BK Birla group outfit Kesoram Industries has slipped into the red, but maintained dividend.
On Thursday it reported a Rs 210-crore net loss in FY 2011 against a net profit of Rs 237 crore in the previous year. The Q4 net loss was placed at Rs 198 crore (Rs 29 crore net profit). The board, however, proposed dividend of Rs 3.25 a share or 3.25 per cent as last year.
A note to the audited results for the Q4 and the year said the results were affected “primarily due to sluggish demand and decrease in cement prices in southern India and steep hike in rubber prices” for its tyre unit.
The company said the timeframe for completion of expansion of the 80 tonnes per day (tpd) car radial project at Blasore in Orissa and the 85 tpd truck radial tyre project in Uttarakhand were being extended to second half of 2011-12.