Hoganas To Issue 1:1 Bonsus

The Indian outfit of the Swedish metal powder major, Hoganas AB -- Hoganas India Ltd (HIL) -- has decided to issue bonus shares in the ratio of one bonus share for every one held.

This would be the second bonus issue of the company, consequent upon which the paid-up capital will go upto Rs 5.45 crore.

To issue the bonus shares, the Pune-based company will capitalise a shade over Rs 2.7 crore from its share premium account, and issue 27 lakh bonus shares of Rs 10 each.

The post-bonus paid-up capital will exceed the company's present authorised capital. Hence, to make the bonus issue possible, the company has decided to double its authorised capital from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

Swedish transnational Hoganas AB holds 51 per cent stake in the company, while the rest is held by mainly by individuals (43.91 per cent). The holding of mutual funds, financial institutions, NRIs and overseas corporate bodies is very small.

Meanwhile, the company, which already caters to 90 per cent of the country's metal powder needs, has stepped up capacity by importing a second annealing furnace from its principal, Hoganas AB.

According to the company, the commissioning of the new annealing furnace will result in the production of cleaner and purer powders, higher consistency in finished products, higher cost-saving potential and greater operational safety.

In the last financial year, the company's turnover grew by close to eight per cent to a shade of Rs 30 crore (from Rs 28 crore in the previous year). The company's post-tax profit grew by a shade over nine per cent to Rs 3.1 crore.

The company's export turnover, however, has gone down, which was mainly due to the decline in exports to the parent company. According to the company, the products exported to Hoganas AB are among the new products being introduced globally.

The market for them have not yet stabilized and hence there has been irregularities in their demand. The company's exports declined from Rs 4.21 crore to Rs 3.45 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2000.