Net Of 1,036 Firms Up 43%

A lower interest outgo and a substantial reduction in the aggregate net loss by small companies propelled the bottomline of 1,036 companies by 43.7 per cent to Rs 6,778.3 crore in the quarter ended Mach, 2000 against a net profit of Rs 4,716.60 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The companies' aggregate sales income surged by 18.09 per cent to Rs 72,082.5 crore from Rs 61,038.2 crore in the quarter ended March, 1999.

These 1,036 companies account for 65.6 per cent of the total market capitalisation on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Of the universe of 1,036, 787 small companies_ with sales below Rs 50 crore_ managed to reduce their net loss by a hefty 82 per cent to Rs 60.6 crore against a net loss of Rs 330.40 crore in the same period previous year.

The net loss came down despite a modest 6.55 per cent rise in the 1,036 companies' sales income. Prudent cost cutting and efficient management have contributed to the operating profit of the 787 companies rising 29.1 per cent to Rs 1,311 crore (Rs 1,016 crore). The aggregate net profit of the other 249 companies has increased by 35.5 per cent and sales income by 19.8 per cent.

The excellent aggregate growth has been largely contributed by 61 major companies with sales above Rs 250 crore for the current quarter.

Sales of these companies increased by 23.8 per cent to Rs 45,221 crore and net profit by 30.3 per cent to Rs 5,692 crore. The companies have a dominant share of 62.7 per cent in the aggregate sales income of the full sample of 1,036 companies.

Among the majors, Reliance Industries dominated the show with a excellent performance for the quarter ended March 2000.

Excluding Reliance Industries from the aggregate of 61 companies, the rest reported a sales growth of 17.3 per cent and a 26.4 per cent growth in net profit. Companies (188) with sales above Rs 50 crore and below Rs 250 crore also managed to put on a good bottomline show. Net profit of these 188 companies increased 69 per cent to Rs 1,146.9 crore and sales income by 11.04 per cent to Rs 18,426.2 crore.

While on the sectoral front, apart from information technology, petrochemicals , sectors like breweries, engineering, entertainment also put on a good show in bottomline.

Raking It In

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Quarter ended (1036 cos)

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Rs crore Mar 1999 Mar 2000 % Chg

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Sales 61,038.16 72,082.52 18.09

OP 12,691.63 15,827.19 24.71

Interest 3,593.05 3,825.61 6.47

Gross Profit 9,098.58 12,001.58 31.91

Net profit 4,716.55 6,778.31 43.71

OPM (%) 20.79 21.96 -

GPM (%) 14.91 16.65 -

NPM (%) 7.73 9.40 -

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