Hitachi targetting Rs 12k-cr revenue from India in 3 yrs

Japanese consumer durables firm Hitachi today said the company plans to double its revenue to Rs 12,000 crore from India in the next 2-3 years and is looking at acquisitions to meet the target.

The company said it has identified India as one of its key management areas and has been chosen as the Hitachi Group's fifth regional headquarters.

India will join China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas as key management areas outside Japan, it added.

"Hitachi India's responsibilities and authority in the context of business operations will be expanded, and the company's staff will be increased, mainly in the corporate division," Hitachi India Managing Director Ichiro Iino said in a statement.

The company said Hitachi India has been re-positioned as an independent management area and it will lead other Hitachi Group entities in India to strengthen structures for faster business rollout in the country.

"In the next two-three years, we expect to increase revenues of Hitachi India to around Rs 12,000 crore as compared to Rs 5,400 crore [90 billion yen] for the last fiscal,"Iino added.

India is demonstrating a dramatic growth and the firm is confident that the new structure will support the growth momentum and enable us to respond more effectively to the unique local customers' needs in India, he added.

As part of the plan, the company will increase its staff, and expand business operations in India.

Besides, the company said it is looking at doubling its revenues from India and is "keen to acquire firms to grab a bigger market share in a short span of time".

Mergers and acquisitions would play a key role in rapid expansion of the company's market share, the firm said.

Hitachi's consolidated global revenues for the last fiscal stands at 9,315 billion yen.

 Hitachi began its Indian operation in the 1930s. Since then it has been involved in a variety of business activities, including the manufacture and sales of air conditioning equipment and construction machinery.

In 2010, Hitachi established BGR Turbines Company and BGR Boilers Company as joint ventures with a local company, and has been working to expand thermal power business in India.

In the Information & Telecommunication System business field, the company said it is expanding its bases in India, by establishing new companies and acquiring existing firms, to strengthen offshore functions in the IT consulting business.

In January 2011, an office of the Hitachi Research Institute, named 'Economy and Industry Center', was opened in Delhi, and a new R&D base for the Information and Telecommunication Systems business field is scheduled to open in Bangalore by March 2012.