OMC profit up 200%

The Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), the largest state PSU in the mining sector in India, has posted nearly 200 per cent jump in profit in 2004-05, compared to the previous year.

The operational profit of the company rose to Rs 435 crores in 2004-05 from Rs151.21 crore in '03-04 . Its turnover nearly doubled, from Rs 374 crore to Rs 725 crore in the same period.

OMC mined 40.87 lakh tonnes of different minerals in 2004-05, compared to 32.05 lakh tonnes in '03-04. The company sold a record 39.8 lakh tonnes of minerals during the year under review, compared to 33.4 lakh tonnes in the previous year.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to handle its expanding business volumes and financial transactions in a more professional and effective way, OMC is implementing its own enterprise resource planning (ERP) package. Currently its business processes were operating on SAP's ERP solution.

"With the implementation there has been integration between different departments and various regions of OMC for faster decision making", said Chairman Bhaskar Chatterjee.

Sanjeev Chopra, managing director of OMC, pointed out that the corporation was focusing more on value addition through pelletisation of iron ore and beneficiation of chrome ore.

It was recently allotted a coal block in its favour in the Mahanadi valley at Talcher.

Coal mining will help OMC widen its mineral base.

Chopra said OMC would continue work to augment production, reopen closed mines, and activate non-working leases.