SAIL pays final dividend of Rs 460 cr to govt
The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) today paid Rs 460.81 crore to the government as final dividend for the last financial year.
"Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh, on behalf of SAIL today handed over a cheque for Rs 460.81 crore to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh towards final dividend to the Government of India for Financial Year 2009," the company said in a statement here.
With this, the steel maker said, the total dividend the company paid to its shareholders for the last fiscal totalled to Rs 1,073.9 crore, which is equivalent to 26 per cent of SAIL's paid-up equity capital of Rs 4,130.4 crore. The government has been paid a total dividend of about Rs 921 crore in 2008-09.
The steel ministry, which has given approval to the two-phased disinvestment of its stake and issue of fresh shares of the company, holds 85.82 per cent stake in SAIL.
SAIL said during the last three years, it has paid total dividend of Rs 3,883 crore, out of which the government has received Rs 3,332 crore,
The steel maker added that its contribution towards excise and custom duties, corporate tax, dividend, dividend tax, sales tax, royalties among others, during 2008-09 was over Rs 12,395 crore.
SAIL witnessed 18.1 per cent decline in its net profit for the last financial year to Rs 6,174.9 crore.