Tuesday, Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. a diversified conglomerate with a portfolio of manufacturing as well as service sector businesses, reported consolidated loss that widened from last year, due to new business strain in the life insurance business and increased losses in the BPO and the garments businesses.
However, on standalone basis, the company reported profit for the quarter.
The company said it has initiated aggressive cost control measures and tighter working capital management besides re-aligning its capital expenditure across the businesses to reduce the strain.
Consolidated Results
The Veraval, Gujarat-based company posted fourth-quarter consolidated net loss of Rs.141.15 crore, compared with a net loss of Rs.21.84 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The company's loss per share for the quarter widened to Rs.15.11 from Rs.2.52 in the prior year quarter
The company's quarterly net revenue rose 11% to Rs.4,096.91 crore from Rs.3,683.34 crore in the year-ago quarter. Other operating income for the quarter was Rs.140.96 crore, compared to a negative income of Rs.770.69 crore in the prior year quarter.
During the quarter, revenue from Carbon black segment fell 11% to Rs.238.09 crore from Rs.267.07 crore in the year-ago quarter, while revenue from Insulators segment was Rs.115.32 crore, flat with last year.
Revenue for the quarter from Telecom segment grew 26% to Rs.789.95 crore from Rs.626.84 crores in the fourth-quarter of 2008, whereas revenue from Garments marginally declined to Rs.273.31 crore from Rs.276.29 crore in the prior year quarter.
For the quarter, revenue from Software segment declined 18% to Rs.21.99 crores from Rs.26.78 crore in the prior year quarter, while that of Life Insurance (premium income) segment was Rs.1,635.93 crore, up 18% from Rs.1,390.98 crore in the previous year quarter.
Revenue for the quarter from Life Insurance (investment income) segment was Rs.115.13 crore, compared with a negative income of Rs.828.78 crore in the prior year quarter.
Revenue from Fertilizer segment increased 25% to Rs.337.75 crores from Rs.269.21 crores in the year-ago quarter and revenue from BPO was Rs.387.10 crores, down 10% from Rs.428.43 crores in the fourth-quarter of 2008. Revenue from Financial Services revenue plummeted 12% to Rs.58.03 crore from Rs.65.83 crores in the year-ago quarter, whereas revenue from Rayon Yarn segment increased 7% to Rs.137.09 crore from Rs.127.79 crore in the year-ago quarter, while revenue from Other Textile segment declined 12% to Rs.135.25 crore from Rs.153.74 crore for the same period a year-ago.
For the full year, Aditya Birla Nuvo posted consolidated net loss of Rs.430.52 crore, compared with a net profit of Rs.150.78 crore last year. Total revenue, including other operating income, grew 15% to Rs.13,643.19 crore from Rs.11,861.11 crore in 2008.
Standalone Results
On a standalone basis, the company's net profit fell 63% to Rs.26.39 crore from Rs.70.48 crore in the previous year quarter. Total revenue, including other operating income, rose 2% to Rs.1,173.91 crore from Rs.1,153.92 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
For the full year, the company reported a net profit Rs.137.43 crore, down 43% from Rs.243.07 crore last year. Total revenue, including other operating income, grew 21% to Rs.4,786.18 crore from Rs.3,953.06 crore in 2008.
The company said its board has recommended a dividend of 40% or Rs.4.00 per equity share of Rs.10 each for the fiscal year 2009.
Change in the Management
The company has accepted the resignation of Adesh Gupta, Chief Financial Officer and Whole Time Director, effective May 1, 2009.
Sushil Agarwal, President of Birla Global Finance Co. Ltd., will be taking over the role of CFO of Aditya Birla Nuvo, while Pranab Barua, the Business Director for Garments, has been inducted as Whole Time Director on the board of the company. Santrupt Mishra has been appointed as the head of carbon black business of the company. All these appointments will take effect from May 1, 2009.
The company approved the appointment of Rakesh Jain, present Joint Managing Director, as Managing Director of the company, effective July 1, 2009, on completion of the tenure of Bharat K. Singh.
At the BSE, Aditya Birla Nuvo closed Tuesday's trading at Rs.523.75, down by Rs.61.70 or 10.54% on a volume of 1.15 lakh shares. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.610.00 and a low of Rs.514.00.
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