Ciba Specialty Chemicals (India) has registered sales of Rs 239 crore and a net profit of Rs 5.3 crore for the year ended March 31, 1997. The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2 per Rs 10 share. This is the first year of reporting for Ciba Specialty, comprising the demerged industrial divisions of Hindutan Ciba Geigy. An affiliate of Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Switzerland, the Indian arm has five main divisions: additives, consumer care, performance polymers, pigments and textile dyes. The company's pre-tax profit was Rs 7.9 crore while provision for taxation stood at Rs 2.6 crore. Other income for the period was Rs 6.8 crore. Depreciation and interest for the year was Rs 6.5 crore and Rs 3.4 crore respectively.

Snowcem sales up 19% to Rs 31 crore: Snowcem India, the country's largest exterior paints manufacturer, has announced a 19 per cent growth in sales turnover at Rs 30.95 crore during the first half of the current financial year ended September 1997. Profit after tax rose by a whopping 79 per cent to Rs 3.25 crore, as against Rs 1.81 crore during the corresponding period of last year. The operating profit, during the period, shot up by 60 per cent from Rs 3.30 crore to Rs 5.41 crore, while gross profit (before depreciation and tax) grew by 72 per cent from Rs 2.43 crore to Rs 4.18 crore.

Deepak Tikku appointed NDDB director:Deepak Tikku has been appointed on the board of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as a director. Tikku was working in the same organisation in the capacity of executive director, a NDDB release said here.

Phulpur recast project to be commissioned next month: The Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative Ltd (Iffco) will commission its Rs 1,250 crore Phulpur expansion project in Uttar Pradesh next month, its marketing director V Kumar said. The existing ammonia-urea complex at Phulpur, near Allahabad, is being expanded to increase the per annum urea production capacity by 7.5 lakh tonne from the present five lakh tonnes, Kumar told reporters here.

PFC pays interim dividend of Rs 15 crore: The public sector Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Friday paid an interim dividend of Rs 15 crore to the government. The dividend cheque was handed over to the power minister, YK Alagh by the PFC chairman and managing director Uddesh Kohli, a corporation release said here. The corporation has paid a dividend of Rs 48 crore for the year 1996-97, the release said.

Top level shake up in FACT: The public sector Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd has appointed five new general managers. RRC Menon has been appointed general manager (personnel), D Kulandairaj general manager Udyogamandal Division; T J Abraham general manager Cochin Division, Alok Bhattacharya general manager (R&D) and P N Anirudhan joint general manager (petrochemicals dovosopn).

HMT castings for Singapore: The first bed castings developed by the HMT Foundry, Kochi, for Yamazaki Mazak Corporation of Singapore was released for shipment on Wednesday. This is the first time in the history of HMT unit here the castings have been exported. The sample of the castings was accepted by the Singapore firm's experts who visited the company recently, according to a company release here.

Aptech to be Sylvan's authorised centre: Sylvan Prometric, a division of US-based Sylvan Learning Systems, has appointed Aptech Ltd as the authorised Prometric Testing Centre in the country. As part of the agreement, Asset, a division of Aptech, will conduct Sylvan's computer-based proficiency testing here. Sylvan Learning Systems is a leading provider of educational and testing services in Information Technology the worldover. With this agreement, students will be able to take Sylvan's tests in the country which will be recognised by all the leading software companies.

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