According to the unaudited results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2000, PBT was Rs 4.02 crore against Rs 30 lakh in the first quarter of the previous fiscal. Turnover increased by 50 per cent to Rs 40.39 crore against Rs 26.81 crore in the previous fiscal.Addressing a press conference on Monday, RPG Enterprises president and chief executive Pradipta K Mohapatra said, "The first quarter result is not only sustainable, but will grow further." In the first quarter, Gramophone sold 11 million music cassettes against 6.5 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, a growth of 69 per cent, while CD sales shot up by 68 per cent from 2,23,000 to 3,75,000.

The board of directors also finalised audited accounts for 1999-2000 today. For the full year, total revenue went up to Rs 146.09 crore from Rs 123.08 crore in the previous fiscal, a growth of 19 per cent. PBT rose to Rs 6.56 crore from Rs 4.23 crore in the previous fiscal. After providing Rs 55 lakh for taxation, net profit was Rs 6.01 crore, a rise of 53 per cent from Rs 3.93 crore in the previous year.

Mohapatra said the board has recommended a final dividend of 10 per cent, which together with the interim dividend of 20 per cent declared in March this year, amounts to a total of 30 per cent, against 15 per cent declared in the previous fiscal. Saregama Plc, Gramophone Co's UK-based subsidiary, closed the 1999-2000 fiscal with a turnover of 3.04 million and a PBT of 0.64 million, a growth of 19 per cent. Mohapatra said a new Mauritius based company, RPG Global Music Ltd, was formed to handle international territories in the Eastern hemisphere. The new company has set up its marketing and logistic headquarters at Singapore, in addition to opening offices at Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. Saregama Plc, responsible for business in the Western hemisphere, operates out of London.