New Delhi, July 4: The ailing Metal Box India Ltd has reported a turnover of Rs 14.6 crore for the 18-month period ended September 30, 1997. The loss before interest and depreciation for the 18-month fiscal 1996-97 amounted to Rs 5.57 crore, of which a loss of Rs 5.30 crore was reported in the 12-month period of 1996-97.The cumulative losses of the company have mounted to Rs 111 crore up to September 30, 1997.
Barely 50 shareholders attended the company's first annual general meeting in the capital after it shifted its headquarters to Delhi from Calcutta. The last AGM of the company was held 18 months back in Calcutta and it witnessed several unruly scenes and disruptions by the union leaders.
Company promoter Vinod Krishna told The Financial Express that the banks and financial institutions will have to make pro-rata sacrifices after making realistic settlements to absorb the drop in value consequent to the revaluation of its Worli premises done by the operating agency ICICI.
Krishna claimed thatthere was no need for a new rehabilitation scheme as the present scheme could now be quickly implemented after bringing down the scheme cost from Rs 139 crore to Rs 100 crore.
Several shareholders wanted that the promoters should transact the surpluses so that staggering losses of the company can be wiped out. They questioned as to why the Worli factory premises had not been transacted.
Krishna claimed that the premises had been over-valued in the rehabilitation scheme under pressure from the workers' union.
On an application moved by the ANZ Grindlays Bank and supported by ICICI, the Delhi high court had ordered that the premises be revalued by a valuer to be appointed by ICICI in consultation with banks and FIs.
Krishna mentioned that the revaluation indicated a value drop of over Rs 40 crore to Rs 45 crore as compared to the previous valuation of Rs 91.5 crore done by the income-tax authorities. Such a difference, he said, could not be due to a drop in the real estate prices.
Answering theshareholders' queries, he said: ``In our estimation, at least a Rs 20-crore drop is on account of over-valuation in 1996 of the Worli premises, while the rest Rs 20 to 25 crore is due to the fall in Mumbai's real estate market."
Krishna also forewarned the banks and FIs involved with the revival of the company ``not to get carried away by hypothetical and fictitious values and hearsay propaganda being engaged by some union members".
Besides adopting the annual accounts, the meeting also approved the appointment of directors and auditors.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
