CALCUTTA, May 17: The net profit of the Ispat Industries Ltd (IIL), the flagship company of Calcutta-based Ispat Group of ML Mittal, is likely to dip by about 10 per cent in 1996-97. But this is unlikely to affect the dividend payout projected at 25 per cent.

IIL is yet to officially announce the results for 1996-97. But company sources indicated that the net profit of the company will dip by Rs 10 crore despite a marginal increase in turnover.

In 1995-96, the company achieved Rs 1240 crore turnover and Rs 101 crore net profit.

IIL has set a turnover target of Rs 1928 crore for the 1997-98 fiscal and company officials claim that the target can be achieved as the first 1.5 million tonne phase of its hot rolling mill at Dolvi plant in Maharashtra, will be commissioned in September this year. But they admit the profit will still dip, though marginally.

The director- in- charge of the steel plant, VS Bapna claims that the real forward march will start from the 1998-99 fiscal when the second 1.5 MTPA phase of hot rolling mill is commissioned and the first phase totally stabilised.

IIL would then achieve sharp increases in turnover and net profit to Rs 3446 crore and Rs 333 crore respectively. However, dividend to be paid by the company has been projected at Rs 121 crore or 17.22 per cent the lowest till date for the 1998-99 fiscal. During the fiscal, the share capital of the company would go up from the present Rs 160 to 683 crore after the conversion of the debentures being offered in the Rs 800-crore rights issue.Company officials are confident that the issue will be fully subscribed. But many market analysts are doubtful about the success of the issue. ``If they can manage it, it would be mainly thanks to those non-resident Indians who are friends and associates of the promoters,'' one argues.

The promoters would also increase their share from the present 21 to 25 per cent, company sources say.

The company is expecting a further boom in the following two fiscals. It has targeted a turnover of Rs 4304 crore and Rs 4697 crore and net profit of Rs 742 crore and Rs 971 crore for 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 respectively.According to company projections, the share capital of the company will go up further to Rs 753 crore in 1999-2000 and to Rs 810 crore in 2000-2001, while the dividend to be paid has been projected at Rs 188 crore and Rs 203 crore respectively. Thus, the dividend will increase almost to the previous level of 25 per cent.