Chennai-based wind turbine manufacturer ReGen Powertech intends to come out with its initial public offering next year and plans to raise between Rs 400 crore and Rs 500 crore from the market, the company's Managing Director, Mr Madhusudan Khemka, told Business Line on Saturday.

ReGen, which sells its wind turbines under a licence from and under the brand name of Vensys, closed last year with a turnover of Rs 1,250 crore. But with orders executed and those to be executed by the end of the current financial year, the company projects a turnover of Rs 2,700 crore for 2011-12.

Last year, ReGen made a net profit of Rs 80 crore. In the first half of the current year, the company expects to have netted Rs 70 crore in profits, on a turnover of Rs 1,050 crore, Mr R. Sundaresh, Joint Managing Director, said.

The accounts of the first six months of the current year are currently under audit, by Ernst & Young, he said. Once the audit is over, the company intends to file the draft red herring prospectus with SEBI, he said.

Promoters

ReGen was promoted by the Hyderabad-based Nuziveedu Seeds group, which today holds 42 per cent.

Mr Khemka and Mr Sundaresh hold 21.5 per cent and the rest of the stake is held by Everstone Capital, a private equity fund. The paid-up capital of ReGen today stands at Rs 140 crore, to which the PE has contributed Rs 50 crore.

German technology

In its first year of operations, 2006-07, ReGen achieved a turnover of Rs 17 crore and it expects to become a billion-dollar company next year. Mr Khemka and Mr Sundaresh attribute ReGen's success mainly to the German Vensys' technology.

Vensys is said to be a leader in the technology that features gearless turbines with permanent magnets. Fewer moving parts and non-dependence on grid power for starting the machines are the basic advantages of these machines. Mr Khemka said that ReGen's machines boast of an uptime of 98.4 per cent.

ReGen's orders-under-execution include Tata Power (50 MW), Green Infra (of IDFC, 50 MW), Bilwara group (50 MW), New Power (100 MW), and GAIL and TVS Energy (25 MW each).

“All are IPP customers,” Mr Khemka pointed out, referring to independent power producers who are in the business of electricity generation and sales, as opposed to those who buy windmills for tax benefits.

Talks with Vensys

Mr Khemka said that ReGen Powertech wishes to seek pastures outside India too – Africa and West Asia were mentioned – and is in touch with the technology partner Vensys for a formal clearance.

Vensys, incidentally, is 70 per cent-owned by Goldwind of China, which is one of the world's largest wind turbine manufacturers. Despite this pedigree, Mr Khemka does not anticipate any problems in ReGen's overseas foray.

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