Spic FY05 net profit at Rs 9.41cr

The Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (Spic) has posted a net profit of Rs 9.41 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005, compared to a net loss of Rs 9.41 crore in the previous fiscal.

However, for the fourth-quarter ended March 31, 2005, the company reported a loss of Rs 87.75 crore, as against a net profit of Rs 114.96 crore in the same period previous year.

The sales for the last financial year stood at Rs 1900.52 crore, compared to Rs 1488.89 crore, a Spic release said today.

The sales for the fourth quarter was Rs 420.61 crore as against Rs 377.29 crore in the same period previous year.

Despite the turnaround maintenance of the plants for the four weeks, the company achieved a record urea production of 6,78,810 mt, compared to the previous year's production of 6,21,078 mt, it said.

The sales of urea and dap during the fiscal was the highest in the last four years, the release said.

The turnover of the company's engineering division was Rs 87 crore as against the turnover of Rs 59.83 crore in the previous year. The pharmaceutical division posted a turnover of Rs 76.38 crore, compared to Rs 89.51 crore in the previous year, the statement said.

"I am happy that spic has made a profit, although modest, after incurring losses in the last three years. This is clearly a milestone year for the company and should be the harbinger of better performance in the years to come," said Ashwin C Muthiah, vice-chairman of Spic.