Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Apr 16, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Apr 16, 2004 |
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Corporate
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Financial Performance Corporate Results - Shipping Logistics - Shipping Varun Shipping clocks 214 pc increase in net profit Our Bureau
Mr Arun Mehta, Vice-Chairman, Varun Shipping Company Ltd, and Mr Yudhishthir Khatau, Managing Director, at a press meet in Mumbai on Thursday. — Shashi Ashiwal
Mumbai , April 15 SAILING with the freight market boom, Varun Shipping Co Ltd has clocked a 214 per cent increase in net profit during 2003-04 to touch the Rs. 35.8-crore mark, as against Rs. 11.4 crore in 2002-03. The company's turnover rose from Rs. 236.7 crore to Rs. 294.4 crore. The company, which owns about 65 per cent of the country's LPG tonnage, has also announced a dividend of 16 per cent for last fiscal, against 12 per cent in the previous year. Talking to presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Yudhishthir Khatau, Managing Director, said an investment programme envisaging an outlay of $ 250 million for acquisition of modern tonnage in the hydrocarbon sector has been drawn up by the company. The investment plan will be implemented in three phases during the next 12 to 18 months. To part finance the investment proposal, the company has plans to come out with a rights issue in June, envisaging an offer of 3.62 crore equity shares to existing shareholders in the ratio of one share for every two shares held. The price of the issue has been proposed at Rs 18 to Rs 21, with the company aiming to raise between Rs. 65 crore and Rs. 72 crore through this instrument. Mr. Arun Mehta, Vice-Chairman, said plans were also afoot to have the company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange through an issue of Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs). "We have not yet finalised the size of the SDR issue. We will come out with the issue in the 2004 calendar year," he said. Asked what prompted the company to choose the Singapore exchange, Mr. Mehta said that as Singapore was a major maritime centre, investors there understood the significance and potential of the shipping industry. On other plans, Mr. Khatau said while the primary focus of the company would continue to be on the hydrocarbon sector, the investment plans include its possible entry into the crude transportation sector. "We are confident that the bullish trend in the tanker freight market will continue, as the new tankers that enter the market will offset the tanker phase-out programme under the IMO regulations. Hence there may not be much tonnage addition in this sector, despite the entry of new vessels and therefore we feel that the tanker freight rates would continue to be buoyant," according to him. The company's new tonnage addition will include gas carriers, product tankers, chemical carriers and offshore exploration vessels. At present, the company has a fleet of 13 ships, including five LPG carriers and five petroleum products/easy chemicals carriers.
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