Cyient bets big on manufacturing business

Hyderabad: Cyient Ltd., formerly Infotech Enterprises, a city-based IT solutions and engineering company, expects to see one-fourth of its revenue coming from manufacturing in the next five years as it seeks to expand its offerings in the aviation sector.

“Currently, aviation makes up a significant part of our revenue... However, we see a huge opportunity for us in the manufacturing and maintenance segments as they form the major chunk of the aerospace business,” Cyient chief executive officer Krishna Bodanapu told this newspaper.

Currently, the company expects Rs 400 crore revenue from manufacturing business this year, which is nearly seven times higher than Rs 60 crore that it clocked last fiscal from the manufacturing.

Going forward, Mr Bodanapu said the manufacturing business could contribute around 25 per cent of its total sales in the next five years. According to Boeing, “the gobal aviation industry needs 38,050 new airplanes in the next 20 years. And 26,730 of them, or 70 percent, will be single-aisle airplanes. Additio-nally, 8,830 new widebody airplanes will be needed.”

While there is a limited role for an aviation-focused software company, the MRO company can expect business through out the life of an aircraft. As part of this strategy, Cyient had recently bought Global Services Engineering-Asia, a Singapore repair arm of aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney. Though the Hyderabad-based company currently has a four-year contract with Pratt & Whitney, it later plans to offer its manufacturing services to other aircraft makers. Last year, it had bought Rangsons Electronics to target component manufacturing business.