Blue Star eyes Rs 10k cr revenue in medium term, to enter western countries

Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration major Blue Star aims to grow its revenue to Rs 10,000 crore in the medium term and plans to enter North American and European markets, according to the latest annual report of the company.

The company is now gearing up for the next phase of growth and as part of that, is focusing on building scale.

The next phase of growth will see Blue Star becoming a more eminent player on the international front and consolidate its position in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions with deeper market penetration and the introduction of innovative products and solutions, said Vice Chairman & Managing Director Vir S Advani.

"We have set more ambitious goals to expand our global footprint with a strategy to enter North America and Europe as an Original Design & Manufacturing (ODM) solutions provider," said Advani while addressing shareholders.

Besides, Blue Star will further strengthen its R&D and innovation capabilities and deploy the Total Cost Management (TCM) programme across various businesses and functions to build cost leadership.

Talking about the domestic market, Advani said India will continue to be the home market in which Blue Star "will strive to be a major market share player" in all segments and categories of AC&R (air conditioning and refrigeration).

"The company aims to grow faster than the market in its core businesses of air conditioning and commercial refrigeration. The company is also planning to grow revenue from adjacencies such as air coolers, MEP services for water supply projects, and railway electrification," he said.

For financial year ended March 31, 2022, Blue Star's total income was up 40.6 per cent year-on-year at Rs 6,081.30 crore.

"Our medium-term goal is to grow the company's revenue from the current Rs 6,000 crore to over Rs 10,000 crore," Blue Star Chairman Shailesh Haribhakti said.

Talking about the Indian market, Advani said it is fast becoming a major manufacturing hub for AC&R products.

"With the introduction of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, the ecosystem for air conditioning components is developing fast in the country," he said.

Now, several European and American players in the segment are looking at reliable and capable manufacturers outside China, in their pursuit to secure their supply chain.

"The company's new manufacturing facility at Wada (Maharashtra) will cater to the production of its commercial refrigeration products and solutions, and with this, Blue Star will double its production capacity of deep freezers," Advani said adding this plant can produce around two lakh deep freezers and one lakh storage water coolers per annum.

Besides, Blue Star is setting up a 20-acre manufacturing facility at Sri City for room air conditioners under the PLI scheme.

"The company plans to invest Rs 550 crore over the next few years. The investment will be made in a phased manner and when fully built, the facility will have a capacity of producing 12 lakh units of ACs per annum," he added.

The investment will be made in a phased manner and when fully built, the facility will have a capacity of producing 12 lakh units of ACs per annum. The construction of the first phase will be completed by October 2022.