Kavveri Telecom expands into Europe

The company makes its fourth buy in N America.

Bangalore-based Kavveri Telecom Products Ltd, a provider of antennas and radio frequency (RF) products for the wireless industry, has expanded its market by bagging its first order from Europe.

The company, which has a strong network in north America, received an order worth $100,000 for supply of wireless products like 3G base station antennas from Vodafone.

Kavveri Telecom will supply these products to Vodafone for its operations in Finland. Said Shivakumar Reddy, Managing Director, Kavveri Telecom Products Limited, "European telecom products market is very tough to penetrate. An order from a company like Vodafone is a first step towards our journey in this market. This will take us a long way in further expanding our footprint in Europe."

Reddy said the company is also eyeing acquisitions in the European market. Vodafone's order will help them understand the market better and make a proper case for future acquisitions, he said.

"Though an acquisition in Europe is on our radar, we are not rushing into that. We first want to complete the process of acquisition in North American market and then go for Europe," he said.

Kavveri Telecom made its fourth acquisition in Canada and North America. The company, in an all-cash deal, acquired two loss making companies - Spotwave Wireless Inc of USA and Spotwave Wireless Inc of Canada - for a combined cost of $7 million. This acquisition will give Kavveri an access to the intellectual property, domain names, products and product designs of these two companies.

"This acquisition enables us to provide solutions in bringing the outdoor signal inside for both commercial and residential locations, ensuring that cell phones and wireless devices work reliably indoors," Reddy said. The company is also expected to announce another acquisition in North America by end of the current fiscal, he added.

Spotwave Wireless Inc of US and Canada reported a combined revenue of $10 million in 2007 and a loss of $5 million. It has an order book of $2 million currently. However, Kavveri is hopeful of turning around these two companies in the next one year. The company aims to cut down costs and improve margins. Out of 53 employees, it is retaining only 21 employees in Canada and USA.

Kavveri Telecom also plans to introduce an intelligent adaptive repeater in-building solution which will be a key strategic addition to the company's existing in-building products and services business.

"Through this, we will be offering an uninterrupted coverage indoors for the wireless devices at a very affordable price," Reddy said.

The company reported a topline of Rs 43 crore during the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, nearly 4 times growth over the same period last year and a net profit of Rs 6.14 crore, a growth of three times over the corresponding period last year.