| Gillette India Ltd recorded a 71 per cent increase in its pre-tax profit at Rs 15.3 crore compared with the same period in the previous year. |
| Its sales during the quarter rose 10 per cent from Rs 89.46 last year to 98.32 crore as revenues from the core business, grooming products, increased 16 per cent. |
| Gillette's double-digit sales growth is yet another indication of a revival in the fortunes of the FMCG sector in the country. In its annual results for 2004 also declared today (it follows a January-December financial year), Gillette posted a net profit of Rs 61.22 crore""a 36.5 per cent increase over Rs 44.82 crore during 2003. |
| The company has announced an 85 dividend. In 2004 Gillette's grooming business went up by 14 per cent; oral care by eight per cent; and the Duracell batteries unit by 41 per cent. |
| Gillette also claimed that it had achieved the market leadership in blades and alkaline batteries segment during 2004. Its net sales for the year went up 12 per cent to Rs 406 crore. |
| According to Gillette India managing director Zubair Ahmed, the growth in revenues was fuelled by a 30 per cent increase in advertising and promotions spend. |
| "Our key achievement has been to grow profitably with very healthy franchise of our brands, as a result of stepped up media investments. The company remained focused on enhanced organisational capabilities and a culture of innovation," he added. |
| During the second quarter of 2004, the company launched a new triple blade shaving system Mach3 Turbo, and the company claimed that the product exceeded its sales targets. |
| Indian Bank net profit drops 60% |
| The Chennai-based Indian Bank has reported a 59.74 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 74.42 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 2004 compared with Rs 184.89 crore for the same period, previous year. |
| M B N Rao, CMD, said, "The lower profits was owing to the conscious decision taken by the bank to make provisions for impending wage arrears of Rs 124 crore and transfer of investments from available for sale to held to maturity category of Rs 129.39 crore. The other provisions are amortisation of investment of Rs 31crore, market risk and other contingencies was Rs 30 crore." |
| Capital adequacy ratio improved to 15.07 per cent for December 31, 2004 from 12.82 per cent for March 2004. Net NPAs was lower at 1.48 per cent during December 31, 2004 compared with 2.71 per cent in March 31, 2004. |
| The bank had recovered about Rs 205.50 crore for the nine months ending December 31, 2004. The net contribution from treasury operations dropped to Rs 12.45 crore for the nine months ending December 31, 2004 from Rs 230.77 crore for the corresponding period last year. |
| Karnataka Bank posts flat net at Rs 36.89 cr |
| The Mangalore-based Karnataka Bank has registered a stagnant bottomline with a net profit of Rs 36.89 crore during the third quarter of the current financial year against Rs 36.45 crore for the corresponding period of last year. |
| The net profit up to the third quarter of the current financial year was Rs 106.90 crore against Rs 105.62 crore for the corresponding period last year. |
| This is after providing for depreciation on account of transfer of SLR securities from 'available for sale' category to held for maturity' category and providing for arrears of salary on account of wage revision. |
| The bank's total income fell by 2.9 per cent in the reporting quarter to Rs 260.09 crore from Rs 267.77 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The net NPA level recorded a substantial improvement to 3.28 per cent as on December 31 2004 compared with 6.93 per cent as on December 2003. |
| Return on assets fell marginally to 1.35 per cent from 1.43 per cent over the same period. Net advances showed a growth of 28 per cent on a year to year basis. |
| The capital adequacy ratio of the Bank stood at 13.92 per cent as on December 2004. The bank's rights issue of 2:1 will open for subscription on February 4 at Rs 20 a share, including a premium of Rs 10. |
| Pantaloon net up 64% |
| Pantaloon's net profit for the third quarter ended December 2004 has risen 63.8 per cent to Rs 10.14 crore on the back of a robust 55.6 per cent growth in net sales to Rs 238.21 crore. |
| Some new outlets of the company have become operational this year, which have boosted sales and net profit. Pantaloon Retail has transformed itself into a broader retail major with retail store brands such as Pantaloon, Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar. |
| While Big Bazar, a no-frills chain store, caters to price-sensitive customers, Food Bazaar is the food and grocery retailing format of the company. |
| Petron Engg net up 159% |
| Petron Engineering's net profit has jumped 159.7 per cent to Rs 2.39 crore in third quarter ended December 2004 from Rs 0.92 crore in the quarter December 2003. Net sales/income from operations have risen 76 per cent to Rs 77.50 crore from Rs 44.01 crore. |
| For the nine months April-December 2004, net profit has risen 436.5 per cent to Rs 6.76 crore from Rs 1.26 crore. Revenue has risen 76.65 per cent to Rs 205.33 crore from Rs 116.23 crore. |
| Petron has been benefiting from increased investments by industries such as refinery, petrochemicals, power and cement sectors with an increase in order flow from these industries |
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