STL also plans to continue to invest about three per cent of its annual revenue in research on areas of optical solutions and wireless solutions including 5G
Sterlite Technologies Limited, (STL), has increased its optical fibre manufacturing capacity from 30 million fibre kilometres (fkm) to 50 million fkm since 2019. Anand Agarwal, group chief executive, Sterlite Technologies Limited (STL) told ETTelecom that the company has invested over Rs 1500 crore in this expansion.
The Pune based company has done maority of this investment with a small quantum in Europe. The company is also looking to expans its portfolio to include telecom radio components in the same. STL is also exploring fifth generation or 5G network market in India.
The company is looking to invest Rs 200 crore to expand this manufacturing further. It als has plans to open new facilities in UK and the US. The capacity enhancements, as per the company, will enable the extensive fibre build-outs planned across US, Europe and UK to boost rural broadband and 5G programs.
“The last year paved the way for a decade of network creation. STL has worked towards capacity and capability enhancements through strategic investments in manufacturing, research and global talent. Our sustained investments along with deep customer engagement will definitely drive the next phase of growth that will propel us towards the annual revenue run rate of INR 10,000 Cr by the end of FY’23,” said Dr Anand Agarwal, Group CEO, STL, during a recent investor meet.
STL also plans to continue to invest about three per cent of its annual revenue in research on areas of optical solutions and wireless solutions including 5G. It is to be noted here that the company has recently received its first 5G patent in the US. It also has ongoing product trials at customer premises in U.S. and APAC.
The company had a 55 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 2021 (Rs 124.4 crore). STL’s net profit stood at about Rs 80 crore in Q4 FY20 while its revenue figures were Rs 1,475 crore for the March quarter. This indicates a 27per cent year-on-year growth.
