Mumbai: BOC India Ltd has reported a fourfold rise in business profits at Rs 344 lakh for the quarter ended June 2003 as compared to the corresponding previous period.

The net profit after tax excluding extraordinary items at Rs 254 lakh for the quarter also grew by an impressive 280 per cent over the same period last year.

The quarter witnessed a 10-per cent increase in turnover over the corresponding quarter last year, helped by a robust performance from its project engineering division and growth in the gases business.

Says BOC India managing director Sanjiv Lamba: "The first quarter performance reflects the sustained efforts to enhance competitiveness by focusing on cost control, productivity and efficiency improvement coupled with our continued focus on cash generation to fund future growth."

Says BOC India chairman J N Sapru: "The company has put in a creditable performance for the year ended March 2003 and is focusing its attention on growth and cash generation as it goes forward."

BOC India had registered a growth of 6 per cent in sales for the year ended 31 March 2003 over the previous fiscal year. Net profits for the same period were significantly higher at Rs 16.3 crore from Rs 2.6 crore in the previous year.

Work on the 225-tpd air-separation plant at Jamshedpur for Tata Steel is in its finishing stages and the plant is likely to be commissioned shortly. The company will also shortly resume operations at its Asansol compression facility.

On restructuring of the lines of business (LoB) operation undertaken last year, Lamba says: "Our initiatives have made BOC India more customer-centric, aligning the entire organisation by the markets we serve, focused on delivering value to our customers."

BOC India is the leader in gas business in India since 1935. Part of the $6-billion BOC Group Plc of the UK, BOC India provides a one-stop solution to every sphere of gas and gas-related business. BOC India has excelled through successfully blending local innovation and adaptation with international expertise from the group.

Be it for food processing, medical, domestic or industrial use, BOC India provides tailor-made solutions for its customers. While providing the best solutions to its customers, BOC India has always conformed to the strictest international standards of production and safety.