JK Tyre to invest additional Rs 1,430 cr in Chennai

Company plans to triple capacity of truck and bus radials to 1.2 million tyres

JK Tyre & Industries is planning to invest around Rs 1,430 crore at its Chennai facility, where the company is already in the process of investing around Rs 1,000 crore. The company got its Board of Directors' approval today for the additional investment.

The company is also planning to invest $25 million in Mexico to expand its passenger car radial (PCR) facility to cater the needs in the region. The capacity would be expanded to 25 per cent and it is expected to be commissioned in 10 months.

Reghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director, JK Tyre said that the company is planning to increase the capacity of truck and bus radial (TBR) to 1.2 million tyres a year from 400,000 and PCR to 4 million a year from 2.5 million. The company is on the verge of concluding its earlier commitment of around Rs 1,000 crore in this facility.

Company's Mysore plant in Karnataka is already saturated with capacity of 1.1 million TBR and there is no possibility to expand further, he said.

The additional investment of Rs 1,430 crore will give a boost to the facility, from where 30 per cent of the products will be exported to around 90 markets and subsequently bring down the sourcing from China and Vietnam. According to the company, at present the sourcing  from these countries stands at around Rs 150 crore.

He noted, the company reported around Rs 287 crore worth of exports during the quarter on standalone basis and on consolidated basis it crossed Rs 400 crore.

He added,  though the automotive industry is slowed down, this proposed investment will help the company in the long term, taking both and international markets into the account.

“We see during the next of quarters, things will improve and we are making the investment that will enable us to capitalise on the demand surge,” he said.

Meanwhile, the company reported a net profit of Rs 65.78 crore during the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 55.26 crore, a year ago.

Singhania said company's market share will continue to 40 per cent in TBR and 22 per cent in PCR and inn off-road tyre segment, the company claims that it is the market leader with 43 per cent market share.