Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd tripled its net profit at Rs 94.38 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2002, as compared to Rs 29.29 crore recorded in Q4 of last fiscal. The company cited increased efficiency, exceptional income and a huge tax credit as profit drivers.Net sales/income from operations of the company for January-March quarter was Rs 909.07 crore (Rs 945.10 crore). For the entire fiscal, however, the company recorded a 19.61 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 96.91 crore as on March 31, 2002, compared to Rs 120.55 crore in the previous fiscal. The board has recommended a 50 per cent dividend (Rs 5 per share) aggregating an outgo of Rs 56.21 crore.The net sales and income from operations in the full year was also down at Rs 3,273.08 crore as against Rs 3,538.41 crore in FY-01, it said. The net profits for the year represent an improvement over the Rs 4.76 crore profit reported for the first nine months of FY-02.This improvement was largely due to success of cost re-engineering, right sizing and restructuring initiatives carried out by M&M during the year, a company statement said.In the farm equipment sector, the company took the initiative of reducing and optimising dealer stocks.
