Solar water pump maker Shakti Pumps expects to more than double the topline to Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal on the back of more adoption of its products by farmers which is being driven by the heavy central and state subsidies that run up to 90 per cent.
The company closed FY21 with a topline of Rs 930 crore, which was nearly three times its previous year revenue. Of the past year revenue, Rs 560 crore came in from solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business (setting up the full unit) and Rs 180 crore from exports, Dinesh Patidar, chairman and managing director of Shakti Pumps has said.
Shakti Pumps, which has manufactured the country's first BEE 5 star-rated pumps and is also the first domestic company to produce 100 per cent stainless steel pumps and energy efficient motors, was founded in 1982 in Pithampur, near Indore.
At present, its products reach as much 125 world markets. The company has filed for 20 patents since it pioneered the solar water pumps in 2010.
Other key players in the solar water pump market include Alpex Solar, Bright Solar, Claro Energy, Conergy Energy, Tata Power Solar Systems, Lorentz, Greenmax Technology, and Udhaya Semiconductors and so on.
Shakti Pumps has two plants in Pitampur with a cumulative production capacity (solar and motorised) of 5 lakh units per annum in two shifts and 3.5 lakh units in single shift. Its special economic zone (SEZ) unit near-by can produce 1.5 lakh units per annum.
We expect robust demand for solar water pumps this year as there is increasing awareness about the huge financial benefits from them and the good monsoons giving them enough liquidity, Patidar said.
“Accordingly, FY22 revenue should more than double to Rs 2,000 crore. The export front also looks promising as we just bagged a Rs 250-crore order from Uganda. This should help us net Rs 500 crore from exports this fiscal year,” Patidar told PTI on Wednesday, adding and earn around Rs 75 crore in net income.
The entry into southern markets, especially Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu should also boost volumes, he said.
Shakti Pumps has installed over 1 lakh solar pumps out of (1.2 lakh installed) since it entered the segment in 2010 and in FY21 it had installed 20,000 units under the EPC model (setting up the solar water pump unit along with the solar power panel units) and 15,000 units were sold to others who install such pumps across.
Its main markets are Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, MP and Chhattisgrah, while Andhra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu are the new growth markets in a year or two from now, Patidar said.
Shakti Pumps has over 260 pump models and over 1,000 stock-keeping unit (SKUs) with their capacity ranging from 300 watts to 300 kilo watts.
On average, a solar pump unit costs around Rs 2.15 lakh and goes up depending on the wattage and load capacity. It procures solar units from the Adani Group, he said.
Patidar expects significant volume growth over the next two years due to increasing application in domestic and agriculture sectors, rising government support (central subsidy of 30 per cent and states offering up to 65 per cent), and low maintenance cost.
Maharashtra is significantly contributing to the market growth offering up to 95 per cent in capital subsidy to farmers, he said.
The centre has set a target to install 1 million solar water pumps by 2021 for irrigation and drinking water purposes. According to him, a farmer/user can recover the entire cost within a year.
Shakti Pump shares were trading over 1 per cent lower against their previous close on BSE at Rs 708.70 apiece in afternoon trade.
