Calcutta, Sept 1: Gramophone Company of India Ltd has planned to manufacture broadcasting software tapping the virgin market for the first time in the country. Vice-chairman Sanjeev Goenka told newspersons on Friday that the company, having measured an encouraging potential of the industry had primarily decided to manufacture broadcasting software in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English. "Embarking on the global technological boom, we will soon get into this business, which we have identified as our major growth area in near future", Goenka said at the end of the company's 53rd annual general meeting.He said at present the company was exploring various aspects of the business and a final shape of modalities and strategies was expected to take place shortly. Goenka said the company, which had been recently rechristened as Saregama India, had entered the Website under the name Saregama.Com for e-trading and was also in the process of digitalisation of its catalogues, which was expected to be completed in the next one month. Goenka said a significant reduction in cost by introducing VRS and completely removing the debt burden, the company had been able to register more than 50 per cent rise in tax after profit at Rs 6 crore in 1999-2000.
The VRS system, slashing the company's workforce by 221 to 800 at present, contributed to a net saving of Rs 6 crore while the zero-debt status further strengthened the bottomline, he said. The directors of the company recommended a final dividend of ten per cent, which together with the interim dividend amounted to a total of 30 per cent-double that of the previous year.
The vice-chairman said with significant reduction in costs, the company expected to treble its profit in the first half this year than that in the corresponding period of 1999-2000.
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