On the other hand, the net profit of the 146 companies rose by 19.6 per cent to Rs 7,351 crore during April-September '99. This has happened probably due to the significant increase in the PAT of companies like Agro Duch Foods (450.8 per cent), Aspinwall & Co (637.0 per cent), Cheminor Drugs (177.5 per cent), Cybermate Infotek (317.9 per cent), DSP Merrill (388.5 per cent), Supreme Petrochem (199.1 per cent), and Visual Soft (201.8 per cent). The operating profit of the companies rose significantly by 32.8 per cent to Rs 16,537 crore during the period. Their gross profit also rose by 22.7 per cent to Rs 12,415 crore in April-September '99, from Rs 10,115 crore in April-September '98.

Profit before tax of the companies increased by 18.5 per cent to Rs 9,044 crore in April-September '99. Though the aggregate sales of 146 companies rose significantly by 25 per cent to Rs 105,545 crore during April-September '99, from Rs 84,452 crore during April-September '98, the PAT to sales ratio of the companies fell from 7.28 per cent to 6.96 per cent.

Of the 146 companies, 29 registered a fall in the gross profit. Significant among them are Advani-Oerlikon (-74.7 per cent ), Artson Engineering (-90.2 per cnet), Bombay Burmah (-82.8 per cent), ION Exchange (-79.7 Per cent), and Western Hatcheries (-76.0 per cent). Nineteen companies more than doubled their gross profit during the study period. Mention may be made of AVT Natural products (641.9 per cent), Aspinwall & Co (382.2 per cent), Cybermate Infotek (340.5 per cent), and DSP Merrill (326.6 Per cent). In PBT, 18 companies have witnessed an increase of 100 per cent or more. Significant amomg them are Citurgia Biochemicals (632.6 per cent), Aspinwall and Co (563.3 per cent), Agro Duch Foods (450.8 per cent), and DSP Merrill (403.2 per cent). However, 28 companies have recorded a lower PBT during April-September '99.

In the case of PAT, significant losses made by the companies during April-September '99 are National Peroxide (-6.61 crore), Prism Cements (-6.42 crore), and Ventura Textiles (-6.12 crore). As many as 31 companies recorded lower net profits during April-September '99, from the level of Apr-Sep'98.

On the other hand, 16 companies saw a rise of 100 per cent or more. Mention may be made of Agro Duch Foods, Aspinwall & Co, Birla Ericsson Optical, Cheminor Drugs, Cybermate Infotek, DSP Merrill, Finolex Cables, IDBI Bank, Infosys Techonlogies, Infotech Enterprises, Patel Engineering Co, Priya, Shasun Chemicals, Supreme Petrochem, United Motors, and Visual Soft.

Among the 146 companies, the top five in respect of PAT to sales ratio during April-September '99 were Cyber Tech (65.24 per cent), India Cements (47.78 per cent), Visual Soft (42.42 per cent), Infosys Technologies (33.37 per cent), and Cybermate Infotek (30.95 per cent).

The PAT formed less than 1 per cent of sales during April-September '99 in the case of Ashok Leyland, ION Exchange, MMTC, Punjab Chemicals, Searchlight India, Tata SSL, Voltas, and Western Hacheries. A significant rise in the ratio during April-September '99, from level of April-September '98, was recorded by Agro Duch Foods (7.82 per cent to 23.10 per cent), Cheminor Drugs (5.26 per cent to 12.44 per cent), Crest Communication (1.16 per cent to 12.54 per cent), DSP Merrill (12.49 per cent to 28.28 per cent), India Cements (5.18 per cent to 47.78 per cent), and Shasun Chemicals (3.73 per cent to 9.12 per cent). A reverse trend can be seen in the case of BFL Software (26.90 per cent to 10.56 per cent), Rashstriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (10.32 per cent to 4.52 per cent), Spice Islands (28.19 per cent to 5.39 per cent), and SPS International (10.28 per cent to 4.49 per cent).