Birla back in black

The Birla Group flagship, Birla Corporation Ltd, is back in black with a net profit of Rs13.38 crore for the quarter to September 30, 2004. The company posted a net loss of Rs8.14 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Birla Corporation’s operating profit rose by 287 per cent to Rs26.10 crore during the period. The company’s turnover too went up by 17 per cent to Rs328.33 crore, up from Rs 280.93 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Birla Corporation has also announced that it will soon be setting up a new cement unit called Hitech Cement at Durgapur in West Bengal. The unit will make 1.0Mt of Portland Pozzolana cement. The company is also setting up captive power plants of 27MW each at Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Chanderia in Rajasthan.