Balmer Lawrie, Shasun & Titan Q3 results

CORPORATE SCORECARD

Balmer Lawrie and Company, a Mini-Ratna category-I public sector enterprise, has reported a marginal 5.8 per cent growth in its net profit at Rs 20 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 as against Rs 18.84 crore posted in the same period in 2006.

The company's turnover rose from Rs 321 crore to Rs 350 crore over the same period, thereby clocking a growth of about 9 per cent.

"The modest growth of 5.8 per cent in the company's net profit during October-December 2007 can be attributed to the almost stagnant performance of the travels and tours division which accounts for over 40 per cent of the company's revenues. This apart, the net profit of the industrial packaging segment dropped from Rs 4.66 crore during October-December 2006 to Rs 3.10 crore in October-December 2007 and that was mainly due to the hike in steel prices", PP Sahoo, executive officer of Balmer Lawrie said.

Shasun net increases marginally

The Chennai-based drug manufacturer Shasun Chemicals and Drugs (Shasun) has posted a marginal increase of less than 2% in its net profit at Rs 11.88 crore for the third quarter of 2007-08, as compared to Rs 11.65 crore of Q3, FY07.

The company posted a 31.36 er cent growth in its consolidated revenues for the quarter at Rs 255.46 crore, compared to 194.06 crore in the third quarter of 2006-07.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 4.83 crore for the nine months ended December 31, 2007, 86 per cent less compared to Rs 35.08 crore in the corresponding period last year.

However, excluding the release of negative goodwill, the loss is reduced to Rs1.94 crore compared to loss of Rs.15.62 crore in the corresponding period last year, said a company release. The company said it has taken a research laboratory on long term lease basis in Piscataway, New Jersey.

This new facility will provide Shasun to offer active pharmaceutical ingredient development services for pre-clinical and clinical trial studies and also provide the back-end support to company's contract research and manufacturing business.

Titan Q3 revenues surge 50%

Titan Industries has registered a massive growth in turnover but net profit failed to keep up the pace during the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 as prices of gold rose. Consolidated net profit increased 11 per cent to Rs 30.84 crore over the corresponding period of the previous financial year while revenue grew 50 per cent to Rs 813.45 crore.

The total sales from the watch business were Rs 195 crore, a 20.3 per cent increase over Q3 2006-07. The income from the jewellery business stood at Rs 591.41 crore, a 61 per cent increase over the same period last year.

"The festival season during the last quarter has been good for the watch and jewellery businesses. However, during the quarter, there was significant volatility and upward movement in gold prices which affected consumer sentiment and margins as well," the company said in a release.

Consumption of raw materials, mostly gold, rose to Rs 506 crore, a 47 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.