Eveready to become debt free

Eveready Industries India will be a debt free company in the next 2-3 years. The company would offload some land parcels and clear the debt. As of now, the debt on Eveready’s books at a little more than Rs 200 crore. As part of cost cutting initiatives, Eveready has restructured its French subsidiary. Uniross should break-even this year, but with the crisis in Europe, the uncertainity persists. Eveready has an 80 per cent controlling stake in Novenor SAS, France, which in turn controls Uniross SA, a French company which along with its subsidiaries is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing rechargeable batteries and allied products, having a presence in several parts of the world. The subsidiary was acquired a couple of years back with a view to beefing up presence in the export markets. Uniross was facing serious problems at that time.