Madras Aluminium swings to profit in Mar`09 qtr

Madras Aluminium Company swung to profit for the quarter ended March 2009. During the quarter, the company reported profit of Rs 287.45 million compared with a loss of Rs 148.40 million in the same quarter previous year. Net sales declined 12.98% to Rs 1,123 million, while total income for the quarter fell 11.82% to Rs 1,189.43 million, when compared with the prior year period. It posted profit of Rs 2.56 a share during the quarter compared with a loss of Rs 6.60 a share in prior year period. During the quarter, the operating margin of the company rose to 25.35% compared with 12.75% in the previous year period. Interest cost increased 6.26 times to Rs 13.78 million while depreciation cost fell 1.48% to Rs 56.55 million over previous year period. Shares of the company declined Rs 0.8, or 0.7%, to settle at Rs 114.10. The total volume of shares traded was 12,683 at the BSE (Friday).