GACL profit dips by 34%

State-owned Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) has registered a drop of over 34 per cent in the net profits for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 at Rs 55.99 crore against Rs 85.63 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company witnessed excessive cost pressure and erosion in price realisation for caustic soda group and caustic potash group products, which is believed to have weighed on the company's performance and growth.

However, the company's net sales for the quarter stood at Rs 400.72 crore as against Rs 306.22 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, showing a growth of 30.86 per cent. "The company Board has recommended a dividend of 30 per cent on equity shares of Rs 10 each to the shareholders, that means Rs 3 per share. The capacity utilisation of the majority of the plants at Baroda and Dahej complexes have achieved 100 per cent or more utilisation level during the year," said Guruprasad Mohapatra, managing director of the company.

For the financial year, 2010-11, the company saw a 33 per cent fall in the profit after tax from Rs 171.84 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 114.31 crore in 2010-11. The company has achieved net external sales (excluding excise duty) of Rs 1,423.17 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011 as against Rs 1,278.08 crore in the previous year despite keen competition and market volatility.

With the improvement in the domestic as well as global chlor-alkali scenario, the realisation has scaled up during the fourth quarter, which helped company to control the drop in the profits for the year.