Time Technoplast, the advanced polymer products manufacturer, is going for two acquisitions.
Also plans to set up a JV with leading pellet and crate manufacturer
MUMBAI: Time Technoplast, the advanced polymer products manufacturer, is going for two acquisitions.
Anil Jain, managing director of the company, said he has zeroed in on a battery manufacturing unit in Bulgaria.
In addition to the European acquisition, Time Technoplast is eyeing the high-growth material handling arena, where it plans to set up a joint venture with one of the world’s leading pellet and crates manufacturers, Jain said. He declined to reveal the names of the companies.
The acquisitions will be funded internally, Jain said, “because the company is underleveraged at the moment.” They will cost about Rs 120 crore.
The Bulgarian deal will give Time access to the European Union. “We get a ready market in the continent, where we can supply the branded batteries to car and truck manufacturers,” Jain said.
Time Technoplast is the leader in telecom batteries but has no presence in the auto battery segment.
The Bulgarian battery manufacturer owns a brand which could even be retailed in India, Jain said.
For the year ended March 2008, the company reported a 112% jump in net profit to Rs 87 crore for the year ended March 31, 2008, as against Rs 41 crore in financial year 2007. Sales grew 71% to Rs 681 crore (Rs 399 crore). The board has recommended a split up of the face value of the company’s stock of Rs 10 per share into 10 shares of Re 1 each.
Time Technoplast’s talks with an Australian company which is engaged in making polymer-based crates and pellets broke down recently. The price quoted was too high, Jain revealed.
The company has grown through a slew of acquisitions that include a 71% in NED Energy, Hyderabad, which in turn completed the acquisition of 100% equity in Gulf Powerbeat WLL, Bahrain. Its growth also came from greenfield units in Poland and Sharjah.
In the space of telecom batteries, Time is currently ‘fully engaged’ in meeting the demand from mobile services firms. In the coming months, the company is eyeing the automotive battery segment for commercial trucks.
Time Technoplast has developed two models of fuel cell batteries. “We are waiting for the market to develop”, Jain said. DNA Money had reported last year about Time Technoplast’s plan on fuel cell batteries.
According to Jain, the company has two fuel cell batteries of 300 watts and 1.2 kilowatt ready, which will run on hydrogen. But with the country still to bet on laying a separate infrastructure for hydrogen as fuel, in terms of pipelines etc, the company is not jumping into the new space yet.
An automotive fuel cell battery needs a minimum 25KW, which Jain believes can be easily ramped up by the company.
The company is betting on polymer products replacing metal products such as fuel tanks, LPG cylinders and CNG cylinders.
j_satish@dnaindia.net
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