Higher sales, drop in interest costs main contributors
As many as 59 companies posted a turnaround in 2002-03. These firms posted an aggregated net profit of Rs 296.86 crore in the financial year ended March 2003, against a net loss of Rs 435.20 crore in the previous year.
The turnaround was possible on the back of a 25 per cent drop in interest costs and a 15 per cent rise in sales. These firms also saw a 13.6 per cent increase in other income.
Among these, 15 companies had sales of over Rs 100 crore, while 20 others had sales in the range of Rs 10 crore to Rs 73 crore.
Of the 59 companies, four each are from the engineering and non-banking financial institutions (NBFC) sectors, two each are from forgings, pharmaceuticals, transport services, steel and tea sectors, while one each are from the information technology and media sectors.
For 23 companies, it was a higher top line growth that helped them post a positive bottomline. These firms posted a sales growth of 42 per cent to Rs 4,186.44 crore during 2002-03 as against Rs 2,947.65 crore in the previous year. The hefty rise in sales helped these companies post a net profit of Rs 196.30 crore against a net loss of Rs 133.21 crore in the previous year.
15 companies doubled their income from other sources to put on a good net profit growth. These earned Rs 46.62 crore from other sources during 2002-03 as against Rs 14.20 crore in the previous year, leading to a net profit of Rs 65.56 crore in 2002-03, against a net loss of Rs 223.29 crore in 2001-02.
Gujarat Alkalis posted a net profit of Rs 28.04 crore during 2002-03 against a net loss of Rs 40.78 crore in the previous year. This was largely due to a Rs 31.03 crore reduction in interest cost and savings of Rs 46 crore in power, fuel and other utility costs.
Some companies managed to boost topline growth with better price realisation and low input cost. Forging companies, Ahmednagar Forgings and Amforge Industries turned into black with a net profit of Rs 3.95 crore and Rs 4.42 crore, respectively.
Higher volumes and sales turnover during the year help Jindal Iron and Steel (Jisco) and Uttam Galva Steels turn into the black. These companies reported a 45 per cent rise in sales income during the year. Jisco
