GE Shipping Q4 net down 16% to Rs 250cr

Great Eastern Shipping today reported a 16.48 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 250.05 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2009.  

The firm had a net profit of Rs 299.41 crore in the March quarter of FY'08, GE Shipping said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.      

Total income dipped 32 per cent to Rs 534.25 crore for the March quarter, from Rs 783.66 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, GE Shipping said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.     

During the quarter, the shipping firm incurred gains from exceptional items (which include foreign exchange gains) worth Rs 138.57 crore, against a loss of Rs 40.96 crore in the same quarter in the previous fiscal.     

For the financial year ended March 31, GE Shipping reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,417.83 crore, down 2.44 per cent from Rs 1,453.35 crore in the year-ago period.     

Total income rose 19.07 per cent to Rs 4,046.03 crore during FY'09, from Rs 3,397.81 crore in the year-ago period. The board has declared an interim dividend of Rs three for the fiscal 2008-09.     

On a standalone basis the company reported a net profit of Rs 1,384.82 crore, up 2.06 per cent. Total income stood at Rs 3,083.47 crore in FY'09.  

Shares of GE Shipping were trading at Rs 229.70, down 4.63 per cent in afternoon trade at the BSE.