Posted on June 7, 2016
Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) has registered a 27 per cent increase in profits during 2015-16 as compared to 2014-15 fiscal.
As per the annual standalone audit financial results, DCI has stated that its profits increased from Rs 62.41 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 79.67 crore in Rs 2015-16. The turnover of the Vizag headquartered dredging company dropped from Rs 734.96 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 665.86 crore.
According to a senior DCI official, the major reason for increase in profits is due to drop oil prices during the 2015-16 fiscal. “Almost 50% of the overall expenditure component is on fuel requirement. So, depleting fuel costs benefited the company. This is one of the factors for increase in profits. Also, an overall reduction in administrative overhead led to better results in the 2015-16 fiscal,” the DCI official said.
The fuel and lubricants cost reduced from Rs 287.08 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 221.33 crore resulting in reduction of costs by Rs 65.75 crore. At the same time, repairs and maintenance costs also dropped from Rs 59.33 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 44.01 crore in 2015-16 fiscal reducing costs by Rs 15.32 crore.
However, the increasing competition in the dredging market has led to a drop in turnover of the company. “There are a lot of foreign players in the market and in order to get the job we have to go aggressively and that has taken a beating on the topline. So that is the reason, why we followed an overall cost reduction management policy to have better control over the cost aspect,” the official added.
DCI also pointed out that an exceptional income of Rs 11 crore resulted in a positive impact on the bottomline. “The customs excise and service tax appellate tribunal (CESTAT) Kolkata dismissed the stay petition filed by the department in favour of DCI in respect of refund of customs duty of dredger Aquarius. In view of this, an amount of Rs 1110 lakh (Rs 11.10 crore) is considered as an exceptional item in the profit and loss account and reduced the residual value by Rs 22.66 lakh,” the company’s annual audited results said.
Meanwhile, the board of directors of the company has declared a dividend of 30% equivalent to Rs 3 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the financial year 2015-16.
Source: The Times of India
