The scrip of lubricant major Castrol ended higher by 1.74 per cent at Rs 199 after it announced a hefty 125 per cent dividend.
The scrip recovered from its intra-day low of Rs 194 with volumes of 40,406 shares at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Tuesday.
The company declared a dividend of 125 per cent, which is Rs 12.50 a share, for the full year ended December 31, 2002. The payout includes a special dividend of Rs 8.25 a share.
The company also announced its results for the first quarter of 2003 and for the year 2002. The company operates on a calendar year basis.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2003, the company registered a 18.6 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 35.76 crore on a 5.3 per cent drop in total income to Rs 250.39 crore.
For the year ended December 31, 2002, Castrol posted a 41 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 152.92 crore, on a marginal 0.85 per cent fall in total income to Rs 1,169.98 crore.
According to analysts, the results are not too impressive. The company margins were hit owing to the higher crude oil prices during the pre-Iraq war period. Crude oil is key raw material in the manufacture of lubricants.
