Surya Roshni eyes bigger pie with new products

Surya Roshni Limited, the second biggest seller of lighting products after Philips in India, is looking to increase its its market share from the present 25 per cent to 35 per cent in a year with new products, expansion of production capacity and aggressive marketing campaigns. The company, which manufactures steel pipes, derives close to 32 per cent of its Rs 1,750 crore sales (as reported in last fiscal) from its lighting division.

The Rs 2,000 crore domestic lighting market is dominated by Philips with a market share of about 35 per cent, while players like Osram, GE and Wipro too have a presence in this category. During fiscal 2009-10, Surya Roshni embarked upon a Rs 550 crore expansion of which Rs 150 crore will be spent on expanding production capacities of its factories in Gwalior and Kashipur in Uttarakhand. “The company is financing the expansion with a mix of internal accruals and bank loans,” JP Agarwal, chairman and MD, Surya Roshni, said.

“We want to double sales of our lighting division from the present over Rs 500 crore in the next one year. Last quarter, our lighting business grew 50 per cent and going forward we aim to double our growth rate with new product launches and enhancing our market visibility with increased spend on publicity,” Agarwal said.