Eicher pegs capex at Rs2K cr for FY15;posts 42% jump in Q1 Net

Eicher Motors plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in its various business verticals, including commercial vehicles and motorcycles, by the end of 2015.
The company, which today posted 42 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 139.12 crore in the first quarter ended March 31, also plans to launch around 11 new trucks by the middle of 2015.
"We plan to invest around Rs 2,000 crore on various businesses in 2014-15. Around Rs 1,300 crore would be invested in the VECV business, while Rs 600 crore has been earmarked for Royal Enfield business," Eicher Motors Managing Director & CEO Siddhartha Lal told reporters in a conference call.

The company is also in the process of investing around Rs 125 crore in a joint venture with Polaris, he added.
Eicher Motors manufactures and markets Royal Enfield motorcycles. It also has a joint venture -- VECV -- with the Volvo group that designs, manufactures and sells commercial vehicles.
The company reported a decline of over 20.3 per cent in its commercial vehicle sales at 9,981 units for the first quarter ended March 31.

"The commercial vehicle industry continues to battle the enormous downturn that has been affecting this sector for more than 30 months now. The first quarter of 2014 has been particularly tough that saw the domestic industry (5 tonne and above) decline by 18.3 per cent," Lal said.

With the recent commercial launch of the Eicher Pro-1000 and Pro-3000 range of trucks and buses, the company aims to meet the needs of the emerging mid-premium market segment, he added.
When asked about the number of launches the company plans to have in the commercial vehicle segment, Lal said: "We plan to launch around 11 vehicles by the middle of 2015.