Nirma to pay 10 per cent final

By Our Staff Correspondent

MUMBAI, MAY 12. Nirma has announced a net profit of Rs. 234.1 crores for the year ended March 31, 2000 which is a jump of 37 per cent over the previous year's figure of Rs. 170.55 crores. The directors have recommended a final dividend of 10 per cent. Earlier, the company had declared an interim dividend of 25 per cent.

For the year, the company's gross sales was at Rs. 1717.62 crores, up 16 per cent from Rs. 1472.95 crores. The operating profit was up 52 per cent at Rs. 384.6 crores (Rs. 252.92 crores). Interest charges were at Rs. 55.7 crores (Rs. 30.43 crores), depreciation at Rs. 62.8 crores and tax at Rs 30.75 crores (Rs. 19.75 crores). The consumer goods business, comprising of the soaps and detergents business, has grown at a higher rate than the growth in the corresponding industry segments leading to a significant rise in market share.

In the last quarter ended March 31, 2000, the company registered a lower net profit of Rs. 42.32 crores (Rs. 56.61 crores) on gross sales of Rs 473.69 crores (Rs. 441.45 crores) and an operating profit of Rs. 127.18 crores (Rs. 76.89 crores). This is mainly due to a change in the method of depreciation to written down value, resulting in an additional depreciation charge of Rs. 28.84 crores in the last quarter.

According to the company, in the absence of the change in method, the profit for the last quarter would have shown an increase of 25.72 per cent over the previous year.

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