Cochin Shipyard profit increases 24% to Rs 200 cr

State-owned Cochin Shipyard today reported a 24 per cent jump in profit to Rs 200 crore in the current fiscal, mainly on the back of its foray into the international shipbuilding market.

The company's profit in the last fiscal stood at Rs 161 crore, an official statement said, adding that the company's shipbuilding income rose to over Rs 1,000 crore in 2009-10 from Rs 986 crore in the last fiscal.

Ship repair income during the period was recorded at Rs 230 crore compared to Rs 270 crore in 2008-09.

The yard's strategy to enter the international shipbuilding market helped it to post the strong financial performance, the statement said, adding that the profit saw an increase despite the global meltdown and a downturn in shipping.

"In shipbuilding, during 2009-10, the company delivered five offshore support ships to various international owners located at Norway, Germany and USA," it said.

In the first quarter of 2010-11, the company delivered three platform supply ships for deepsea oil rigs to the USA and Netherlands.

The company is presently constructing 15 commercial ships for various international and domestic owners, along with an indigenous aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.

The company repaired 50 ships during the last fiscal, including the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier, INS Viraat.

In the last three decades, the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian shipbuilding and ship repair industry, with the capacity to build ships of up to 1,10,000 Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT) and repair the largest vessels in India.

DWT is the total weight of the ship, including the cargo, crew, fuel, etc.