Wheels India invests INR 177 crore in new cast aluminium wheel plant; Revenue declines 14% in Q3

Wheels India Ltd. commissioned new cast aluminium wheel plant with an investment of INR 177 crore.  The facility, located at Thervoy Kandigai, Tamil Nadu, will have an annual production capacity of 7.5 lakh wheels.

Srivats Ram, MD, said, “We will start shipping cast aluminium wheels shortly. Initially, it will be for exports but we will look at the domestic market as well, going forward.”

Net profit stood at INR 7.43 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, down from INR 28.67 crore a year earlier. The company reported revenue of INR 510.84 crore. That was down 14% from INR ₹595.63 crore a year earlier.

“After the lockdown [began] in March, we started running our plants at some level only towards the end of the first quarter,” he said. “With the unlocking of the economy, we reached around 90% of our pre-Covid production levels in September.”

“There is also some benefit we have got out of the realignment strategy adopted by global customers (especially those in North America and Europe). Customers are also looking at increasing the production base in India for exporting from India in the coming years, in a move away from China centric production base.”

The company has planned for capital expenditure of INR 72 crore this fiscal.