Sterlite Inds returns to the black

Robust metal prices helped Sterlite Industries to return to black in the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2006, with registering a net profit of Rs 240 crore as against a loss of Rs 39 crore during the same period last year.

Net sales rose 117 per cent to Rs 2,515 crore from Rs 1,154 crore in the year-ago period.

Net profit for the full year rose 382 per cent to Rs 511 crore from Rs 106 crore last year. The company's net sales were up 88 per cent to Rs 7,503 crore in FY06 from Rs 3,991 crore in FY05.

"The successful commissioning of first phases of all our growth projects (copper, zinc and aluminium) has contributed to significantly higher production volumes. This, combined with robust metal prices, has enabled us to deliver these outstanding results," said Anil Agarwal, chairman.

The company announced a dividend of Rs 1.25 per share (face value Rs 2 per share) for FY06, involving an outgo of Rs 80 crore as opposed to Rs 38 crore paid for the previous financial year.

The dividend per share is on an increased number of shares, after the subdivision of the face value of equity share from Rs 5 each fully paid up to Rs 2 each fully paid up and simultaneous issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1.