Eveready mulls JV for its Hyderabad, Noida properties

However, Amritanshu Khaitan rules out any possibility of any deal on this over next few months

Eveready Industries India is mulling to form a joint venture with an interested party to develop its Hyderabad and Noida properties, which the company has put on the block for quite sometime now.

"We are yet to get a suitable buyer for the properties. We are also open to the option of forming a JV to develop the properties," Amritanshu Khaitan, the third generation in the Brij Mohan Khaitan family, who is now running the day-to-day operations executive director of Eveready Industries, said.  

If the company forms a JV to develop the properties, it may engage its sister company McNally Bharat Engineering Company for construction. "To get McNally for construction can be an option," he said.

However, Khaitan ruled out any possibility of any deal on this over the next few months. "I think, the real estate market needs to revive. There is no possibility of anything happening within a month. In the next 8 to 12 months, I hope to something happening on this front," he added.

Incidentally, earlier in 2005, following the same model Eveready had tied up with Khivraj Tech Park Pvt Ltd, to up a modern technology park, named Olympia at Guindy, Chennai.  It was built on 8.4 acres originally belonging to EIIL

The has been trying to offload some of its surplus land to retire its debt of rs 270 crore. "We are hopeful in 2013-14 we will be able to retire aboutRs 50 crore debt through internal generation,"he said.

The company has 25 acres of land in Hyderabad, as the company had sut down its battery-making unit there.

In Noida, it has about 10 acres in a vacant plot adjacent to the existing factory.

Eaveready is expected to be back in profit in 2012-13 with revenues of around Rs 1050 crore.

"With the new range of products in lighting segment we are hopeful to make a 10 per cent revenue growth in 2013-14," Khaitan told reporters, on the sidelines of  the launch of new rechargable range of fans and lamps with LED technology.

India's largest dry-cell battery marketer, is now betting more on lighting product to drive growth. "With more froducts on lighting segment we hope its contribution to company's revenue will grow up over the next few years," Khaitan said.

Currently, lighting products contribute to about Rs 100 crore annual revenue, while about Rs 600 crore revenue comes from batteries. The flashlight and packaged tea accounts for rest of the revenue.