The turnover, including the other income component for the third quarter, was Rs 250.01 crore. The company had sold 8.53 lakh tonnes in the quarter compared with 6.94 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. The increase in volumes could not be entirely translated into earnings due to poor realisations.

Freight earnings during the period was sharply lower at around Rs 7 crore and that have significantly affected the performance. The company's freight earnings for the nine-month period stood at Rs 24.23 crore.

The total expenditure was Rs 190.18 crore leaving a operating level profit of Rs 59.83 crore. Interest cost was significantly higher at Rs 40.42 crore, mainly on account of acquisition-related borrowings. The tight market conditions also delayed sales realisation, putting pressure on the working capital front. The company's interest expenditure was only Rs 83.77 crore for the 1997-98. The company had provided Rs 16.35 crore towards depreciation.

ICL vice chairman and managing director N Srinivasan told the Financial Express that the cement operations were comfortable but the final results were affected due to adverse performance of shipping division which has posted a loss for the quarter. The figure for the full year after the shipping division is hived off and the cement division of Raasi is accommodated would reveal the correct picture, he added.

Pending necessary procedures relating to hiving off of the shipping division, the working results of the shipping division is included in the company's results. It has also not included the performance of Raasi's cement division pending necessary approvals.

Besides allotting the shares in the recently concluded rights issue, the ICL board has decided to call in the allotment money of Rs 18.75 per share. The shareholders will now have to pay in the money by March 27, 1999. The rights issue in December last at a premium of Rs 15 per share was oversubscribed marginally. The company has also called for an EGM on March 30 to make required amendments to their articles of association to facilitate trading in demat form.

Raasi Cements profit at Rs 2 crore

Raasi Cements Ltd has posted a marginal profit of Rs 1.60 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 1998 on a turnover of Rs 92.10 crore. The profit for the quarter is sharply lower than the aggregate profit of Rs 12.55 crore made in the first two quarters. The October-December period saw a sharp decline in realisation in Andhra Pradesh after the informal understanding entered into by various manufacturers there collapsed. In certain pockets of the state cement was available for even as low as Rs 80 per bag of 50 kgs.

Interest cost during the period was Rs 3.10 crore while Rs 2.01 crore was provided as depreciation. The company has not taken into account the profit on sale of ceramic division pending necessary approvals.