The promoters of Amara Raja Batteries, the Galla family and the US-based Johnson Controls, may increase their holdings in the company to 60 per cent from 52 per cent at present.
Jay Galla, executive director, said, "The two promoters have 26 per cent stake each in the company, with a provision to increase it to 30 per cent."
Galla said the promoters will eventually look at increasing their stake, but said the plan is not immediate. He also declined to specify whether the stake will be raised through creeping acquisition or by issuing fresh shares.
Meanwhile, Amara Raja Batteries is in talks with Johnson Controls to export batteries to the US under the label of Bosch, among others. Company executives said exports could commence as early as the current fiscal.
The company is also close to commencing exports to Sri Lanka and Dubai, where its batteries will be sold under the Amaron brand. It has already tied up with distributors in these countries, they said.
S Ramachandra, executive vice-president, said the company is also exploring the possibility of exporting certain industrial batteries to China. The company will, however, only concentrate on those segments where it will have a cost-competitive advantage, in view of the large presence of the unorganised sector in China, he added.
"This year, we expect our export revenues to touch Rs 10 crore. Over 3 to 5 years, we expect exports to contribute 15 per cent of our revenue," Ramachandra said. He was speaking at the sidelines of a press conference to announce the launch of the company's first battery for heavy commercial vehicles, Amaron Hi-way.
Amara Raja Batteries expects to sell 25,000 units of the new product, priced at Rs 7,000 a piece, this year. The company has a manufacturing unit to produce 10 lakh batteries a year near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
