Kumar Subbiah, managing director and chief financial officer of Ceat Ltd, said that as the world looks outside of China to source tires, ceat Ltd has seized the opportunity with its “value brand” positioning despite the slowdown in many economies. He says he intends to capitalize on it. Exports account for 20% of total sales, and it entered the European truck lunch tire market last year and plans to enter the U.S. market later this year.

Subbiah told Indian newspaper Trust, “The company’s exports have stagnated in the current financial year as it has been hit to some extent due to difficulty in obtaining currency for tire imports (mainly from Europe and other countries).”

However, he said, “On the export front, we expect growth to resume next year, provided global macroeconomic conditions permit. We are ready to use whatever is required.”

“The world is looking for a good source of tire manufacturing as an alternative to the Chinese and Indian tire industry, especially ceat will be in a good position next year.

Asked if the recession in Europe and other global markets would hamper export growth, Subbiah said, “We believe that during a recession, the average company or tire buyer or any product buyer will look for ‘valuable brands’.” He said.

He said Ceat’s position as a value brand in the international market could help companies “use this behavior during a recession.”

He added, “We entered the European truck radial tire market last year and plan to enter the U.S. market later this year, so that will help.”

However, Subbiah said that while demand patterns are evident in the domestic market, they are also evident in the international market as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, and in particular its impact on energy prices in Europe.

“We expect to export more next year because we are more profitable compared to other countries, but we are slightly less competitive. The domestic market is there, but how we form the international market is not entirely in our hands.

When asked whether the company’s target export volume of 20% of total exports In the above case, he said so. Ceat does not have a specific target, he said, but exports will play an important role in overall growth.

“We’ve increased our revenue share from 12-13% to 20%, so you may not see that growth from now on, but we’re investing in our export capability, so we expect our share to be on target. “It’s over,” he added.

Ceat’s consolidated operating profit for the nine months ended December 31, 2022 was Rs 840.06 crore and for the year ended March 31, 2022, it was Rs 933.41 crore.