Apollo targets $5bn sales in five years

Gurugram, India — Apollo Tyres Ltd is aiming to more than double its sales over the next five years, according to chairman Onkar S. Kanwar.

The target, part of the company’s new vision unveiled earlier in June, will see Apollo’s annual sales increase from $2.34 billion (€2 billion) reported in the financial year 2020-2021 to $5 billion by 2025-26. 

“I am confident that with your support and the drive by our people, we will reach the target,” said Kanwar in his address at Apollo's 48th annual general meeting 23 July.

Apollo ranked 15 in the ERJ 2020 Global Tire Report, after Linglong Group which reported $2.4 billion sales in 2019. Group Michelin leads the table with a revenue of $25 billion.

Commenting on the uncertainties surrounding the third wave of Covid, Kanwar said he remained “bullish” on the strength of the Indian and global economies. 

“Your company is a dynamic company and has been mapping possible scenarios for the coming months and already drawn action plans accordingly,” he added.

Commenting on the performance of Apollo during the 2021 financial year, ended 31 March, Kanwar said the Covid pandemic created challenging times for the company.

“With plants in three countries and employees in many more, it was a challenging time for us as we had to understand multiple scenarios,” he explained. 

Apollo, he said, could not have “a uniformity of approach” and had to learn quickly to live with the added complexity. 

“We were quick to understand the gravity of the pandemic and immediately launched initiatives to check on our costs,” he added. 

According to Kanwar, Apollo worked with “renewed vigour” to further cut costs during the pandemic and enhance efficiencies. 

The company, he said continued to invest in “good cost” such as R&D and marketing while ‘drastically reducing’ other costs such as advertising and warehousing expenses.