Back in the black, Suzlon eyes 40% market share this year

Suzlon has so far installed 15,550 mw or 15.5 GW across the globe, while its installed capacity in the country is 9,500 mw

Wind turbine maker Suzlon, which returned to profitability after badly bleeding for almost seven years, is eyeing a 40% market share this year, up from 26% last year.

"Even as the wind sector may seem challenging now, the government's target of achieving 60 GW of wind power by 2022 is an opportunity for a company like us, which has vast experience and capabilities in execution and new products to meet the demand for higher capacities," Suzlon chairman and managing director Tulsi R Tanti told PTI.

"With our continued focus on execution, we are hopeful that we will be able to achieve 40% market share against 26% last fiscal when the total installed capacity stood at 3,415 mw," he said.

He said the market is likely to grow at a CAGR of around 20-25% over the next five years while Suzlon hopes to continue to grow at much higher rate than the industry.

"We have already managed to bounce back into the black after almost seven years of losses, which gives us the confidence of exceeding the market growth," Tanti said.

Suzlon group chief financial office Kirti Vagadia said the wind market is expected to grow at around 30% this fiscal to over 4,400 mw, compared to 3,415 mw in 2015-16.

Suzlon, which is the fifth-largest player globally, has so far installed 15,550 mw or 15.5 GW across the globe, while its installed capacity in the country is 9,500 mw.

Vagadia said the Pune-based company's focus last year was on increasing cash flows and profitability, apart from significantly reducing net working capital, optimising debt maturity profile and maintaining strong liquidity.

"Because of these efforts, we managed to garner a net profit of Rs 483 crore in 2015-16, after witnessing losses for almost seven years in a row. This year also we will continue with the same strategy and book new orders," he added.