The company's net profit has skidded sharply to Rs 16.18 crore (Rs 19.61 crore), a decline of 17 per cent, according to a company statement. Its income from operations, however, went up by 25 per cent to Rs 486.43 crore (Rs 388.31 crore). The operating efficiency of the company has apparently suffered a beating as the operating margin went down to 8.38 per cent during the third quarter this year from 11.22 per cent same period last year. This has contributed to the dent in the company's bottomline, feel analysts. Its other income declined to Rs 2.88 crore (Rs 3.16 crore) during the period. While the interest payment decreased to Rs 6.17 crore (Rs 7.08 crore), depreciation for the period increased by Rs 12.70 crore (Rs 10.87 crore).

Indian Rayon Q3 net up 15% to Rs 19.1 crore Aditya Birla group company Indian Rayon and Industries Ltd has recorded a 15 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 19.1 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2000, as compared to Rs 16.6 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Turnover during the quarter increased by 50.7 per cent to Rs 380.3 crore as against Rs 252.3 crore last year. Of this, Madura Garments division contributed Rs 89.5 crore, said a company release.

Gross profit before payment of royalty to the wholly owned subsidiary, Aditya Vikram Global Trading House Ltd, was higher by 29 per cent and stands at Rs 40.9 crore. Exports stood at Rs 96 crore as against Rs 71 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. For the quarter under consideration, the Earning Per Share (EPS) has increased to Rs 12.7 as against Rs 11.1 in the same period last year.

Madura Garments' turnover is 15 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter (Rs 77.5 crore). Operating profit (before royalty and advertisement cost) is higher at Rs 17.3 crore as compared to Rs 15.5 crore in the corresponding period last year. To have a long term edge in the business, the company has taken initiatives like launching new retailing concepts like Trouser Towns, Mega stores and Planet Fashion, launching new collection coupled with brand extensions and increasing its presence in branded exports.

Marico Q3 net rises 30% Marico Industries has reported a 30 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 10.1 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2000, over the corresponding period last year. Sales during the period grew marginally to Rs 479.3 crore over the corresponding period last year. The MRP of most Marico products were lowered following considerably lower raw material raw material prices. Gross margins jumped to Rs 103.1 crore from Rs 80.4 crore aided by lower raw material costs and improved cost management across the value chain. Greaves Q3 net loss soars to Rs 9.01 croreElectrical equipment major Greaves Ltd has reported a 142.05 per cent jump in net loss to Rs 9.01 crore during the third quarter of this fiscal compared to Rs 3.72 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Gross income from operations during the period came down to Rs 147.15 crore from Rs 185.67 crore, while total expenditure remained lower at Rs 140.93 crore against Rs 172.81 crore last year. VisualSoft nets Rs 20.64 crore profitVisualSoft Technologies,a leading IT solution and product development company, has posted a net profit of Rs 20.64 crore during third quarter ended December 31, registering a growth of 174 per cent over the corresponding period last year. The company reported a total income of Rs 41.65 crore for the third quarter, a 122 per cent increase over last years' Rs 18.69 crore.

The total income for the nine-month period ended December 31 last was Rs 101.08 crore, accounting for a 113 per cent increase over Rs 47.36 crore, during the corresponding period last year.

BILT Q3 net doubles to Rs 25 crore Ballarpur Industries has reported a near doubling of net profit to Rs 25.51 crore at Rs 390 crore sales turnover for the quarter ending December 31, 2000. A company release also said the company board has proposed reduction in the rate of its fixed deposit scheme by one per cent basis point with effect from February 1 this year. Remarking upon the upbeat performance, the statement said: "operating results for all the units show a significant improvement in comparison to last year. Kothari Sugars posts Rs 8.7 cr loss Kothari Sugars and Chemicals Limited has posted a net loss of Rs 8.69 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2000 as against the net loss of Rs 17.26 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Synergy Log-in posts 81% growth in Q3 net
Synergy Log-in Systems has reported an 81 per cent growth in its net profit during the quarter ended December 31, 2000 to Rs 93.44 lakh (Rs 51.53 lakh). Income from operations of the company during the period was at Rs 370 lakh compared to Rs 267 lakh in the same period of the previous year. Zicom 9-month net up 152% Zicom Electronic Security Systems has reported an increase of 152 per cent in its net profit for the nine months ended December 31, 2000. The net profit for the period stood at Rs 2. 49 crore against Rs 0.98 crore for the same nine month period last year. Total sales for the period was Rs 14.31 crore as compared to Rs 8.94 crore, an increase of 0 per cent.

Tata Elxsi net zooms 307%
Tata Elxsi has posted impressive results for the for the six-month period ended September 30, 2000. While total turnover for this period at Rs 61.5 crore is up by 13 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year, the profit before tax up to September 2000 has leapfrogged by 307 per cent to Rs 510.4 lakh as against Rs 125.3 lakh up to the corresponding previous year period. BPL Q3 net down 28% to Rs 20 croreBPL Ltd has reported a decline of 28.41 per cent in net profits for the Q3 ended December, 2000 to Rs 20.05 crore as against Rs 28.01 crore in the corresponding period last year. The total revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 471.74 crore a drop of 17.95 per cent as compared to Rs 574.92 crore in the same quarter last year.