The power and industrial systems division contributes to 65 per cent of Crompton's turnover, while consumer products accounts for 25 per cent. The balance is taken up by digital systems. The company has said that an initial public offering will be made towards the end of 2000. The issue will be for CG Corel Logics

Crompton has, incidentally, reported a net loss of Rs 13.79 crore for the first quarter ended June 1999 compared with a Rs 16 lakh loss in the same period last year.

"This is due to the poor order-book position the company had at the beginning of the year, especially in the power transformers and switchgear segment," said chairman and managing director KK Nohria at the annual general meeting here onFriday.

However, by the end of this financial, Crompton expects to perform better than the previous year, he said. The company expects its turnover to touch Rs 4,000 crore by 2005 with a net profit of Rs 250 to Rs 300 crore.

Sales were down to Rs 284.53 crore from Rs 333.19 crore. The company has kept expenditure down to Rs 262.64 crore compared with Rs 304.56 crore. The gross loss has been reported at Rs 89 lakh compared with a profit of Rs 9.85 crore earlier. The company has paid a higher interest of Rs 23.15 crore against Rs 19.78 crore. Depreciation is up to Rs 12.90 crore from Rs 10.01 crore last year.

Crompton, which has already initiated a restructuring process, plans to further streamline its business. This includes divesting from some of its joint ventures and merging subsidiaries with the parent company. Other plans include sale of equity in Skycell Communications and merger of the Punjab Power Generation Machines in the parent company.

The company was earlier referred to the Board ofIndustrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR). Amalgamation of CG Polycrete depends on the ongoing legal case. Bids for Skycell Communications which were invited earlier are to be submitted in August. The company has appointed ABN Amro for selecting a buyer. With the new guidelines for telecommunication, Crompton expects a good premium on its investment in the venture. "It may can even be more than Rs 111 crore which is the company's entire investment in 18 joint ventures," Nohria said.

The company has also passed a special enabling resolution to facilitate restructuring of business which include mergers and divestments. Crompton has decided to cut costs by Rs 90 crore during the current financial for which it had earlier launched a voluntary retirement scheme. While 1,700 employees have already availed themselves of the VRS, another 1,000 are expected to follow suit this year. The company has targeted cutting costs by Rs 90 crore in the current fiscal.