NEW DELHI, India (Oct. 26, 2013) — JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. is planning to expand capacity at its 3-year-old tire plant in Chennai nearly 66 percent with a $230 million investment over the coming few years.
JK Tyre said the investment will boost annual capacity to 4.8 million radial tires a year, allowing it to take advantage of rising demand for radial tires. The plant, opened in 2010, makes both passenger and truck/bus tires.
The expansion will boost employment 50 percent to 7,500, the company said. The investment will be funded by internal accruals, debt and equity, JK said.
The New Delhi-based company, the world's No. 25 tire maker, said the market for radial truck/bus tires is expected to expand to 30 percent by mid-2014 from 26 percent currently and to 55 percent in the coming five years.
The expansion also will support JK's drive to expand its annual revenue to $1.6 billion by 2015, up nearly 45 percent from the fiscal 2013 level.
JK announced the expansion along with its second quarter earnings. For the period ended Sept. 30, net income rose 35.6 percent to $57 million on 8.8-percent higher sales of $231 million.
