Merck rose almost 20 per cent to Rs. 909.50 at 1.50 pm today on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the board of directors of the company declared an interim dividend of Rs. 95 per share for the year ending December 2010.
The board declared the interim dividend along with the company's results for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 today. Merck's net profit for the quarter was down 5.75 per cent to Rs 24.7 crore from Rs 26.2 crore last year. Its net sales rose 20 per cent to touch Rs 156 crore this quarter versus Rs 130 crore last year.