The Hindu Business Line : Oudh Sugar Mills net up 280 pc in Q4

Oudh Sugar Mills recorded a 280.84 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 13.52 crore for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2006, as compared to Rs 3.55 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Sales in the quarter under review increased by 25 per cent to Rs 136.79 crore (Rs 109.43 crore).

For the financial year ended June 30, 2006, the net profit jumped 314.98 per cent to stand at Rs 49.84 crore (Rs 12.01 crore). EPS increased from Rs 21.18 to Rs 24.96. The company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 4.50 per equity share.

The company is currently in the process of setting up a greenfield plant at Hatta (Uttar Pradesh) with a capacity of 7,000 tonnes of crushing per day (tcd) and co-generation plant of 17 MW. The plant will be fully operational by November 2008.

Expansion of its Hargaon Sugar Mills in UP and New Swadeshi Sugar Mills in Bihar is also on the cards. After the completion of these expansions, the company's consolidated crushing capacity will stand enhanced from the present 21,700 tcd to 28,700 tcd.

The total cost of these projects is Rs 479 crore and will be raised through a combination of internal accruals and debt.

"About Rs 250 crore will be from debt from banks and financial institutions, Rs 75-80 crore will be from the Sugar Development Fund and the balance will be from internal accruals," said Mr C.S. Nopany, Chairman and Managing Director. Shares of the company rose by 2.95 per cent to close at Rs 134.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.