Bombay Dyeing profit plunges 73% to Rs 7 cr

BS 200 SCORECARD

Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company posted a slump in net profit of 72.59 per cent to Rs 7.21 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared with Rs 26.3 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last financial year. Net sales too dipped 60.39 per cent to Rs 106.63 crore from Rs 269.21 crore during the period.

The Wadia group company's operating profit fell 18.36 per cent y-o-y to Rs 28 crore from Rs 34.31 crore. Interest for the quarter surged 118.57 per cent to Rs 6.71 crore, from Rs 3.07 crore in the corresponding previous quarter.

The company cut its expenditure in the third quarter by 62 per cent to Rs 91 crore from Rs 239.4 crore. The tax outgo went up by over seven-fold during the period to Rs 4.45 crore from Rs 0.67 crore. Its EPS (earnings per share) declined to Rs 1.87 from Rs 6.81.

The company has shifted its textiles manufacturing facility located at Worli in Mumbai to Ranjangaon near Pune. It is expected to be fully operational by June this year. The new plant will have a capacity of 52 million metres per annum (mmpa) against its existing capacity of 30 mmpa.

The Worli location will be used to set up a commercial complex. The company will also open a flagship store in the over 4,000 sqft area.

The company is also looking at expanding its retail presence by opening its own 100 stores in malls across the country over the next three years. It expects its turnover to reach Rs 800 crore from Rs 400 crore over three years.

In the previous year, a part of the company's land under real estate development was converted from fixed assets into stock-in-trade at market value. The difference between market value and cost of that part of land "� which amounts to Rs 198.34 crore "� was credited to revaluation reserve in the previous year.

The company's dimethyl terephthalate plant operations have been temporarily suspended since March 2006 for tying in the PSF (polyester staple fibre) project being implemented at the same location.

Consequently, the new polyester division recorded a negligible turnover during the current quarter against Rs 133.71 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Bombay Dyeing has offered a VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) to the workers of its textile mills, and the majority of them have accepted the scheme.