The Hindu Business Line : DCI posts Rs 176-cr net; declares 150 pc total

MR N.K. GUPTA, Chairman and Managing Director of Dreding Corporation of India, flanked by his company's Directors, Mr A.K. Dhar, and Mr G.V. Ratnam, at a press conference in Visakhapatnam. — C.V. Subrahmanyam

Visakhapatnam , Sept. 28

Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) has declared a dividend of 150 per cent (including interim of 60 per cent) for 2005-2006, involving an amount of Rs 47.89 crore.

At a press meet here on Thursday, the Chairman and Managing Director, Mr N.K. Gupta, said the company had achieved a turnover of Rs 542.89 crore, including operational income of Rs 506.90 crore during the year against the previous year's Rs 551.62 crore. Other income consisted of interest on fixed deposits. The net profit was Rs 176.46 crore (Rs 113.29 crore).

The earnings per share was Rs 63.02 (Rs 40.46).

Mr Gupta said DCI had paid 120 per cent dividend during 2004-2005, involving Rs 38.21 crore, including dividend tax of Rs 4.60 crore. The dividend tax for 2005-2006 was Rs 5.89 crore. A sum of Rs 17.70 crore could be transferred to the general reserves during the year, he added. The dredging capacity available was 798.50 lakh cubic metres as on March 31, 2006, and during the year, the quantity dredged under various contracts was 727.49 lakh cubic metres, representing 91.10 per cent of its capacity.

During the year, maintenance dredging contracts were executed at Kolkata/Haldia, Kandla, New Mangalore, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Jawaharlal Nehru port, Mormugao port, Southern Naval Command, Kochi, Sanghi Industries, Sanghipuram and the capital dredging of the stretch of Sethusamudram ship channel project.

Sethusamudram project

Mr Gupta said that the Union Government had decided to give the remaining stretches of Sethusamudram project to DCI on nomination basis, as international bidding had failed. "We are already at work on a stretch. For taking up work on the remaining stretches, we need at least 10 more dredgers - seven more trailer suction dredgers and three cutter suction dredgers. We have to charter these dredgers, as existing dredgers are already tied up," he explained.

DCI had entered into a consortium agreement with Dredging International for undertaking work on the E3-E4 stretch of Sethusamudram project and out of the 13.5 million cubic metres to be dredged, 6.09 million cubic metres had been completed. The rest would be completed by June 2007, he said.

To a question whether the agreement with Dredging International would be extended to the other stretches of the project, he said no decision had been taken.

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