Buoyed by a 156 per cent jump in net profit and a 25 per cent dividend payout, the Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills Ltd scrip on the Mumbai Stock Exchange continuous its upward march which began on April 30. On Friday, the scrip closed at Rs 39 showing a gain of 20 per cent over its April 30 close of Rs 32.

During the fiscal 1998, though the company reported a 156 per cent jump in net profit from Rs 8.04 crore to Rs 20.54 crore, net sales surged by only 6 per cent to Rs 449.47 crore (Rs 425.66 crore). At Rs 378.64 crore, the rise in expenditure was low at 4 per cent against the previous year's figure of Rs 364.27 crore. However, interests cost fell by 15 per cent to Rs 24.25 crore. On an equity base of Rs 19.88 crore, the company's current EPS stands at Rs 10.33, up from the previous year's Rs 4.04.

Sierra Optima zooms

During the fiscal 1998, Sierra Optima's total income almost doubled from Rs 4.58 crore to Rs 9.11 crore. However, a 123 percent rise in expenditure to Rs 6.10 crore (Rs 2.74 crore) and a 77 per cent drop in other income to Rs 2.25 lakh (Rs 10.09 lakh) saw its net profit surge only by 35 per cent to Rs 2.34 crore (Rs 1.53 crore). Despite this, the Sierra Optima scrip maintained its upward journey on the BSE. On Friday, the scrip closed at Rs 141, gaining almost 20 per cent since its April 30 level of Rs 120.

Interestingly, in its previous rally, the scrip (on April 21) had touched Rs 165 from its March 12 level of Rs 71.

During the fiscal 1998, this Hyderabad-based company surpassed the profitability projections. At Rs 9.11 crore, its actual sales were double the projected figure of Rs 4.50 crore. However, actual net profit at Rs 2.34 crore was only 24 per cent higher than the projected Rs 1.89 crore. As against the projected Rs 5.73, actual EPS stands at Rs 7.08.