Mumbai: BOC India Limited has reported a 25-per cent rise in gross sales for the quarter at Rs134.22 crore, compared to Rs107.39 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Profit before tax (PBT) and extraordinary items for the quarter at Rs19.16 crore was up 86 per cent from that of the corresponding previous period.

Gross sales for the half-year ended September 30, 2006 stood at Rs253.06 crore, compared to Rs219.33 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Profit before tax (PBT) and extraordinary items for the same period stood at Rs34.01 crore compared to Rs27.33 crore in the corresponding period last year.

BOC India, now a member of the Linde Group, said the Rs19.16 crore profit has been delivered without any extraordinary items being recorded while the PBT of the corresponding period last year amounting to Rs57.32 crore included extraordinary income of Rs47 crore from the sale of property.

During the quarter, Bellary Oxygen Company Private Limited, in which BOC India Limited holds 50 per cent stake, commissioned an 855 tonnes per day air separation unit for JSW Steel Limited as per a long term gas supply contract.

"Going forward this ASU plant will improve our market position and strengthen our leadership position in the gases industry." said E R Raj Narayanan, managing director, BOC India Limited. "This is an exciting time in BOC India as we are significantly improving our product availability in keeping with the growing demands of our customers. We are also constantly exploring new business opportunities that are coming up in this region," he added.

BOC India also commissioned a state-of-the-art liquid compression facility at a greenfield site in Pune. A special gases manufacturing facility was also commissioned at the new site in Taloja keeping in mind the growing demand of such gases in the country.

The Linde Group is a world leader in industrial gases and engineering with more than 53,000 employees working in 70 countries worldwide. The acquisition of the BOC group has added gases and engineering sales of approximately €12 billion to the company's annual revenue.

BOC Gases employs about 20,000 people and supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment. In fiscal 2005, BOC Gases achieved sales of approximately €5 billion.