SICAL Q4 net at Rs 20cr

South India Corporation (Agencies) Limited (SICAL) recorded a net profit of Rs 19.81 crore in the fourth quarter of 2004-05, as compared to a net profit of Rs 0.51 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

For the fourth quarter, the company's net sales stood at Rs 442.55 crore, higher by 24.62 per cent in relation to the previous year's net sales of Rs 355.10 crore.

For the year 2004-05, the company's net profit stood at Rs 31.13 crore, up by 213 per cent as compared to the previous year's Rs 9.95 crore.

SICAL's bottomline received a boost in 2004-05 on account of significant fall in interest expenses. The company's interest expense stood at Rs 43.57 crore (Rs 63.59 crore) in 2004-05, down by 31.48 per cent in relation to the previous year.

The net sales for 2004-05 stood at Rs 1,214.83 crore (Rs 1,084.83 crore), higher by 11.98 per cent in relation to the previous financial year.

First Leasing net down

First Leasing Company of India has reported a fall of 1.5 per cent in net profits to Rs 5.97 crore for the fourth quarter in 2004-05 as compared to Rs 6.06 crore for the same period last year.

The company's turnover also registered a drop by 1.9 per cent to Rs 23 crore for the last quarter in 2004-05 as against Rs 23.45 crore the corresponding period, the previous year.

The board of directors has recommended a dividend of 22.50 per cent on the equity shares for 2004-05 subject to approval of the shareholders in the annual general meeting.

The company's net profit improved by 11.7 per cent to Rs 24.10 crore for the year ending March 31, 2005 as compared to Rs 21.57 crore in the previous year.

The turnover of the company reported a fall of 6.07 per cent to Rs 103.66 crore during 2004-05 as compared to Rs 110.36 crore last year.