| (Press
Release, January, 2004)
Kolkata
January 26th, 2004" The Board of Gujarat NRE
Coke Limited, met in the city today to discuss, among other
things, the unaudited financial results of the company for
the quarter ended December 31st, 2003. The results are on
expected lines, considering the dream run in the industry
segment and the company which has paid dividends and bonuses
in the immediately preceding two years, was able to maintain
its record of posting vastly improved results. Net Profit
after tax went up from Rs. 2.66 crores to Rs 6.49 crores,
in the corresponding period in the previous year, an increase
of over 244%. This profit has been posted on an increased
turnover of Rs 48.12 crores (up from Rs 34.94 crores in the
corresponding period in the previous year). The Earning per
Share of NRE Coke stands at RS 2.37 a whooping increase of
157%, when compared to Rs 1.51 in the corresponding previous
quarter. What is commendable about the figures is that, in
keeping with the long term policies of the management, the
interest outflow has fallen from Rs. 4.95 crores in the corresponding
period in the previous year to Rs. 4.16 crores, a decrease
of around 16%.
These
results are significant when seen in the backdrop of the fact
that the net profit has zoomed faster than the increase in
the turnover, pointing at higher realizations per tonne of
product. This in turn points at the twin facts of the quality
of the company�s products being well accepted in the market
and the ensuing winds of good fortune ripping through the
entire gamut of steel and steel making raw materials industry
segments. The results are also of significance when the fact
that Gujarat NRE Coke is the only listed company in the industry
segment, is considered.
NRE
Coke, which since its inception, has been on a growth path
is currently in the process of setting up another Greenfield
coke plant with an annual installed capacity of 324,000 MT
near Kandla in Gujarat. The second plant will offer NRE Coke
the twin logistical advantages of nearness to the port of
Kandla (NRE Coke imports its raw materials chiefly from Australia)
and will also open up the coke starved markets of North India
by virtue of the region's excellent rail/road connectivity.
This plant will virtually double NRE Cokes production capacity
and will ensure that the company is geared to reap the full
benefit of coke cycle, which is poised to run to its zenith
shortly. The Kandla project will commence gradually production
from April, 2004 onwards. The fact that the entire expansion
is being funded by internal accruals points at the company�s
debt aversion and its inherent financial strengths.
The Directors also discussed the joint venture agreement that
the company has entered with M/s Kalyani Steels Limited for
the setting up of a green-field coke over battery project
in Karnataka with an annual manufacturing capacity of 324,000
MT. The project with an estimated capital cost of Rs.45 Crores
is proposed to be funded by the mixture of debt and equity,
of which 60% would be subscribed by NRE Coke and 40% by KSL.
The project is expected to go on stream in phases from October
2004.
With the new projects on stream, NRE Coke is poised to emerge
stronger as a major player in the Lam Coke market, with a
captive production capacity of about a million tonnes per
annum, backed by super strong financials and a crack management
process in place. �Excellence" to us, says Sri Arun Kumar
Jagatramka, Managing Director, "is not a destination
- it is our journey. These achievements too are not something
that gladdens our hearts, they are what makes our resolve
stronger, to do better and set higher goals for the years
ahead. And mark my words : we have many more aces up our sleeve,
God willing, we�ll keep making our shareholders happy".
The Gujarat NRE Coke share is listed in the Mumbai and Kolkata
Stock Exchanges and is witnessing brisk trading in the range
of Rs 50 - 55 currently.
For more information visit our website at www.gujaratnrecoke.com
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