The BPL group has outlined a restructuring plan, which will see them focusing on four business groups along with leveraging the manufacturing expertise built up in the organisation over the past decade.

BPL has also stated that they intend to be back in the black in the next three years which will also see the company bouncing back with a 14 per cent market share in the colour TV market.

BPL Ltd vice-president (finance) P V K Sundaram said: "The strategy is to basically ring fence individual businesses and earmark finances for each of these businesses. The core focus will be on our consumer electronics, soft energy products and medical equipment businesses. We are currently working out options for our software and component businesses and it will be too premature to talk on these businesses."

The company will be leveraging its manufacturing expertise to foray into the manufacturing services arena.

"The negative side of the whole current scenario in which we are burdened with debt may be due to the vertically integrated manufacturing assets we have built up. The technical strengths and the expertise in our manpower built-up over the years need to be exploited and this will be leveraged for our foray into manufacturing services," Sundaram said.

He said: "The ongoing wave of electronics-related manufacturing is fast catching up in India and this is were we have expertise and we will actively pursue this opportunity."

The company will also look at a significant portion of its revenue coming from exports over the next five years.

"Currently the debt burden is at around Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) and we intend to bring it down to Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) in a four-year period. Investments of around Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) were made in manufacturing facilities and Rs 1,000 crore (Rs billion) was invested in brand building and distribution network in the past decade."

"We made all these investments with the right strategy. However, when multinationals started coming into the country, import duties were being lowered and they invested heavily only in brand building and distribution network. They did not have to worry on the manufacturing aspect as they could import them cost-effectively, a choice which we did not have," Sundaram added.

BPL Ltd is targeting a turnover of Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion) in two years from the current Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) and should be cash-positive in three years.

"An active debt restructuring is going on and when you are dealing with three dozen lenders, the discussions are protracted and it is bound to take time. Equity infusion from Sanyo is also being worked out and we will ready with all details by early January 2004. We should be confidently moving ahead with the restructured group from next fiscal," Sundaram said.