Delhi-based engineering company Escorts has reported a net profit dip of 19 per cent at Rs 7.82 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 as compared to Rs 9.67 crore posted in the same quarter a year ago.
The company makes agricultural equipment including tractors, construction equipment, railway equipment and auto components.
The dip in net profit for the quarter was primarily due to a slide in net sales, which stood at Rs 481 crore, a decline of 6.5 per cent as against the company's corresponding quarter net sales of Rs 515 crore.
Rajan Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, Escorts, said, "The Tractors business has made significant gains in the past half year by improving its operational efficiencies and profitability, and is on a stronger footing to withstand difficult market conditions created by the decelerating economy and constrained farm credit flow. The initiatives on cost compression, quality enhancement and resource optimization have contributed to the bottomline.”
"The Railway equipment business continues to consolidate its leadership and has registered a healthy sales growth of 37 per cent for the quarter. Plans for freight corridor, metros and high-speed trains are a large window of opportunity that the Railway equipment business is well poised to exploit with a portfolio of new products and technologies,” he further added.
