The company suffered a loss of Rs 13.76 crore on a turnover of Rs 968.32 crore in the previous year.

JCT's cash loss has been Rs 17.73 crore. The company's depreciation went up to Rs 60.62 crore from Rs 45.68 crore in 1996-97.

The Rs 78.35-crore loss has been arrived at without taking into account Rs 72.60 crore of interest payable on term loans and debentures subscribed by financial institutions and banks. At the same time, interest income of Rs 27 crore on loans and advances given by JCT in the second half of 1997-98 have also not been accounted for.

Company officials said the interest burden had not been taken into account while calculating the loss in view of JCT's proposal to FIs and banks for restructuring of its financial liabilities.