Okaya Power plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore on expansion in three years

Battery maker Okaya Power plans to invest over Rs 1,000 crore in the next three years to expand business and to create a network of around 200 warehouses across the country.

Okaya, which is aiming to be the largest tubular batteries company by the year 2020, is expanding its production capacity besides product portfolio.

"We are very optimistic over our strategic expansion in the next couple of years. We have estimated to invest over 1,000 crore in the next three years by 2019," Okaya Power Director Rajesh Gupta told PTI.

He further said: "The fund will be invested in building a strong network of more than 200 warehouses pan-India, besides it will be invested in our business expansion in manufacturing batteries for e-rickshaws and manufacturing of solar batteries".

Okaya Power, which is aiming to be a Rs 5,000-crore company by 2020-21 is focussing on inverters, automotives, e-rickshaws, solar applications and SMF battery segment.

"Okaya Power from Rs 1,000-crore sales today is going to be a Rs 5,000-crore battery company by FY 2020-21. We are going to double sales to Rs 2,000 crore by FY17-18," Gupta said.

Elaborating the plan, he said Okaya's shares in electrical vehicle battery (EVB) market and SMF battery market share will increase. Besides, sales from digital and modern trade would also go up along with B2B sales.

At present, the company gets around 80% revenue from tubular batteries, which is used by inverters and solar power and rest 20% from SMF batteries and automotive batteries.

"The ratio would be changed from next year as we have installed a unit at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh which has a capacity to produce up to 2 million sealed maintenance-free batteries which would serve many sectors as hotels, OEMs, banks, restaurants etc," he added.

Moreover, the company would also focus on automotive batteries.

"By next year ratio would change and SMF, automotive and e-rickshaw would contribute around 40%," Gupta added.

By financial year 2020, the company sees Rs 1,500 crore sales from automotive segment, Rs 2,500 from tubular batteries, which would be a mix of inverter and solar batteries and rest Rs 1,000 crore from sealed maintenance free SMF VRLA batteries.

Besides, the company would also focus on export markets and expects 10% of its revenue in next four years to come from foreign markets.

The company is exporting products to neighbouring SAARC countries and African markets, he added.