Albright Morarji To Be Rechristened

The board of Albright Morarji and Pandit (AMP) has called an EGM on April 10 in Mumbai to change the companys name to Albright and Wilson Chemicals India.

Albright and Wilson UK and its subsidiary Albright and Wilson Asia Pacific Holdings, Singapore, presently hold 72.8 per cent of AMPs paid-up equity.

In an explanatory note to shareholders, AMP has stated: The inclusion of the corporate name of Albright and Wilson would afford proper co-relation between the company and its principal majority shareholder.

Through an agreement to be signed shortly, the UK parent will allow AMP to use its name. The erstwhile Indian promoter, Dharamsi Morarji Chemical (DMC) had sold its entire stake in AMP at Rs 130 per share to the UK collaborator thereby increasing Albright and Wilsons stake from 39.75 per cent to 72.8 per cent.

 

Pursuant to the name change and the share-holding pattern of the company, the extraordinary general meting will also seek shareholders approval to provide for appointments of ex-officio directors by Albert and Wilson at a later stage.

AMP has recently done a volte-face on some of its projects. It recently abandoned its Rs 15-crore di-calcium phosphate (DCP) project at Raigadh, Maharashtra nearly two years after the company raised Rs 3.74 crore through a rights equity issue to part-finance the project.

The DCP project was found uneconomical in view of the sudden change in market conditions for the product. One of the reasons for the slowdown at the DCP plant, which is a raw material for toothpaste, was the gradual shift towards gel, another substitute product.

With the scuttling of the project, the company is expected to redeploy its funds raised in the rights issue to augment long-term resources in existing operations.

The UK company operates in 16 countries in principal product range of phosphates, surfactants and speciality chemicals.

AMP currently makes phosphoric acid, linear alkyl benzene, sulphuric acid and sodium tripolyphosphat.

AMP posted a turnover of Rs 69.39 crore for the year ended March 1996 as against Rs 61.44 crore in the previous year

Gross profit increased to Rs 10.04 crore from Rs 8.68 crore and net profit to Rs 4.59 crore from Rs 4 crore in the previous year.