Net sales rose by 9.7 per cent to Rs 235.54 crore, up from Rs 214.64 crore in the previous year. Other income increased from Rs 2.10 crore to Rs 2.31 crore during the period.The amortisation cost of its voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), amounting to Rs 4.56 crore, has been instrumental in pulling down the company's net profit considerably. The amortisation cost of the VRS scheme "had aggregated to Rs 78 lakh during the corresponding quarter in the previous year Consumption of raw materials increased by 10 per cent to Rs 135 crore from Rs 122.90 crore last year, while staff cost came down by a modest 5 per cent from Rs 29.15 crore to Rs 27.74 crore during the period.During the first quarter, interest cost declined by 29 per cent to Rs 4.17 crore from Rs 5.89 crore last year, while provision for depreciation rose by three per cent to Rs 3.67 crore.

Operating and gross margins improved to 4.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 3.25 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively.