The Hindu Business Line : GHCL Q3 net sales up 17 pc

Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd (GHCL) has seen its income go up by 31 per cent, operating profit by 29 per cent and profit after tax (PAT) by 28 per cent in the first nine months of the year ending September 30.

In a press release here, the company said its profit before deferred tax for the quarter ending September 30 was 35 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter last year. In this quarter, the company's net sales/income from operations increased by 17 per cent to Rs 194.30 crore from Rs 165.64 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last year.

The PBDIT for the quarter increased seven per cent to Rs 48.16 crore while PAT increased by five per cent to Rs 24.71 per cent. The earnings per share for the quarter was Rs 2.6.

For the first nine months ended September 30, GHCL's net sales/income from operations increased by 31 per cent to Rs 603.98 crore while PBDIT increased 29 per cent to Rs 162.92 crore. The PAT increased by 28 per cent to Rs 83.86 crore.

On its operations in the country, GHCL said the company's soda ash capacity expansion from six lakh tonnes to 8.50 lakh tonnes is likely to be completed ahead of the schedule in November 2006 in place of March 2007. The expansion plan of the Madurai - based spinning unit from 90,000 spindles to 1.45 lakh spindles is progressing as scheduled. The Vapi-based textiles operations in Gujarat, commissioned in March this year, is in the process of operational stabilisation and poised to enhance capacity utilisation to reach EBIDTA break-even within six months of its commissioning.

Overseas operations

About the overseas operations, it said its operation capacity improved by 30 per cent at the Romanian soda ash facility. Capital investment programmes covering capacity enhancement and efficiency improvement in the Romanian soda ash operations are also progressing as scheduled, to increase overseas production capacity to three lakh tonnes per annum. GHCL has already turned around the US-based Dan River home textiles operations, led by marketing, outsourcing and HR initiatives to reach EBIDTA break-even. Its integration of Rosebys' home textiles retail operations in the UK, acquired in July this year, is also on track.

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