosch. The company has also declared a dividend of Rs 40 per share which is about 33 per cent higher than the previous year.

For the fourth quarter, Bosch's net profit grew 33 per cent while net sales increased 34 per cent.

With 22,500 employees the company saw an 18 per cent increase in salaries last year because of a new wage agreement entered into with its workforce.

Diesel systems

The company's diesel systems business posted a 52 per cent growth primarily driven by high demand from commercial vehicle and tractor segments while the automotive aftermarket business grew 24 per cent. Power tools and security technology division recorded a growth of 28.3 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively. The packaging technology division grew by 6.2 per cent despite difficult market conditions in the food and packaging segments.

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