Bajaj Hindusthan profit rises 21%
Spurred by an increase in production capacity and a higher sugar cane crop of 21m tonnes, as against about 19m tonnes last year, Bajaj Hindusthan (BHL) posted a 21% increase in net profit at Rs 63.9 crore for the third-quarter ended June 30, ’06.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: Spurred by an increase in production capacity and a higher sugar cane crop of 21m tonnes, as against about 19m tonnes last year, Bajaj Hindusthan (BHL) posted a 21% increase in net profit at Rs 63.9 crore for the third-quarter ended June 30, ’06, reports Our Bureau in Mumbai.
The company’s operating profit (EBIDTA) during the review period witnessed an year-on-year rise of 31% at Rs 110.6 crore, as against Rs 84.3 crore in the year-ago period. Net sales during the period grew 23% to Rs 448 crore, as against Rs 364 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
“In the current year, the company has expanded its cane crushing capacity to 53,000 tonnes per crushing day (tcd) from 31,000 tcd in the previous year,” said Kushagra Nayan Bajaj, chief executive, Bajaj Hindusthan.
This would go up to 95,000 tcd in ’06-07 due to the ongoing greenfield and brownfield expansions being undertaken by the company, he said, adding that capacity of ethanol would also double from the current 320 kilolitres per day to 640 kilolitres per day during the same period.
For the nine-month period ended June 30, ’06, net profit increased 80% to Rs 152.6 crore, as against Rs 84.6 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Gross turnover in the same period rose 94% to Rs 1,164.8 crore (Rs 599.1 crore), while operating profit jumped 78% to Rs 283.3 crore (Rs 159.5 crore).
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These numbers do not include results of BHL’s subsidiary the 3,200-tcd Pratappur Sugar and Industries (PSIL), which the company acquired last year from the Kanorias. PSIL’s capacity is also being enhanced to 6,000 tcd and the company is setting up a distillery to manufacture 160 KLD of industrial alcohol/ethanol. The company is yet to announce results for Q1 ended June 30, ’06. For the whole year ended March 31, ’06, PSIL posted a loss of Rs 6.9 crore on a turnover of Rs 65.5 crore.
“BHL’s performance is clearly a result of the capacity expansion we are pursuing and also increased capex,” said Mr Bajaj. For the three years to September ’06 the company’s capex stands at Rs 2,200 crore.
The sugar industry in India is poised for growth as sugar companies have set aside Rs 5,000 crore as capex in UP alone and another Rs 3,000 crore in states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Despite the higher numbers, the 267-point fall in the Sensex weighed heavily on the BHL scrip which ended 8.5% below its previous day close at Rs 357.7.
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