June 26 :    June 26:  LML Limited has slipped into the red, suffering a net loss of Rs 41.29 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2001 compared with a net profit of Rs 7 crore in the previous year. During the last financial year, the company has notched up a turnover of Rs 628.18 crore, on a sales volume of 2,07,764 units. This is against a turnover of Rs 729.36 crore achieved on a sales volume of 2,83,071 units during the previous year. According to the company, its performance has been affected due to the sharp decline in the market of metal bodied geared scooters, which witnessed a decrease in volume of 36 per cent. Essar Steel prunes loss Essar Steel Ltd has pruned its loss by 40.5 per cent to Rs 345.91 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2001, compared with Rs 581.24 crore in previous fiscal. Total income was higher by 3.8 per cent at Rs 2,565.05 crore as against Rs 2,470.15 crore in 1999-2000. Essar Steel managing director J. Mehra said 'While the operations of the company have improved, the stagnating demand and surplus capacity of over 30 per cent in the domestic market have led to severe drop in hot rolled coil prices by over 20 per cent during the year, thus negatively impacting the bottomline.' Carrier net drops Carrier Aircon Ltd has posted a 31.08 drop in its net profit at Rs 6.31 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2001 compared with Rs 9.15 crore in the previous fiscal. The board, which met today, proposed a dividend of Rs 2.20 per share, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange in a notice. Total income during this period was up at Rs 386.4 crore as against Rs 320.31 crore, it said.