Berger Paints issues bonus shares at 3:5

The board of Berger Paints India Ltd has decided to issue bonus share in the ratio 3:5. Subir Bose, managing director, said, "The board has approved the proposal of issuing three fully paid-up equity shares as bonus shares for every five shares held."

The board has also decided to pay 50 per cent dividend for the year ended March 31, 2006. The company had already paid an interim dividend of 50 per cent during the year.

The board has also recommended that the authorised capital of the company be increased from Rs 40 crore to Rs 65 crore.

Meanwhile, the company is eyeing 18-19 per cent increase in its revenue in the current financial year, said Bose.

"For the past few years, we have been growing at around 16 per cent. Last year, our growth was more than 19 per cent. Keeping the trend under consideration, we expect to grow at 18-19 per cent this year," Bose explained.

The company will be making a capital investment of Rs 55 crore during the current financial year. "We will be investing Rs 40 crore at our eighth plant at Rewari. The unit will be producing automotive paints. Another Rs 15 crore will be spend for capacity expansion at our other plants," Bose said.

The company is preparing itself for a price increase of about two per cent owing to the sharp increase in crude oil price during the past several months.

"We are thinking of increasing the price of solvent-based product by two per cent in June. The industry is being significantly hit due to the crude oil price hike that has led to raw material price hike," Bose said.

He further said that though import duties on some raw material had come down for the decorative segment the cushioning is insignificant as use of imported raw material was low.

After the launch of two major products, the company is readying for a few more innovate products, Bose said.

Net up at Rs 14 crore

Berger Paint India Ltd has recorded marginal growth in profit after tax at Rs 13.71 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, as against Rs 13.63 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. Total sales stood at Rs 269.65 crore, 18.56 per cent higher.

For the full year, the company posted 35 per cent growth in profit at Rs 74.38 crore as against Rs 55.07 crore on the back of the significant brand building exercise. Net sales increased by 19.40 per cent to Rs 1,030.48 crore in 2005-06 from Rs 862.99 crore during 2004-05.