Godrej Soaps net crashes 66

MUMBAI, June 29: Godrej Soaps Ltd has reported a drastic 66 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 8.53 crore for the year ended March 1998 as against Rs 25.05 crore in the previous year.

The drop is net profit is mainly because of a fall in the extraordinary income to Rs 6.3 crore from Rs 43.76 crore last year. However, income from operations has risen 26.4 per cent to Rs 767.91 crore. Total expenditure increased to Rs 680.31 crore.

Operating profit has increased to Rs 87.6 crore for the period from Rs 70.96 crore last year. Operating profit margins have remained almost stagnant at 11 per cent. Net profit margins have taken a beating and fallen to 1.11 per cent from 4.12 per cent last year. The board has recommended a lower dividend of Rs 1.3 per share.