Motherson Sumi to set up plant in Uttarakhand

Buoyed by an over five-fold increase in its consolidated profit after tax in April-June period, auto component maker Motherson Sumi Systems has said it will invest up to Rs 500 crore in setting up four new facilities this fiscal. The company reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 59.55 crore for the quarter ended June 30 compared to Rs 11.05 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

The consolidated sales of the company jumped by 32.38 per cent to Rs 1,858.63 crore from Rs 1,404.04 crore in the year-ago period. "There has been a robust growth in domestic demand, which mainly fueled our healthy performance. Also our European subsidiary Samvardhana Motherson Visiocorp Solution performed really well and it helped in expanding our bottomline," Motherson Sumi Systems chief operating officer Pankaj Mital told PTI. The company expects to continue its good growth in coming quarters as well, he added.

Speaking about its expansion plans, Motherson Sumi Systems chief financial officer G.N. Gauba said, "We have earmarked an investment of Rs 400-500 crore for setting up four new facilities at different locations."

The company would set up plants at Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Haldwani in Uttarakhand for supplying components to different manufacturers, including Toyota, Tata Motors, Nissan and Ashok Leyland, he added. "The upcoming facilities will also produce automotive wiring harnesses for our customers," Gauba said. He, however, declined to comment on the planned production capacities of the facilities saying it will depend on demand.

The company currently has 16 automotive mirror and 27 wiring harnesses facilities across the country. Motherson Sumi Systems is the flagship company of the Samvardhana Motherson Group and is a joint venture between the group and Japan-based Sumitomo Wiring Systems.