Aditya Birla Nuvo, a diversified conglomerate, said it has firmed up investment plans for its fertiliser business and is waiting for the government to announce the new fertiliser policy.
"We have got additional land at our current site that is enough for trebling our capacity. Gas pipeline is at the doorstep in case the government increases supply. An application has already been made to the government and (we believe) our application is on top for consideration," Managing Director Bharat K Singh said.
As of now, the policy looks fine and if the final policy is as good, the company will make investments, he said. The company has a plant in Jagdishpur, Uttar Pradesh. Aditya Birla Nuvo has a controlling stake in the telecom company Idea Cellular 's businesses include viscose filament yarn, carbon black, branded garments, fertilisers, textiles, insulators and financial services, including insurance.
It also has a controlling stake in the telecom company Idea Cellular. The company is also planning to foray into procurement and sale of agricultural produce.
"We plan to procure from farmers and sell to retailers," Singh said. At present, Aditya Birla Nuvo offers specialised consultation services along with one-stop farming solution to farmers through its 80 centres of Birla Shaktiman Kisan Seva Kendra.
The company's revenue from its farm services in 2007-08 stood at Rs 65 crore.
Also Read
"Our target is to earn three times more from this business in the current financial year and become a total agricultural services provider," he said.
The focus for the farm procurement business will be on Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, where the company is operating these centres.
The company said it will also invest nearly Rs 450 crore in its carbon black business to increase the capacity by 1,50,000 tonne, Singh said.
"A new unit is coming up in Patalganga (Maharashtra), where the investment in first phase will be around Rs 300 crore," he said.
Production in the first phase will begin by September 2009 and the capacity will be around 75,000 tonne.
The company is also expanding capacity of its insulators unit by 12,000 tonne to 42,000 tonne per annum.
"Apart from the ceramic insulators we also plan to manufacture polymer insulators. Initially, polymer insulator capacity will be around 3,000-5,000 tonne per year," Singh said.
He said the insurance business of the company, Birla Sun Life Insurance, will continue to grow at a healthy pace but will require more support from the parent company until it breaks even in around two years, Singh said.
The company added over 260 branches in Apr-Jun compared with 240-odd added in the entire 2007-08. The company will close the year with a substantially large distribution network and "it may not generate profit but will generate high revenues," Singh said.
The asset management business, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company, though, seems to be hit by rough market conditions.
It managed to grow, but not substantially as market share increased by a meagre 0.2% in April-June.