Ganguly: Charged up

Calcutta, May 24: Exide Industries Ltd, the stored energy solution provider, is set to charge up the country’s first Rs 1-lakh car as the design blueprint for the car battery has been approved by Tata Motors.

The Exide R&D team had been working on the battery since the car was being conceptualised.

“We welcome this investment in Bengal. Out of the last 12 automobile projects that went to the usual places like Pune and south India, this is the first of its kind in the state. Exide is excited to be a part of such a path-breaking project. It has been a challenging job and we have succeeded in giving it a concrete shape. The battery prototype is currently undergoing various tests in Pune following its approval,” said S.B. Ganguly, executive chairman and chief executive officer, Exide Industries.

The tests will continue for the next three months. The batteries will be manufactured at the company’s Haldia plant.

“This will help the whole process, as the proximity of the Haldia plant will ensure delivery at the earliest,” Ganguly said.

The battery design will be the first of its kind, as every car model has a unique battery type depending on the circuit. The people’s car being the first of its kind, the battery design also had to cater to the unique nature of the project, Ganguly said.

Although the battery will be less powerful than that of a Maruti 800, it will ensure better fuel efficiency. The essence of the model will be its power-packed compact nature.

The project will not require significant additional investment, as the plant already manufactures batteries.

For the first two years, the company will focus on original equipment manufacturers and subsequently focus on the replacement market.

The Exide plant in Haldia has been operational for the last 20 years.

Besides manufacturing automotive and industrial batteries, the plant also makes batteries exclusively for submarines.

The company posted a 30.34 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 100.73 crore and an 18.76 per cent growth in net sales at Rs 1,761.08 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2006.

The industrial battery segment of Exide Industries has shown an 18 per cent revenue growth during the year and a market share of more than 50 per cent.

The company had a market share of more than 75 per cent in the branded replacement market for batteries.

Exide’s industrial battery export grew by more than 33 per cent in Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Netherlands.

Stock split

The Exide Industries board will consider a proposal to split equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each at its meeting on June 16.

“We feel that the current volume of trading in the company’s share is quite low and hence the decision to go in for the stock split. The percentage and ratio of the split would be decided at the board meeting,” Ganguly said.