Philips Electronics India Ltd said on Tuesday 18 September that it was hoping to double its turnover to Rs5,000 crore ($1.2 billion) by 2010. The company''s current turnover is Rs2,649 crore ($655.2 million).

Philips also said that it was scouting for mergers and acquisitions in the country, as a part of its growth strategy in the coming three years. The company has already started identifying companies across the health care, lighting and consumer durable domains in India, as part of its inorganic growth strategy.

On the amount allocated by the company for the upcoming M&A activities, chief executive designate of Philips Murali Sivaraman said, "Finance will never be an issue as we already have a cash surplus of Rs500 crore to Rs600 crore ($124 million to $148 million) on the balance sheet."

Globally, Philips has announced that it will double its earnings by 2010, and there are high expectations from emerging markets like India, China and Latin America. The company is targeting an annual growth rate of around 15 to 16 per cent in India.

The 2010 vision envisages 60 to 70 per cent organic growth, with the rest coming from inorganic expansion. Outgoing Philips Electronics India CEO K Ramachandran said the healthcare and consumer segments were expected to drive Philips'' growth in India, which could be about one-and-a-half times the lighting business.

The company has allotted an investment of Rs10 crore in 2007 for a series of marketing programmes targeting school children, educational institutions and consumers.