Vesuvius India Net Moves Up 115 Per Cent

Refractories manufacturer Vesuvius India's (VIL) net profit for the year ended March 31, 1998, rose 115 per cent to Rs 11 crore from the previous year's Rs 5.12 crore. Net sales from operations also grew 15 per cent to Rs 46.6 crore from Rs 40.5 crore last year. The company has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.50 per share.

VIL's other income also rose sharply from Rs 1.07 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 2.58 crore. The company's paid-up equity share capital stood at Rs 20.29 crore till date. "We have posted a good performance in a recession-ridden market and the trend will be maintained during the year," a top company official told Business Standard.

VIL, as per its plan to extend the product range complimentary to the main business, started producing slide gate plates and nozzles from February, 1998.

The new manufacturing unit for slide gate equipment has been set up at a cost of Rs 4 crore. Slide gate equipment is a specialised kind of refractory used for controlling flow of steel.

The company, which has made a modest beginning in the export market, expects to notch up sales worth Rs 15 crore from the new products during the current fiscal.

VIL is a subsidiary of Vesuvius Group Ltd Plc, which, in turn, is a part of the US $3.15 billion UK-based Cookson Group. The group has a global share of 70 per cent in continuous casting refractories(CCR).

Currently, the refractories specialised products major, Vesuvius Group, holds around 55 per cent stake in VIL. Also, all major financial activities are looked after by the Cookson Group. Earlier this year, the Cookson Group plc bought the shareholding of the Hinckley Group of UK.