The company's sales turnover stood at Rs 211.26 crore, up from Rs 186.07 crore in 1996-97. Profit before tax nearly doubled to Rs 12.19 crore in 1997-98, from Rs 6.20 crore the previous year.

Interest payout increased to Rs 6.17 crore in 1998 from Rs 3.82 crore in the previous year. Deputy general manager (finance) AK Dasgupta attributed the increase in interest cost to the newly-commissioned lube-blending plant at Silvassa. The interest on term-loan has increased to Rs 1.24 crore in 1997-98, from Rs 9.09 lakh in the previous year. Cash credit and overdrafts increased to Rs 2.82 crore during 1997-98, from Rs 2.02 crore in 1996-97. The company has stepped up provisioning for bad debts to Rs 35.91 lakh in 1997-98 from Rs 1.66 lakh in the previous year.

The company has declared dividend at Rs 6 for every equity shareof Rs 10 each. The manufacturer of the Veedol and Mitsubishi lubricant brands will hold its annual general meeting on August 18.

The public-sector Andrew Yule holds 27.5 per cent stake in Tide Water, with co-promoter Fourstar Oil & Gas of the US holding 22 per cent, financial institutions and mutual funds hold 15 per cent, and the public 35 per cent.

Dasgupta said that the company was planning new projects, including a grease plant at Mumbai (its third after the ones at Chennai and Calcutta), a unit to make small containers for its lube products and a tank farm.

Tide Water is in talks with foreign companies for the manufacture of small containers, Dasgupta said.

In 1995, the company had decided to co-promote Yule Agro Industries with Andrew Yule as a foray into mushroom cultivation and floriculture. Yule had advanced Rs 3.48 crore to Yule Agro towards the proposed equity.

According to Tide Water's annual report for 1998, the Yule loan has been transferred to Tide Water as on March 31, 1998. Theadvance is shown as an unsecured interest-free loan from Yule.

The company said this amount will be classified under loans and advances recoverable in cash, till Yule Agro issues shares.

The company's statutory auditor, Pricewaterhouse, had noted this transaction in its report. According to the schedules to the accounts, "The repayment term of the loan from AY [Andrew Yule] is to be mutually agreed and Yule Agro is yet to issue shares".

According to the notes to the accounts, there was no confirmation available on the counter-guarantees given to Yule in respect of a Rs 30-lakh guarantee issued by it on behalf of Tide Water.

The company has refused to acknowledge debts of Rs 6.5 crore in 1997-98, which has increased from Rs 3.94 crore in 1996-97.