Bharti to invest in Ludhiana unit

Company announces funds to the tune of Rs 3 crore in manufacturing and R&D.

Bharti Telecom Ltd will invest Rs 3 crore in its Ludhiana unit, in manufacturing and R&D. The company announced investment plans of Rs 4.5 crore for its two units based in Ludhiana and Goa in 2006-07.

With this, the company plans to enhance the production capacities of Ludhiana and Goa plants by 3.5 million and 3 million phones, respectively.

The manufacturing unit here in Hambra near Ludhiana has the highest productivity. The company aims to export around 1.5 million phone sets by March. About 60-70 per cent of the revenue of the company is generated from exports only. The Ludhiana unit produced 1 million phones in just four months.

Bharti Teletech Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Bharti Mittal, said, "We will invest Rs 4.5 crore in manufacturing and R&D to enhance the productivity. We have completed the production of the 30 millionth phone. The company is now planning to produce the next 10 million phones by June 2007 there by improving the productivity even further."

The company completed the production of 10 million phones in 2 years and 10 months. At the same time the company is increasing focus on the international market to augment the growth rate.

The company claims to have a 40 percent share in the retail market, 95 percent in the private telecom services market, and 60 percent in the public sector undertakings. The total sales of the company from April to December 2005 stood at 4.9 million units. It grew by 34 percent over the last year, while revenues stood at Rs 2655 million, a growth of 80 per cent over the same period in last year.

Giving the details further, Pawan Kapur, CEO, Bharti Teletech, said, "We plan to export 1.5 million phones this year, a 100 percent growth over the last year. Currently, we are exporting to almost 30 countries covering five continents. The company's in house brand "Beetel" is starting to make a mark in countries such as Algeria, Ethiopia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nigeria , Sri lanka, UAE and Vietnam."

In the mobile segment, its portfolio consists of 10 models in the price tag range between Rs 1399 and Rs 13700. In the landline segment, its portfolio consists of 40 models pricing between Rs 295 and Rs 4995.