The Hindu Business Line : KSTC posts operating profit

This is against an operating loss of Rs 6.38 crore incurred in the previous year. The cash loss was reduced to Rs 87.97 lakh and the net loss to Rs 3.23 crore during the year under review, according to Mr. Jacob Joseph, Managing Director.

He said that the creditable performance was due to the stringent cost-cutting measures adopted by the corporation as also an increase in productivity. Besides, the raw material cost as a percentage of value of production could be brought down to 51.43 per cent. In fact, it was lower at 43.59 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year.

In the fourth quarter, the corporation attained a net profit of Rs 33.33 lakh as against a net loss of Rs1.44 crore during the same period in the previous year. The cash profit during the quarter was Rs 74.10 lakh as compared to a cash loss of Rs 1.41 crore in the same quarter in 2003-04.

Mr Joseph said that the value of production increased to Rs 35.18 crore from Rs 31.53 crore in the previous year. The power cost was reduced from 19.88 per cent of the value of production to 17.60 per cent.

The State Government had sanctioned Rs 7 crore for the renovation of the mills under the corporation and the work in this direction is progressing well. Once the renovation programme is completed, the value of production would go up by around 30 per cent, Mr Joseph said.

The major liability of the corporation is the Rs 7-crore loan taken from Kerala Industrial Revitalisation Fund Board (KIRFB), towards which Rs 3 crore is being charged to the profit and loss account as interest every year.

If the interest element is not taken into account, then the corporation is already functioning at net profit level, Mr Joseph noted.

The corporation has submitted a project, with an outlay of Rs 40 crore, to the Government for modernisation of the mills.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page