The Hindu Business Line : Godrej & Boyce expects non-refrigeration biz to soar

Having shifted its focus from being merely a refrigerator manufacturer, by foraying into washing machines, microwaves, air-conditioners and DVD players in the last few years, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd (GBMCL) - Appliances Division, expects a phenomenal growth in its non-refrigeration business in the coming years.

Addressing newspersons here on Friday, its Chief Operating Officer, Mr George Menezes, said the company has drawn up aggressive plans to consolidate its strong position in the consumer appliances marketby launching several new innovative products in five key appliance categories almost on a quarterly basis.

"We expect these measures to result in a growth of at least 25 per cent in our revenues in the coming years. Compared to a turnover of Rs 750 crore last fiscal, we are projecting a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore for the current fiscal," he said.

Godrej & Boyce has recorded around 70 per cent of revenue from refrigeration while the other four categories — washing machines, air-conditioners, microwaves and DVDs — contributed the remaining 30 per cent. "Going forward, we expect the contribution from non-refrigeration categories to grow significantly. During the current fiscal, we expect their contribution to go up to 35 per cent, while contribution of refrigeration category to come down to 65 per cent notwithstanding a growth of 25 per cent in its sales volumes," Mr Menezes said.

South to up contribution

Godrej & Boyce, which enjoys a dominant presence in the South with 22 per cent share in the refrigerators market, expects the contribution to grow up to around 30 per cent following the launch of the EON range of frost-free refrigerators, its Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Mr Kamal Nandi, said. The company also expects its market share in frost-free segment to grow to 25 per cent from the existing 15 per cent.

Fresh investments

The Godrej & Boyce Executive Director and President, Mr Phiroze D. Lam, said the company has drawn up plans to invest around Rs 100 crore for setting up a frost-free refrigerator making facility near Pune.

"The facility near Pune would double our frost-free refrigerators capacity to 7-lakh units by late-2007 from the existing capacity of 3.5 lakh units per annum. The idea is to take advantage of the fast growing market for frost-free refrigerators over the direct cool refrigerators. The frost-free market is expected to almost double by 2009 and occupy a dominant position in the refrigerator market," Mr Lam said.

More Stories on : Outlook | Strategy | Air-conditioners & Refrigerators

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page