Shareholders Of E Merck Seek Higher Dividend

The shareholders of E Merck have demanded a better dividend from the company in view of the 16 per cent rise in turnover. The E Merck (India) Ltd board has declared a 27 per cent dividend, which is higher than last years 22.7 per cent. But shareholders did not find it commensurate with the earnings per share, which rose from Rs 7.93 to Rs 9.43.

At yesterdays AGM, shareholders said they expected the company to either increase the dividend or issue bonus shares.

Shareholders approved the re-appointment of S N Talwar, chairman, and R L Shenoy, finance director, on the board of directors. H G Broetz was re-appointed as the managing director while Vijay Kumar and GVS Rayudu were nominated as whole time directors.

 

E Merck managing director, H G Broetz, said the company would increase its non-pharma turnover to 50 per cent in the next few years. Currently, the pharma business contributes 70 per cent to the total turnover. It has fine chemicals, diagnostics, pigments and laboratory products as other lines of business.