The Hinduja Group company and country’s leading commercial major Ashok Leyland on Wednesday got the shareholder nod to raise Rs 4,000 crore. The money will be invested over the next 3-4 years. The proposed investment will help the company achieve its target of becoming one of the top 10 commercial vehicle manufacturers in the World.
Besides, the company also said, its Board of Directors has approved plans for issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and other modes of fund raising to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore and expects its sales volume to grow 10-12 per cent.
Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s Annual General Meeting at Chennai on Wednesday, the company’s Chief Financial Officer K Sridharan said the proposed investment will be spread over 3-4 years. This includes both capex and investment in joint ventures. He declined to give a break-up of the proposed investments.
Earlier addressing the shareholders’, Dheeraj G Hinduja, chairman, Ashok Leyland, said, “building on the strengths of extending product line-up, growing sales volumes and product engineering capabilities is the next logical step. The company has charted out an aggressive plan on volume growth.”
Ashok Leyland is planning to be among the top 10 global players in trucks (in the category of 7.5 tonne GVW) and above and top 5 in buses in the category of 8 metres and above in the next five years. Ashok Leyland, which entered the LCV market, by unveiling the 3-tonne Ashok Leyland Dost, which will be launched on July 22, said company’s Managing Director Vinod K Dasari.
Company’s truck range will be reinforced with the LCV range (3-6 tonne GVW) through the equal JV with Nissan Motors. “The company is planning to launch six-tonner range and subsequently a passenger minivan.”
Ashok Leyland’s sales grew to 94,106 units in 2010-11 from 63,926, an increase of around 47 per cent. “For the present fiscal we have set a target to grow by 10-12 per cent,” said Sridharan.
The company is targeting 12,000 units in exports and 95,000-96,000 sales in domestic market.
Company’s net profit during quarter-ended June 30, 2011, dropped by 29.67 per cent to Rs 86.3 crore from Rs 122.6 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
Turnover up by 6.3 per cent to Rs 2,495.5 crore from Rs 2,348 crore.
