Bajaj Electricals Q4 net up 53pc

NEW DELHI, May 23: Bajaj Electricals Monday posted a 53.4 per cent growth in its net profit at Rs 574.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, as against the year-ago period. The company, which makes fans and other appliances, had a net profit of Rs 374.6 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2010, Bajaj Electricals said in a statement. Besides, it announced 140 per cent dividend of Rs 2.80 a share of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2010-11. During the quarter under review, Bajaj Electricals' net sales stood at Rs 979.38 crore, which is a 24.9 per cent increase from Rs 7.83 billion (783.98 crore) posted in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. "It was a difficult quarter with significant margin pressures due to commodity pressures. We have taken the right pricing decisions along with focus on profitable growth. The demand for all our products continues to be robust," Bajaj Electricals Chairman and Managing Director Shekhar Bajaj said. For the year-ended March 31, 2011, the firm's net profit rose by 22.8 per cent to Rs 1.43 billion (143.79 crore). In the previous fiscal, it had a net profit of Rs 117.09 crore. During the fiscal, the company posted net sales of Rs 27.39 billion (2,739.43 crore), a 23 per cent jump from Rs 22.27 billion (2,227.16 crore) recorded in the year-ago period. - PTI