Ashok Leyland looking at Rs 5,100 cr revenue from defence orders

Chennai, April 18 (IANS) Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland Ltd is expecting a revenue of around Rs 5,100 crore in six years on the basis of orders in hand from the Indian defence sector, a company official said on Wednesday.

"In the last two years, we have doubled our turnover from the defence sector. Based on orders in hand from 26 tenders we won in two years, the company revenue is expected to be around Rs 5,100 crore," its Head-Defence Amandeep Singh told IANS on the sidelines of an event here.

Amandeep Singh said Ashok Leyland was focussed on the vehicles for mobility of defence personnel or equipment like guns or gun-mounted vehicles in the defence vertical.

He said the potential orders from the defence sector for Ashok Leyland were worth around Rs 14,000 crore in 10 years.

The official said the company had won 12 of the 15 tenders for supply of defence equipment.

He said tourism operators were looking with interest at one of the company vehicles meant for the Indian Army to ferry tourists in deserts, adding that enquiries have been received for the light specialist vehicle for use on sand dunes in Dubai.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Vinod K. Dasari said the company earned Rs 500 crore from defence supplies last year, with revenue of around Rs 800 crore expected this year.

Dasari said Ashok Leyland will invest around Rs 1,000 crore this year on capacity enhancement and other activities and ruled out setting up a new plant to cater to defence or civilian sectors.

He said the company registered a turnover of around Rs 25,000 crore in last fiscal, up from around Rs 20,000 crore in the previous fiscal.

Dasari said the market was moving towards higher-tonnage vehicles.

Queried on the exports, Dasari said the company shipped out around 18,000 units last year, adding that the Dubai market was facing some constraints.