Speaking to reporters after the company's annual general meeting here on Friday, managing director Pranab Barua said food products had long been discarded by Reckitt & Colman plc of the UK. In India, the company wanted to dispose off the Chetla unit (manufacturing Robinson Barley) as a going concern and was scouting for a buyer.

Similarly, the company's production of aromatic chemicals and denture products are also being phased out. Chairman PM Sinha told shareholders that worldwide, profit in aromatic chemicals was declining and like its parent, Reckitt & Colman of India had also decided to get out of aromatic chemicals production.

Replying to shareholders' queries, Sinha maintained that the growth rate in the current year was higher than that achieved in the correspondingperiod last year. The `Colin' brand multipurpose household cleaner acquired last year was expected to contribute in excess of Rs 10 crore in 1999, company's chairman Sinha said. Explaining the reason why the company had resorted to borrowings against non-convertible debentures at 10.5 per cent interest, Sinha informed that it was to part finance the acquisition of Colin brand which cost the company Rs 18.2 crore.

Sinha explained that the drop in profit margins in 1998 was the result of higher incidence of sales tax and costlier raw materials. In fact, he added, material costs as a percentage of sales had gone up to 56 per cent in 1998 from 49 per cent in the previous year.