SKF Bearings records 168 per cent net profit growth

Mumbai: The Board of Directors, SKF Bearings India Limited, India's leading bearings manufacturing and engineering services company, today approved the unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004. Sales for the first quarter were at a high of Rs1301.5 million with a net profit of Rs133.8 million an increase of 168 percent over previous years net profit for the same period.

Net Sales was recorded at Rs1,302 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2004, from Rs1,064 million for the corresponding quarter last year, an increase of 24.1.Earnings per share increased to Rs3.0 from Rs1.1 in the corresponding quarter previous year, an increase of 168 percent. "The positive economic outlook and growing business opportunities, continue to be encouraging. SKF has been able to demonstrate the scalability of its operations by growing significantly without compromising on operational excellence. It continues to enjoy the confidence of large marqué clients. In our efforts to create a strong value proposition we continue to look at strategic investments to grow the SKF businesses in India." said Rakesh Makhija, managing director, SKF Bearings India Ltd.

The unaudited financial results, for the quarter ended March 31, 2004 were approved by the board at its meeting held on April 22, 2004.

SKF Bearings India Ltd is a Rs 6,000 million business with three production facilities and employs over 2000 people. With an extensive and growing network of over 225 distributors across the country, the company enjoys a majority market position. It is a part of SKF, the world''s leading technology & solutions provider of bearings, seals, related products, systems and services to the aerospace, automotive, electrical and industrial sectors.