Rallis Indias sales have spurted by 18 per cent to Rs 911 crore in April-December 1996, from Rs 770 crore for the same period last year. The growth has been mainly fuelled by the companys fertiliser and pesticides businesses.
Our operating profits have similarly increased and could have been higher but for the interest charges, said chairman F A Mehta at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the company in Mumbai yesterday. The EGM approved the hike in the companys authorised capital from Rs 15 to Rs 50 crore by issue of cumulative preference shares of Rs 35 crore. This was necessary as Rallis debt-equity ratio had become skewed due to heavy borrowings to fund capital expenditure of Rs 86 crore in the last three years. The company is also implementing a voluntary retirement scheme of Rs 25 crore.
Besides, the meeting authorised Rallis to make a private placement of Rs 20-crore non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
The company has been able sustain its growth despite the disruption in agricultural activity, and a huge loss in sales in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The loss in sales volume has been compensated by Rallis diverting its products to the export market. This could not, however, make good the loss in margin.
The profits this year would be close to last years figure, according to Mehta. However, he cautioned that the previous years figure included a one time profit on the sale of Boehringer Mannheim shares. Rallis posted a net profit of Rs 22.27 crore in 1995-96.
The company has also been buoyed by the recovery of the pharmaceuticals division in the last few months. Its performance is likely to be shored up further with the commissioning of the new Dextran plant in December, 1996, at Aurangabad.
Dextran, in which Rallis holds a monopoly, will be available in the market from February, 1997. The fine chemicals division is also doing well and the agrochemicals unit, which is the mainstay of the company, is going along as expected, said Mehta.
