The company's net profit stood at Rs 40.68 crore and turnover at Rs 1365.19 crore for the previous year. Apollo Tyres' turnover dipped by over 15 per cent.

The company has maintained the dividend at Rs 4 per share (40 per cent), which is the same as last year. The company has attributed the decline in turnover and profit to the disruption of production at its Kerala and Baroda units, which the company had estimated at Rs 250 crore.

According to the company's vice-chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar, ``It is gratifying to note that the company's efforts at improving margins are beginning to show results.''

For the last quarter of the financial year 1998-99, the operating profit margin (profit before depreciation and tax as a percentage of net sales) moved up to 10.08 per cent from 6.7 per cent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year.

In view of the disruption of production, the profit margin for the whole year showed a smaller increase. It moved up to 11.7 per cent from 10.8 per cent recorded in the previous two years.

Apollo's gross profit for 1998-99 stood at Rs 75.32 crore as against Rs 83.96 crore in the previous year. During the year, the profit after tax was Rs 40.02 crore compared to Rs 48.11 crore in the previous year.

The company paid Rs 9 crore under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme and Rs 4 crore for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme.