The total income during the first-half of the current fiscal grew to Rs 19.86 crore from Rs 16.85 crore during the six-month period ended September 30, 1997, indicating an increase of 18 per cent. Crisil's gross profit during the period stood at Rs 11.94 crore against Rs 10.60 crore during the first half of 1997-98, an increase of 12 per cent.

In a release issued on Thursday, Crisil said that it has registered a growth despite adverse investment impetus. This has been possible due to the increasing diversified nature of its operations. The policy-related assignments that Crisil engages in have witnessed higher growth during the first half of this year. The rating agency has said that revenuegrowth in the second half of 1998-99 would be determined by the level of investment and funding activity in the environment.

Crisil's total expenditure during the first half of the current fiscal increased by 27 per cent to Rs 7.92 crore against Rs 6.25 crore during the corresponding period in the previous year. The rating agency has created a higher provision for taxation at Rs 3.42 crore against Rs 2.68 crore during the year-ago period.

Crisil has said that its rating business continued to grow during the second quarter of 1998-99 despite adverse investment sentiments and an increase in leveraging levels in the corporate sector. On the infrastructure front, Crisil has already commenced the rating of a number of road projects, foreign guarantee enhanced structures and corporate refinancing efforts. Investment activity in these sectors is expected to pick up significantly during the current year, Crisil said.

Crisil Advisory Services (CAS) continues to focus on delivering advice to the infrastructureand financial sectors. The division is positioned to undertake assignments to determine escrowable capacities in the power sector for various states. It has also initiated provision of value-added advice in the port sector for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Crisil Research and Information Services (CRIS) introduced two new information products during the second quarter of 1998-99 -- a debt database which provides unique information on all debt offerings since 1990 and "C500" which is a database of 500 companies forming part of the "S&P CNX 500" index. The division also enlarged its scope of research to cover developments in international industry.