Jan. 24: Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries today posted a 33.34 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 669.07 crore for the quarter ended December 31 against Rs 501.76 crore in the year-ago period.

Net sales stood at Rs 6,260.07 crore, up 16.14 per cent from Rs 5,389.88 crore a year ago.

On a standalone basis, net profit declined marginally to Rs 274.48 crore from Rs 282.72 crore last fiscal.

Net sales grew 2 per cent to Rs 1,238.13 crore during the quarter from Rs 1,213.67 crore in the same period last fiscal.

The Grasim scrip closed the day at Rs 2,490.65, down 1.28 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.

Yes Bank show

Private sector Yes Bank today posted a 33 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 254.09 crore for the quarter ended December compared with Rs 191.12 crore in the year-ago period. It is the highest quarterly profit by the bank since its inception.

Net interest income, which rose 32.3 per cent to Rs 427.6 crore, helped in the profit surge.

“We have maintained an impeccable asset quality with net non-performing assets (NPAs) standing at 0.04 per cent in the backdrop of a challenging economic environment,” managing director and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor said. The bank’s deposits stood at Rs 46,929 crore as of December-end, while advances amounted to Rs 35,867 crore.

MRPL disappoints

Fall in output, lower refining margin and forex losses pulled down state-owned Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd’s net profit by a sharp 65 per cent in the third quarter.

The oil refiner’s net profit tumbled to Rs 110 crore from Rs 314 crore a year earlier, even as net sales rose 25 per cent to Rs 12,930 crore over the same period. However, the gross refining margin declined to $3.77 a barrel from $6.00 a year earlier.

MRPL said it continued to get crude oil supplies from Iran and there were no payment-related issues at present.

Ceat net dips

Tyre maker Ceat today reported 52.30 per cent drop in net profit for the quarter ended December at Rs 2.39 crore against Rs 5.01 crore in the same period last year because of labour unrest at its Nashik facility.

Total income, however, increased 19.04 per cent to Rs 1,065.44 crore from Rs 895.01 crore in the year-ago period.

“The results for the quarter were adversely impacted by an illegal strike of workers at Nashik factory from September 30 to October 22,” the company said.

The Ceat scrip today closed 4.58 per cent down at Rs 83.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.