logo
Expect double-digit growth in FY26, rural demand to drive sales: Ceat CEO

Expect double-digit growth in FY26, rural demand to drive sales: Ceat CEO

Tyre maker Ceat Ltd expects to maintain a double-digit growth this fiscal with domestic replacement segment, specially from rural markets, to drive sales while direct supplies to automobile makers are likely to be muted, according to company MD & CEO Arnab Banerjee.
The company is also waiting and watching the tariff situation in the US, a big growth market but not a significant one right now for it, to decide its future course of expansion in the country, he told PTI.
"We have started with a double-digit growth in Q1, which we have maintained last year also. We expect to maintain or accelerate that over the next two to three quarters," he said when asked for the outlook of the remainder of the fiscal.
In the first quarter ended June 30, 2025 the company's revenue stood at Rs 3,529.4 crore, up 10.5 per cent year-on-year.
As for the growth drivers, Banerjee said the two-wheeler replacement segment in the rural market is expected to do well across segments.
"On the replacement side, rural demand should be good because monsoons have been good. So we expect rural demand to be robust. Then adoption of electric vehicles specially scooters etc is going strong," he said.
Banerjee further said, "There will be some demand softness in the passenger cars side, which is dependent on larger towns but we are seeing a big shift there also from smaller size tyres to larger size tyres. Value growth could be there, margin growth could be there. In terms of the number of tyres, growth may not be that robust." Truck and bus radial tyres in the commercial vehicles segment will continue "to do decent", he noted.
However, on the direct supplies to automakers, he said, "OEM growth in two-wheelers has slowed down and passenger vehicle is low single digit. It is going to continue like that unless there are some big launches which create excitement in the market." Medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) could also slow down once the pre-buying before AC cabin regulation comes in (from October 1 this year), he said, adding "it may slow down a little bit. So, on the OEM side, slowdown is expected".
When asked about the impact of Trump tariff uncertainty, Banerjee said, "The impact on our international business is low because our stakes are low in the US. Materially it is not significant but it is a big growth market for us." The US market accounts for about 3 per cent of the company's total sales.
"We are waiting and watching...," he said, adding Ceat would wait for the tariff situation to settle down to plan its future growth strategy in the US.
Asked if the company would look at local manufacturing in the US, he said, "We have not thought that far as yet but we are just waiting for the tariff situation (to settle down) and how the pricing will move in the US." Noting that there will be inflation on imported tyres, Banerjee said the US is hugely dependent on imported tyre, not only from India but from various countries.
About the European market, he said Q1 was not good as distributors and channels were not stocking due to global geopolitical uncertainty.
"However, for Q2 we have good order visibility, more of a seasonal offtake...Q2 order base is very good. Seasonal offtake is very good and if we execute it well, it will be good and from there we will see what happens in Q3 and Q4," Banerjee noted.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

CBDT to ramp up AI-led crackdown on tax evasion ahead of new income tax law: Chairman Ravi Agrawal
CBDT to ramp up AI-led crackdown on tax evasion ahead of new income tax law: Chairman Ravi Agrawal

Economic Times

time14 minutes ago

  • Economic Times

CBDT to ramp up AI-led crackdown on tax evasion ahead of new income tax law: Chairman Ravi Agrawal

IANS CBDT chairman Ravi Agrawal New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) aims to step up its crackdown on evasion through the greater use of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify discrepancies in the reporting of income, chairman Ravi Agrawal said in an interview. This is in preparation for the new income tax law that's set to be approved by the Parliament in the current session. With access to over 6.5 billion domestic digital transactions and the exchange of information with overseas agencies, the Income Tax Department is poised to detect evasion more effectively, Agrawal said. He allayed concerns over powers that tax authorities have to access digital records. This is strictly restricted to search and seizure operations where taxpayers refuse to share information, and are not aimed at snooping on ordinary taxpayers, he said."The next phase of AI usage would be more intense, with reporting agencies providing more mature data for carrying out detailed analytics to identify evaders and hit the right targets," he Income Tax Department was proactively providing taxpayers with information about their financial transactions to encourage voluntary compliance. As many as 11 million updated returns have been filed, resulting in an additional tax mop-up of more than ₹11,000 crore, with the rollout of this facility since April 1, 2022. A recent nudge campaign led to withdrawal of tax deduction claims worth ₹963 crore, and the payment of ₹409.50 crore additional taxes between April 1, 2023, and June 18, 2025. A total of 30,161 taxpayers declared ₹29,208 crore of foreign assets and foreign income of ₹1,089 crore between November 2024 and March 31, 2025.'This was the result of analytics,' Agrawal said. 'We were able to carry out a pan-India operation.'The clear message from the tax authorities is that the department is non-intrusive and a facilitator but is keeping watch, said the CBDT chairman. A similar campaign will be rolled out this year using fresh data sets, he noted that the data received under various information exchange agreements had improved over the past two years. 'The quality of information has improved because they have also understood our requirements and it is helping us identify taxpayers that hold foreign assets,' he said. There is an emphasis on regular updates, as technology evolves to tackle areas such as the dark web, crypto and other new forms of said India is 'actively participating and contributing' to discussions at global forums on the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. 'India's voice in all these platforms is being heard. We are deliberating as to how best we can actually exchange information,' he said, adding that the country had already enabled this through regulation. The CBDT chairman said digitisation has helped expand the taxpayer base to 90 million in FY25, from 30 million in FY14. Data showed that gross refunds issued increased by 474% — from Rs 83,008 crore in FY14 to Rs 4.76 lakh crore in FY25 — with the average refund processing time dropping to 17 days, from 93 22% of income tax returns were processed within a day, and 26% in two to seven department is collating annual data on about 6.5 billion transactions to prepare pre-filled forms for about 400 million taxpayers, with 99% of them agreeing with the information provided. 'As a country we should appreciate the background effort in pre-population of ITRs, which is prompting taxpayers towards compliance,' he said. With the Parliament select committee submitting a report on the new income tax bill, the real work for the department starts now. 'The bill is the first step, and associated with this will be rules, forms and capacity building,' said Agrawal. 'This is a transition for the I-T Department, as well as for taxpayers.' The immediate focus would be to gear up the department for the massive transformation expected, with the new law that takes effect April 1, 2026.

Can Infosys maintain its momentum after reporting strong June 2025 quarter growth?
Can Infosys maintain its momentum after reporting strong June 2025 quarter growth?

Economic Times

time14 minutes ago

  • Economic Times

Can Infosys maintain its momentum after reporting strong June 2025 quarter growth?

Agencies Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel ET Intelligence Group: Infosys reported strong sequential revenue growth for the June 2025 quarter driven by lower base in the previous quarter, higher pricing, and improved utilisation. In comparison, its peers including Tata Consulting Services HCL Technologies , and Wipro failed to report a meaningful sequential top-line also revised the FY26 constant currency (CC) revenue guidance to 1-3% growth from earlier 0-3% growth citing a higher traction in new deal wins during the June quarter. For Infosys, revenue grew by 4.5% sequentially to $4,941 million in the June quarter after falling by 4.2% in the previous quarter. Analysts on average had anticipated 2.8% June quarter sequential growth may not help much in predicting the trend in coming quarters since it is benefitted by the low base in the previous quarter. A year-on-year comparison shows that revenue rose by 4.8%, the second fastest growth in nine quarters after the 5.9% increase seen in the December 2024 quarter. Given a sustained momentum in the European market and strong order booking in the June quarter, the country's second largest software exporter is expected to show improved traction in the coming company continued to show improving year-on-year business growth-12.3% in the June quarter, coming on the back of 13% growth in FY25 - in the European market, which contributes nearly one-third to its revenues. It reported flat trend in the US, its largest market, which forms over 56% of revenue. In addition, the total contract value (TCV) of large deal wins for the June quarter amounted to $3.8 billion, the highest since the previous year's June quarter when the TCV was $4.1 billion. The operating margin (EBIT margin) fell by 20 basis points sequentially to 20.8%. While phase-wise salary increase in the quarter and currency headwinds impacted the margin, better pricing and utilisation, and absence of acquisition related impairments compared with the prior quarter provided revising the lower end of the revenue guidance upwards, the company has retained the target margin band at 20-22% for FY26 indicating that there may not be any significant margin levers in the short the majority of peers, Infosys also reported higher employee attrition, which rose to 14.4% in the June quarter from 14.1% a quarter ago and 12.7% a year ago. The company's headcount increased by 8,456 year-on-year to 323,788, the highest addition among peers. The company management has stated that it would continue to execute hiring for the current fiscal year as planned. Infosys has gained nearly 11% on bourses since announcing its March quarter numbers on April 17, beating the 10% gain in the BSE Infotech index and the returns earned by peers. The stock is expected to stay on investors' radar given the sustained traction in new deals.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu urges Centre to expedite civil aviation projects
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu urges Centre to expedite civil aviation projects

Time of India

time26 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu urges Centre to expedite civil aviation projects

Shimla: Chief minister on Wednesday urged Union minister of civil aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to expedite pending issues related to the civil aviation sector in Himachal Pradesh. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The request was made through a formal letter following discussions held during Sukhu's recent visit to New Delhi. In the letter, the CM highlighted the proposed expansion of Kangra Airport, for which the state government is in the process of acquiring approximately 150 hectares of land. Awards amounting to over Rs 1,900 crore have been prepared, and Rs 410 crore has already been disbursed. With the statutory one-year period for land acquisition ending next month, Sukhu requested the ministry to recommend the project to the ministry of finance and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for special central assistance. Sukhu also raised concerns about the techno-economic feasibility report of Kangra Airport, prepared by a private firm, stating that the estimated costs were on the higher side. He urged the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to review the report to arrive at a more realistic cost assessment. He also proposed exploring a tripartite agreement involving AAI, the state government, and a private partner to facilitate the airport's expansion. The CM pointed out that Kangra Airport currently operates under visual flight rules (VFR), which require a minimum visibility of five kilometres. He recommended introducing special VFR operations to reduce the visibility requirement to 2.5 km, enabling flight operations during low-visibility conditions. Given that Kangra is the largest and busiest airport in the state, Sukhu also called for the installation of night landing facilities. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sukhu also requested the deployment of state police for airport security at Kullu and Shimla airports, similar to the arrangement at Kangra Airport, replacing the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). He also sought an extension of watch hours at Shimla Airport from 1 pm to 4 pm to allow a broader window for flight operations. To enhance infrastructure at Shimla Airport, the CM urged the provision of a second apron suitable for ATR 42/600 aircraft, which would support increased and simultaneous flight operations. He also called for the resumption of daily flights on the Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla sector by Alliance Air. Sukhu requested operational authorisation for heliports at Sanjauli, Rampur, Baddi, and Kangnidhar by Oct this year. He added that under the Udan (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) regional connectivity scheme's second phase, four additional heliports should be sanctioned at Jaskot in Hamirpur, Dehra in Kangra, and one each in Una and Bilaspur districts to boost air connectivity. He noted that air operators such as Heritage Aviation, Global Vectra, and Pawan Hans Ltd would be directed to operationalise their routes under the Udan scheme.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store