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Battery and inverter maker Base Corporation is eyeing over 30% rise in turnover this financial year to Rs 1,200 crore on the back of enhanced exports and domestic market expansion.
The Bangalore-based company has also set a target of capturing at least 10% market share by 2020 with a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore.
"We had a turnover of Rs 897 crore in 2012-13. This fiscal we are expecting around Rs 1,200 crore on the back of capacity expansions," Base Corporation COO Aditya Arora told PTI.
The company is in the process of setting up its second unit at Hosur in Tamil Nadu to manufacture industrial and institutional batteries for railways, telecom and defence industries.
"In the first phase, we are investing around Rs 460 crore and the plant would be ready by June this year," he said, adding that the Solan plant would produce inverter and automotive batteries.
Spelling out the company's long-term plans, he said: "We are focusing on the capacity expansion. The market share is very small now, around 3 to 4% because of small capacity but we would be having around 10% share in 2020."
According to him, the current market size is about Rs 28,000 crore in India with around 55% being controlled by branded batteries.
"Now the market is growing 17% year-on-year. Given the acute power shortage in hinterlands, even if there is a slow down in the automotive segment, there is a replacement cycle of old batteries," Arora said.
Keeping that in mind, the demand would not slow down and the market would double in size in next five years, he said.
On the export front, he said the company is looking to cash in on the opportunity in global markets after restrictions imposed by China on lead-acid battery production in the country.
"China has lost a large chunk of manufacturing capacity and all global players are looking at India, which may be a huge hub for batteries," he added.
China has shut down 1,200 factories out of 1,800 around three years before, Arora said.
Base currently exports batteries to Nepal only but is trying to enter in African market and has opened an office in Dubai and an R&D center in China.
"We are in advance talks with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for export and we have searched partner and hopefully we would start exporting before March ," he added.
