Date:23/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/04/23/stories/2005042301580200.htm

Back Wipro Consumer Care revenues up 20 pc

Our Bureau

Bangalore , April 22

WIPRO Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL) recorded revenues of Rs 472 crore, a 29 per cent rise year-on-year, and contributed 6 per cent to Wipro Ltd's revenues of Rs 8,170 crore for 2004-05.

Quarter-on-quarter, the business grew 20 per cent registering revenues of Rs 122.7 crore in Q4 of 2004-05.

Sequentially, the revenues actually fell 5 per cent from Rs 128.9 crore in the third quarter of the year.

"The controversy over the FDA notice on the content of our baby oil has not had any impact on our sales and our product categories are growing in value and volume,'' said Mr Vineet Agrawal, President, WCCL. Wipro expects to reply to the Maharashtra FDA notice but says the company has only used ingredients permitted by the India Pharmacopia.

"We have not felt any impact on our sales but would be happy to undertake any consumer education and awareness campaign about the usage of the baby oil and other products.''

Investments in WCCL's Baddi (HP) unit have been about Rs 13 crore so far but that number will go up, Mr Agrawal said but declined to detail its investment plans. "We are on an expansion spree there, and have added a second soap-making line and are getting into `noodle'-making.''

WCCL's Santoor brand has grown during the year and the company is planning a re-launch of its Chandrika brand of hand-made soaps, Mr Agrawal said.

"We will expand the portfolio under the Sanjeevani brand," Mr Agrawal said adding the company would start test marketing a couple of new products this year.

WCCL also forayed into the modular office furniture business in 2004-05 and "we have installed about 10,000 workstations in 30 companies including Siemens, Biocon, etc and see this business growing robustly,'' he said.

The Wipro Chairman, Mr Azim Premji, said its 98 per cent-owned subsidiary, Wipro Fluid Power, delivered robust results during fiscal 2004-05. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Anurag Behar, MD, Wipro Fluid Power, said the subsidiary had grown 43 per cent in the year 2004-05 and expected rapid growth in the coming years, in the hydraulics cylinders business where it has a 70 per cent market share in India.

It has grown from revenues of Rs 90 crore in 2003 to Rs 240 crore now and expects the boom in infrastructure development and construction to drive its growth.

The company makes hydraulic cylinders for construction equipment and has rising exports to Japan and other markets, Mr Behar said.