A V Birla Group aims to double revenue

The A V Birla Group is aiming to double its revenue to $60 billion in the next five years by expanding its presence abroad. The group, which acquired Canadian aluminium major Novelis for $6 billion in February 2007, may once again get aggressive in acquisitions, as it sets the next two years to establish itself as a truly globalised conglomerate.

“Western world weight is today being considered weak, so we need footprint in geographies which have good growth trajectory,” said Dev Bhattacharya, group executive president, corporate strategy and business development, at Aditya Birla Management Corporation. The group has identified East Europe, South America, South East Asia and China as its target areas. “The downturn has given opportunity for consolidation and growth in new markets; so in the next 12 to 24 months we plan to establish our globalisation trajectory,” he said.

The group has six main businesses — aluminium producer Hindalco, cement producer Grasim, telecom company Idea Cellular, the financial services business under Birla Sunlife, besides the carbon black and textile businesses under Aditya Birla Nuvo. Out of this, the metal, carbon black and fibre businesses already have presence in overseas countries.

“Telecom and financial services have enough room to grow domestically, but after a point of time they would also need to expand globally,” said Bhattacharya. The group is planning both organic and inorganic routes to achieve its target of maximising the valuation of its companies.

It plans to support its global expansion with an advanced supply chain, right technology and efficient brands. The group had a $29.2 billion turnover last financial, with over 60 per cent of its revenue from abroad. This is expected to go up.

It sees the recent downturn as an opportunity, as it has brought down the valuation of companies. It has also identified retail, telecom and financial services as businesses where it may bring equity dilution at the right time to fund its expansion plans.