Kent RO aims to be a Rs 1,000-cr firm by 2016-17

Water purifier maker Kent Ro Systems is aiming Rs 1,000 crore in revenues by 2016-17 on the back of rising demand for its products in non-metro cities and larger product portfolio.
"Last year we finished at Rs 580 crore and this year we are expected to close around Rs 700 crore. Next fiscal I am hoping around Rs 850-900 crore and then over Rs 1,000 by 2016-17," Kent RO Systems Chairman Mahesh Gupta told PTI.
He added: "We are continuing with a year-on-year growth of 25 per cent. This year it was a little sluggish and would have 20 per cent growth."

Kent RO has set up a RO membrane unit at its Roorkee plant and is now producing most parts here. Earlier, the company was importing components from USA. RO membranes play the most important role in filtering impurities in water purifiers.
The company is now setting up another plant in Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
"We have started a new plant in Noida which would come up by 2017. We are investing around Rs 100 crore which would be funded internally," Gupta said.

When asked about the product portfolio expansion, he said the firm is looking to grow in segments such as air purifiers, where it has recently launched a model.

"We are in process of that. One model has already been launched. Over the time, we are building up this space. In a year or more we would have more offerings to the market," he added.
Commenting on exports, Gupta said the company would expand its base in the Middle East. It is also exporting to Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.
"Right now we are exporting five per cent of our total production. We are targeting it to be 10 per cent in two years," he said.
When asked whether the company has any plan to go public to fund its future expansion, Gupta said "No. Right now we have no plan. It would be our last resort."

The company is spending around 10-12 per cent on market and branding which includes awareness campaigns for safe drinking water and ATL and BTL activities.
Kent is one of the leading players in the estimated Rs 2,000 crore RO based water purifier market in India along with Eureka Forbes, Whirlpool of India and HUL. The sector has become competitive as firms as Panasonic, LG, TTK has jumped.
"Competition in the market is a challenge for us, which is very prospective. The consumer would get more benefit from such competition. We would keep improving our product category and start deep penetration in the market," he added.