NEW DELHI, June 10: Ranbaxy Laboratories has declared a record dividend of 80 per cent on its share capital of Rs 49.4 crore for the year 1996-97 against 55 per cent announced in 1995-96.The company had earlier approved an interim dividend of 22.5 per cent. At a board meeting held here on Tuesday, the directors approved final dividend of 57.5 per cent.Sales income of the company was up 22.4 per cent to Rs 1,066.1 crore from Rs 871.3 crore. Exports was up 28.3 per cent to Rs 522 crore from Rs 406.8 crore and accounted for 49 per cent of the total sales.Profit before interest and depreciation registered 26.4 per cent increase at Rs 196.6 crore as against Rs 155.6 crore last year.After net interest income of Rs 8.8 crore (as against Rs 2.5 crore reported in the unaudited results), depreciation of Rs 29.2 crore, and provision for tax of Rs 22 crore, the net profit of the company went up by 14.2 per cent to Rs 154.2 crore.The share prices of the company recorded small gains following the announcement. The share price gained 4.5 point to close at Rs 585.50.Commenting on his plans to divest 6 per cent of direct holding in the company, Ranbaxy Chairman Parvinder Singh said: ``My move to seek approval from the Indian authorities to divest a small part of the equity stakes under my control was to deleverage my position consequent to the debts undertaken for subscribing to the warrants during the year 1996. In view of the concerns expressed by some investors, it is my intention to review this matter soon witht he objective of finding a way forward that can hopefully address thier concerns on one hand and the need to de-leverage on the other while retaining controlling stake at sufficently high level.''Earnings per share for the year based on the increased equity share capital of Rs 49.4 crore was Rs 31.20 against Rs 30.43 the year before. The gross block was up 17.5 per cent to Rs 520.5 crore while networth of the company on March 31, 1997, was up 35 per cent to Rs 1,098.2 crore.The sales of dosage forms grew 27 per cent while bulk sales degrew by 16 per cent, resulting in overall growth of 17 per cent.The total dividend distribution for the year was Rs 36.79 crore, up 55 per cent from Rs 23.72 crore distributed the previous year. The payout has gone up to 23.9 per cent from 17.6 per cent. The Crossland merger with Ranbaxy has been approved by Chandigarh High Court. The Mumbai High Court would hear the case on June 26.
