The board of directors, which met here on Wednesday, recommended a dividend of 12 per cent for the nine-month period and also approved a three-year "strategic growth plan" which involves expansion of its paper manufacturing capacity from 2.7 mt to 5.25 mt per annum.

Operating profit during the period ended June 1999 has rised to Rs 102.19 crore (annualised Rs 136.25 crore) as against Rs 182.32 crore in the 18-month year ended September 1998 (annualised Rs 121.55 crore).

Bilt recorded a net profit of Rs 2.14 crore on a turnover of Rs 1,613.37 crore in the 18-month financial year ended September 1998.

The annualised net profit for the year ended June 1999 comes to Rs 21.45 crore as against the annualised profit of Rs 2.14 crore in the previous year,translating into a ten-fold increase.

The company plans to accelerate growth and consolidate its leadership in the Indian paper market through a combination of brownfield capacity creations, possible acquisitions, reorganisation of various businesses and respective capital restructuring.

This would involve integration of the pulp business of the group with writing and printing business of the company, hiving off the industrial paper business into a separate entity, growth and expansion of capacities in writing and printing business and industrial paper business in line with trends in the international paper industry and infusion of about Rs 100 to Rs 150 crore as equity or quasi equity to partly finance the growth.

A Bilt spokesperson said the significant improvement in the operating profit was due to better operational efficiency at the paper units at all levels after restructuring to run the company has a focused paper company with major thrust on cost cutting.

The board of directors also approvedthe signing of strategic alliance with Hansol Paper Company of South Korea for marketing coated papers in the country through Bilt's distribution network.

Bilt also plans to acts as "indentors" for import of standard newsprint and light weight coated paper, a variety which is fast replacing glazed newsprint.