Blue Dart plans $3-m expansion

News Clip : The Indian Express,Chennai.

03rd July, 2003.

Source : ENS Economic Bureau

Blue Dart, the courier, air express and logistics company,is investing $3 million for expanding its South India operations this fiscal.

Blue Dart senior vice president for marketing and projects, Tulsi Mirchandaney said the company has established its own offices at 12 new locations in South India as part of the expansion plans. Apart from Blue Dart's own offices, Regional Service Participants have also been appointed for seven districts in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, she said.

Post expansion, Blue Dart services would cover 198 towns and cities in South India, she said. The expansion would be funded through internal accruals and borrowings, she added.

South India contributes 30 percent of Blue Dart's total business, said Mirchandaney. Blue Dart posted Rs 315 crore turnover in 2002-03, with a net profit of Rs 21.08 crore.

Blue Dart also has spent $5 million on the acquisition of a Boeing 737-200 aircraft from a Chinese airline, she said.It would soon be operational from Chennai, she said.

The company's aviation system now has four aircraft in its fleet, said Niteen Gupte, COO of Blue Dart Aviation.