By IANS,
Kolkata : Lubricant manufacturer Tide Water Oil will appoint a consultant this week to start the process of disinvesting the 27 percent stake that parent firm Andrew Yule holds in it, a top company official said here Wednesday.
“The process of appointing the consultant got delayed due to a legal hurdle, which is now over,” Tide Water managing director Kallol Datta told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting.
The consultant will help Tide Water finalise the tendering process to invite bids for Andrew Yule’s stake, Datta added.
He said the disinvestnment process is expected to be completed in the current fiscal.
Without mentioning the time when the tender is likely to be floated, Datta said the tender inviting the bids would be finalised shortly.
A board-appointed committee will monitor the process of disinvestment, Datta said.
Datta expects a sales growth of 20 percent in 2008-09, compared to 25 percent achieved year ago.
“This year, prices of base oil, our key raw material, has gone up significantly following the rise in crude prices but we hope to achieve a growth rate of 20 percent in sales,” Datta said.
Sale of its branded lubricant Veedol went up 14 percent in volume terms, compared to an industry growth rate of three percent in 2007-08.
“We have been growing much faster than any of our competitors,” Datta said.
The company is investing Rs.200 million to set up a lubricant plant in Chennai, he added.