The Hindu Business Line : Sterlite net up at Rs 197 cr

STERLITE Industries (India) Ltd has ended the year 2003-04 with a net profit of Rs 197.14 crore as compared with Rs 167.67 crore in the previous year.

Net sales for the year stood at Rs 3,069.8 crore (Rs 2,207.91 crore).

For the fourth quarter, Sterlite has posted a net profit of Rs 73.3 crore as compared with a net profit of Rs 60.6 crore for the year-ago period.

Total income has increased from Rs 668.69 crore during the March 2003 quarter to Rs 890.07 crore in in March 2004 quarter.

The company has said that its board has recommended a dividend of 60 per cent (Rs 3 per share of Rs 5 each) for the financial year ending March 2004 on the expanded equity after the bonus issue.

In view of sharp fluctuation in LME/LMBA prices of copper, gold and silver during the year, the company has reinstated the cost of purchase of copper concentrate and export of slime at closing LME rate of copper and LMBA rate of precious metals in those cases where quotational period price is not finalised as at year end as against the earlier practice of accounting these on provisional invoice basis only.

This has resulted in increase in turnover, consumption of copper concentrate and inventory by Rs 0.83 crore, Rs 55.95 crore and Rs 16.30 crore respectively and decrease in profit for the year by Rs 24.9 crore (net of taxes), Sterlite said in its notes to the results.