At the ninth annual general meeting held here on Wednesday, the shareholders also approved the company's audited balance sheet for 1998-99 and confirmed a total dividend of 60 per cent for the year.

The company had sought to capitalise Rs 3.25 crore out of reserves and surplus and applied for paying up in full 3,253,700 shares of Rs 10 each in the capital of the company to be allotted and distributed as fully paid bonus shares.

Pursuant to the bonus issue, the share capital of the company would increase to Rs 6.50 crore. As the authorised share capital of the company at present is Rs 5 crore, the board of directors have decided to increase it to Rs 10 crore so as to enable the company to issue bonus shares.

During the year ended 1998-99, the company had recorded a 31 percent increase in sales and 86 per cent growth in net profit. The turnover of the company increased to Rs 60.26 crore from Rs 46.04 crore in the previous year.

Profit before tax reached to Rs 12.74 crore from Rs 6.60 crore and net profit reached a height of Rs 8.81 crore from Rs 4.75 crore in the previous year.

This was, in fact, the first time when the board of directors of the company has announced two interim dividends of 20 per cent each.