Aries Agro eyes up to 20% sales growth in FY17 on back of good monsoon

Recently, the company kicked off a 'flash sale and booking bazaar' where orders worth Rs 201.78 crore were placed

Micro-nutrient manufacturer Aries Agro is buckling up for a revenue growth of up to 20% at Rs 300 crore in 2016-17, pinning its hopes on new product pipeline and a rising market share, a senior company executive said.

"It was a very difficult last year and we expect flat growth in revenue at Rs 250 crore compared with the previous financial year. But, for FY17, on the back of good monsoon forecast and new product offerings, we expect up to 20% growth in revenue, which will be Rs 275-300 crore," Aries Agro Executive Director Rahul Mirchandani told PTI here.

The company, which also makes nutritional products for plants and animals, has set a long-term target of doubling revenue in the next four years.

It has a product range of 65 brands, which come with all 16 plant nutrients for 107 crops and are currently used by 9 million farmers across 1,99,000 villages in India and 12 other countries across the world.

According to Mirchandani, Aries Agro has three products in the works for this year, which include a soil nutrient, a product for fruits and vegetable growers and one for aqua culture.

"As we have enough manufacturing capacity, we are planning to enhance it in the existing units by 20% to meet market demand," he added.

The company has five manufacturing facilities in India and two units in the UAE that cater to export markets.

Brazil and New Zealand serve as two of its biggest export destinations.

Recently, the company kicked off a 'flash sale and booking bazaar' at the Bombay Stock Exchange, where over 400 dealers and distributors got together for the annual business conference and placed Rs 201.78-crore orders for 65 brand products.

Dealers from 26 states were present.

"This kind of flash sale is only seen in the e-commerce space. We wanted to start a new trend in the agri-business. We have had two consecutive years of drought and with the news from the Met Department of a normal rainfall this year, this flash sale is symbolic of a new beginning for the agri-business sector. We reached Rs 100 crore in just under 15 minutes," Mirchandani said.

Aries Agro, whose overseas business makes up 24% of the total consolidated group revenue, is planning to consolidate its existing market share and cast the net wide.