Mstc Declares 35% Dividend, Net Profit At Rs 3.8 Crore

MSTC Ltd, a public sector company under the ministry of steel, has declared a 35 per cent dividend for 2000-01.

The paid up capital of MSTC was Rs 1.10 crore prior to a bonus issue that the company made at 1:1 ratio. The dividend, therefore, amounts to a 70 per cent return on investments made.

MSTC reported a Rs 349 crore turnover for 2000-01 against Rs 224 crore in the previous year, this translated into a gross profit of Rs 14.61 crore against Rs 10.79 crore in the previous period.

The company declared a Rs 6.33 crore profit before tax and a Rs 3.80 crore profit after tax for 2000-01.

Its target, fixed under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of India, was Rs 590 crore and it achieved a Rs 600.76 crore sales volume against Rs 565 crore in the previous year. The company achieved a small 6.33 per cent growth as it lost business worth Rs 42 crore on account of SAIL steel plants. Nevertheless, since steel plant auction are low-income products for the company, and its non-auction business grew by about Rs 77 crore, its overall business grew 18 per cent, against the previous period.

Meanwhile, MSTC's effort to venture into marketing of finished steel during 2000-01 from integrated steel plants met with little success. The company has also initiated the process of negotiation with domestic manufacturers depending on requirements of the customers and made efforts to obtain best possible prices including bulk discounts, and cash discounts.