Sundaram-Clayton, Suven Life, TV18 & Varun Shipping results

CORPORATE SCORECARD

Sundaram-Clayton Q4 net up 4% to Rs 13 cr

Sundaram-Clayton has reported a 4.3 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 13.03 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2005, compared with Rs 12.49 crore for the same period last year. Total turnover grew 18 per cent to Rs 156.85 crore (Rs 132.96 crore).

The board of directors has declared a interim dividend of Rs 5 per share. Sundaram-Clayton reported a 17 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 53.77 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2005, compared with Rs 46 crore in the previous year. Total turnover grew 27.84 per cent to Rs 569.89 crore (Rs 445.78 crore).

Suven Life net down 50% to Rs 3.5 cr

Hyderabad-based Suven Life Sciences' net profit for the fiscal ended March 31, 2005, decreased by nearly 50 per cent at Rs 3.53 crore as compared with Rs 7.37 crore in the previous year.

This is despite the company's stand alone revenues for the year increasing 17 per cent to Rs 60.7 crore (Rs 51.9 crore).

The decrease in profitability has been attributed to the increased expenditure on research and development (R&D), depreciation, deferred taxes and increase in raw material costs. The company's exports came down to Rs 32.76 crore (Rs 35.13 crore). The R&D expenditure was Rs 8.52 crore (Rs 5.2 crore).

TV18 Q4 net up 94% at Rs 10 cr

TV 18's net profit grew 94 per cent at Rs 10.02 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, compared with Rs 5.27 crore during the corresponding quarter in 2004. Revenue from operations was up 86 per cent at Rs 31.98 crore (Rs 17.13 crore).

Net profit has gone up by 170 per cent at Rs 31.4 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005 compared with Rs 11.6 crore during the corresponding period in 2004. Sales rose 74 per cent at Rs 93.40 crore (Rs 53.70 crore).

The company has declared an interim dividend of 10 per cent and the earnings per share is Rs 5.98 for this quarter compared with 4.28 during the corresponding quarter in 2004.

In this quarter, the company announced its foray into the general news space by entering into an agreement with ex- NDTV Rajdeep Sardesai and Sameer Manchanda's company.

Varun Shipping net up 128% at Rs 82 cr

Buoyant freight rates and expanded fleet size helped Varun Shipping Company post a 128 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 81.69 crore in the year ended March 31, 2005, against Rs 35.80 crore in the previous year.

The board of directors has recommended a final dividend of 20 per cent in addition to the interim dividend of 10 per cent which has already been paid for the year ended March 31, 2005, the company said.

Total income from operations for the year ended March 31, 2005, grew to Rs 388.96 crore against Rs 292.87 crore in the previous fiscal, it said.