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Lanco Infratech gallops as coal unit ends litigation with Perdaman

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Lanco Infratech jumped 10.09% to Rs 11.57 at 12:05 IST on BSE after the firm said the litigation for a claim of AUD 3.5 billion by Perdaman Chemicals against Griffin Coal and Lanco Group in the Supreme Court of Western Australia is now at an end.

The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 29 April 2013.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 32.39 points or 0.17% at 19,319.11.

On BSE, 12.61 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 21.83 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 12.39 and a low of Rs 10.59 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 10.10 on 4 March 2013. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 16.78 on 6 July 2012.

 

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 26 April 2013, rising 0.77% compared with the Sensex's 3.11% gain. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 15.58% as against Sensex's 4.06% fall.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 240.78 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

Lanco has agreed to pay Perdaman Chemicals (Perdaman) a nominal amount of AUD 7.5 million plus legal costs to be taxed by the Court, without admissions of any of the allegations of Perdaman, Lanco Infratech said in a statement. This settlement was reached pursuant to the rules of Supreme Court of Western Australia, which allows for early and cost effective resolution of such claims, Lanco Infratech added.

Lanco Infratech said that this outcome will have a positive impact on the entire group, and especially for Griffin Coal, a 100% subsidiary of Lanco. The company will reinforce its focus on its business and mining operations in Western Australia, including the proposed expansion of the Collie mine and the enhancement of the export facilities at the Bunbury port, Lanco Infratech said in a statement.

Lanco said it has always maintained that Perdaman's action was baseless and without any merit. If allowed to continue, this case would have taken another 12 to 14 months for the trial and judgement, resulting in significant legal costs and loss of management time, Lanco added. The purpose behind making this nominal offer was to put an end to this litigation now and move forward with the company's mine expansion plans, Lanco Infratech said in a statement.

It may be recalled that Perdaman had filed an AUD 3.5 billion lawsuit against Lanco in Australia in 2011, alleging non-compliance with coal supply pact for the company's upcoming urea plant in Western Australia.

Lanco Infratech reported consolidated net loss of Rs 464.64 crore in Q3 December 2012, as against net profit of Rs 60.92 crore in Q3 December 2011. Net sales rose 15% to Rs 3469.35 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q3 December 2011.

Lanco Infratech is one of India's largest integrated infrastructure developers. The company operates in five core sectors viz. EPC, power, natural resources, solar, and infrastructure.

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First Published: Apr 29 2013 | 12:03 PM IST

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