Siemens Telecom Expects To Break Even In 1997-98

Siemens Telecom expects to break even in 1997-98. In the current financial year 1996-97, the company has (till mid March) reported a turnover of Rs 42 crore. For 1997-98, the company has targeted a turnover of Rs 100 crore, which if achieved will help it to break even. This was disclosed by B G Roy, managing director, Siemens Telecom.

The target set by the company appears to be well within reach. Barring a slackening of production, which is a remote possibility, we would reach this figure very comfortably, said I B Mehra, marketing manager, Siemens Telecom.

As part of its strategy to break even, the company plans to control around 60 per cent of the cordless phone market out of the total market estimated at 3.5 lakh pieces per annum in 1997-98. The company has already opened additional service centres in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The company will also provide immediate replacement of its cordless sets and adapter in case of failure during the one-year warranty period.

 

The higher reach of its cordless phones is expected to help the company corner a better market share. The company claims that its present set of cordless phones has a range of around 100 metres within the metros, which is considerably more than its competitors.

The company is likely to end even in the current financial year with a turnover of around Rs 50 crore, Roy said. The company has also decided to concentrate on being a marketing company, Roy added. Siemens Telecom is a joint venture between Siemens and Bharati Telecom. Siemens holds 51 per cent stake in the company and the balance 49 per cent is held by Bharati Telecom.

The company is engaged in marketing of telecom products. The company has been incurring losses ever since inception. This is attributed by the company to the delay in installation of direct exchange lines by DoT.

The cordless telephones, which the company has launched recently, includes the first 25 channel auto scan cordless phone, Beetel Pearl 600 and Pearl 645. Both products are manufactured by Bharati Telecom. The maximum retail price for these products has been fixed at Rs 3,650. These phones are based on SMT (Surface Mounted Technology) and the company claims to have tested them at Siemens AG laboratories, Germany.