Bartronics bets big on leisure, entertainment verticals

Eyes acquisition in Europe for over Rs 200 crore by this year-end.

Leveraging its southeast Asian and US operations, Bartronics India Limited "� a Hyderabad-based provider of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) and radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions "� is evaluating opportunities in the leisure and entertainment verticals in these markets.

Through its overseas subsidiaries, Bartronics America Inc and Bartronics Asia Pte Limited, the company is currently in talks with Disney Land and the Formula One headquarters in the US for providing cash-less transaction solutions across the globe.

It is also held a meeting with the Singapore government recently to provide services related to security, cash-less transaction system to FI circuits and casinos, automated toll collection for MRTS public transportation and fool-proof identification and authentication systems to check cyber crime. The Singapore government had earmarked a budget of $4.1 billion for IT this calendar year.

"We expect the talks to reach fruition soon and garner Rs 100 crore each from our overseas subsidiaries in the next 12 months," Sudheer Rao, managing director and CEO of Bartronics, told Business Standard.

Stating that the company was looking closely at the European markets, he said it would possibly acquire a European company, similar to the one that it had done in the US, for over $50 million (around Rs 200 crore).

"We are scouting for a company that is engaged in the RFID technology and smartcard solutions, and expect to wrap up the deal by the end of this year," he said, adding that the zero-debt company was weighing various options including debt, equity or an FCCB issue to fund the acquisition in the next six to eight months.

Bartronics had, in January 2008, acquired the assets of Proximities Inc and SRG America Inc for a total consideration of $50 million (around Rs 200 crore), which it raised through issuance of zero coupon unsecured FCCBs. The company expects revenues in excess of Rs 200 crore this financial year on the back of around 50 per cent utilisation of production capacity at its smartcards manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.

"We plan to fully utilise the 80-million production capacity at our plant during the next financial year. This, coupled with our overseas plans, is expected to fuel our topline to touch Rs 500 crore next year," Rao said.