Bosch to invest Rs 1,300 cr over 3 yrs,capex to touch Rs 4 bn

The company had invested Rs 302 crore in capex in 2010, a 109 per cent growth over 2009, V K Viswanathan, Managing Director, Bosch Limited told reporters a day after the company's results were announced.

"We plan to invest more than Rs 1,300 crore over the next three years from 2011 to 2013," he said. Viswanathan said out of the capex for 2010, Bangalore accounted for 65 per cent of the investment,followed by Nasik at 25 per cent, Jaipur at five per cent and Goa and Naganathapura at three and two per cent, respectively.

On the firm's results, he said, "It has been a good solid performance." "Buoyed by sound and sustained economic growth backed by an even stronger growth in the automotive market, Bosch Limited performed exceptionally well through its innovative technology and market relevant products and solutions across all business values," he said.

The company registered a revenue growth of 39.6 per cent for the year ending December 2010. It posted net sales of Rs 6630 crore in 2010 with a net profit of Rs 859 crore, a growth of 45.4 per cent over the previous year.

"Exports grew by 44.5 per cent on the back of a smart rebound in demand from exports markets, notably Europe", he said. Power and tools and Security technology division recorded a growth of 28.3 percent and 19.7 per cent respectively. The packaging technology division grew by 6.2 per cent.

Going forward Bosch, expected its business to grow with the automotive sector in general expected to see a "double digit growth". In terms of export for Bosch Limited, Europe accounted for 60 per cent,Asia accounted for 30 per cent, Latin America four per cent, US five per cent and Africa one per cent. In the last 10 years, exports had witnessed a 18 per cent CAGR growth, he said.

Bosch in India had 22,500 employees and added almost 1,000 employees in 2010. He said the labourers 'go slow drive' had impacted its customers briefly, but the situation was brought under control subsequently. The company, he said, had cash reserves of Rs 3,000 crore.

Globally,Bosch Group which is celebrating 125 years of its existence registered net sales of Euro 47.3 billion in 2010, a 24 per cent increase from the previous year.