Wheels India plans Rs. 122 crore in capex, Q4 net rises 12.7%

Wheels India, a TVS group company, has drawn up a Rs. 122-crore capital expenditure programme for the current financial year.

“We will be investing this towards capacity expansion. After 2011-12, this is the first year when we are seeing capacity expansion in all the segments we are present in, all at the same time,” Srivats Ram, MD, told the media on Tuesday.

“It is also the first time in many years that we are seeing successive years of such strong growth. We are full on capacity, and ramping up capacity is a challenge.”

The capacity addition should be on stream in the second half of this year, he said. “The sudden pace of shift to higher tonnage [in commercial vehicles] in the second half of last year was a surprise.”

“We expect strong growth to continue in CV and construction segments. Mining is also showing signs of life, and we are positive [about] growth in this segment as well,” he added.

Wind energy prospects

He said he saw a pick-up in exports in wind energy. “The outlook is promising. Demand is quite strong. Direction towards growth is seen in all segments. We are targeting double-digit growth this year. We grew exports by 10% last year, and expect exports to do well this year,” Mr. Ram said.

The Hindu