Eid Parry Clocks Rs 45 Crore Net Profit

EID Parry (India) Ltd, part of the Rs 3,900 crore Murugappa Group, has reported a net profit of Rs 45 crore on a turnover of Rs 1,348 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001. The board has recommended a dividend of 70 per cent (Rs7 per share) for the year.

Gross profit during the same period was Rs 156.46 crore (Rs 138.7crore)-it included Rs17.18 crore being the impact on the revised accounting standard (AS2) for inventories.

The audited results include the accounts of three companies- Pettavaittali Sugars and Chemicals Limited (PSCL), Johnson Pedder Ltd and Dhanyalakshmi Investments Ltd-, which were amalgamated from April 1, 2001.

"Though these three companies have contributed around Rs 83 crore to turnover, the effect on net profit is neutral", D Kumuraswamy, vice-president (finance) said.

He said the acquisition would help the company in consolidating its leadership position in sugar and fertilisers. The company has a combined crushing capacity of 14000 TCD in for sugar factories in Tamil Nadu and an average recovery of 9.25 per cent.

To a query, he said: "We had spent around Rs 55crore in acquiring the three companies. But, the actual cost is only around Rs 35 crore because of carry forward of the loss from these companies and the resultant tax benefit." The company had incorporated a new company in the state of Delaware, the US, to develop North and South American markets.

Kumuraswamy said the company was hopeful of achieving a healthy growth rate and improved margins this fiscal. However, he refused to quantify it.