Escorts Limited today reported a higher profit of 44.26 per cent for the quarter ended 31^st March 2008, riding on the back of improved operational efficiencies. The Profit After Tax stood at Rs 9.68 crore as against Rs 6.71 crore in the corresponding quarter. The profit for six months was up to Rs 3.75 crore from Rs 3.67 crore in the corresponding period. The rise in profits was substantially aided by significant improvement in cost management, with total expenditure falling sharply to Rs 485.48 crore for the Quarter as opposed to Rs 529.04 crore in the corresponding quarter last year as per unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. Escorts Limited follows an October-September fiscal year.

The company recorded significant rise in profit before tax with the quarter reporting a PBT of Rs 16.82 crore as opposed to Rs 8.42 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Total sales and income from operations, however, fell for the half year from Rs 1091.46 crore in the previous year to Rs 963.45 crore this year. However, total sales in the quarter ended March 31, 2008 was significantly higher at Rs 531.47 crore as against the first quarter of the current fiscal when total sales had stood at Rs 431.98 crore.

Speaking on the results, Chairman and Managing Director Mr Rajan Nanda said, “We have made significant gains in the past quarter, particularly in improving our operational efficiencies and improving our profitability. We have significantly improved our cost performance and that has aided bottomline growth. We have improved upon the previous quarter sales, recording a significant 23 percent growth in the second quarter as compared to the first quarter of the current fiscal. We wish to grow our business volumes for tractors by about 20-25% over the over the next 2 years. “Farmtrac” is an established brand with a strong reputation of quality products. We will build further on this brand. Additionally, we wish to capture incremental growth beyond the industrial volume of the market. Accordingly, we have added strategically identified niche products to our portfolio.”

According to Joint Managing Director Mr Nikhil Nanda, “The company is poised well to ride the growth sectors it has aligned its businesses. People are at the centre of the transformation that is underway at Escorts. We have today a leadership team that represents the best human capital in their respective industries. These are the people whose collective efforts will transform Escorts into a high performance company with strong marketing and financial credentials.”

Sourced From:  Torque Communications Pvt Ltd