| The Indian operations of Essel Propack have posted
a net profit of Rs 388 million for the year ended 31 December 2003,
which is down 16 per cent from the previous fiscal's net profit of
Rs 463 million. Revenues from Indian operations have slipped from
Rs 2421 million to Rs 2302 million for the year 2003.
While the YoY profits have taken a hit, net profit for the fourth
and last quarter ended 31 December 2003 stands at Rs 123 million
vis-à-vis Rs 81 million for the corresponding period of the
previous fiscal.
The tumble in the YoY net profit is largely due to a slow down
in the Chinese local customers' off-take and the planned relocation
of a key customer's manufacturing plant from Shanghai to Hefei during
the third quarter of 2003.
However, the consolidated results for Essel Propack's global operations
sing a different tune. The consolidated net profit for the group
is up 9.8 per cent to Rs 692 million from previous fiscal's net
of Rs 630 million. For the quarter ended 31 December 2003, the company
recorded a net profit of Rs 178 million against the Q4 net of Rs
137 million in the previous fiscal.
The group net sales have also seen a healthy YoY growth of 20.6
per cent. Revenues for the year ended 31 December 2003 stood at
Rs 5732 million vis-à-vis net of Rs 4750 million in the previous
fiscal. The net sales for the quarter ended 31 December 2003 have
grown to Rs 1554 million over the previous corresponding quarter's
net income of Rs 1153 million.
Essel Propack Ltd is a specialty packaging company headquartered
in India. It provides packaging solutions to toothpaste, pharmaceuticals,
cosmetics, and Industrial sectors all over the world. The company
has manufacturing operations in 11countries across the globe.
The increase in sales during the year 2003 mainly reflects the
startup of operations in USA and increased sales in China.
During 2002, the company had transferred its shareholding in subsidiaries
in Egypt and China to its 100 per cent subsidiary in Mauritius.
The company had received a dividend income of Rs 122 million during
the previous year ended 31 December 2002.
The board of directors has approved an interim dividend of 70 per
cent for the year ended 31 December 2003. In absolute terms, the
dividend translates into Rs 7 per share.
Essel Propack has also approved a reshuffle at the senior management
level. R Chandrasekhar, the erstwhile chief financial officer -global
(CFO- Global), has been re-appointed as chief operating officer-global
(COO-Global) while R Ramakrishnan who was heading treasury and taxation
will now be the vice president finance - global.
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