Declares 35 Per Cent Dividend

Addressing the 15th annual general meeting of the company here yesterday Arnavaz Aga, chairperson of Thermax, said the order book position of the company was Rs 377 crore as of August 31, compared with Rs 307 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. For fiscal 1996-97, the company expects its order book position to shoot up to Rs 870 crore.

In the current year, the company plans to undertake capital expenditure to the tune of Rs 40 crore.

Thermax has, however, admitted to a delay in implementing its expansion and modernisation projects for which over Rs 100 crore was raised through its maiden public issue in February 1995. The unutilised funds were deployed in inter-corporate deposits, government securities and equity.

The management defended the delays on the grounds that it had to take caution considering the market conditions for the products it had slated for expansion.

During the public issue, the company had announced its plans to invest Rs 67 crore in capacity expansion and modernisation. On the environment front, Arnavaz Aga said, Thermax has constantly endeavoured to provide solutions to industries to stay green and competitive.