New Delhi, June 6 (PTI): Backed by a 92 per cent rise in net profit in 2004-05, the state-run Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has announced a maiden dividend of 10 per cent to its shareholder, 13 years after it went into stream in 1992.

The company, a subsidiary of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has wiped out the entire accumulated losses of Rs 1,185 crore and has posted Rs 880 crore net profit in the last fiscal.

The company board has recommended a maiden dividend of Re 1 per share. The total dividend outgo will be Rs 175.26 crore, excluding Rs 24.58 crore as tax on dividend.

The turnover grew by 64 per cent to Rs 20,692 crore during the year gone by, against Rs 12,612 crore in the previous fiscal. Export sales also rose 38 per cent to Rs 6185 crore in 2004-05 from Rs 4478 crore in 2003-04. The refinery crude throughput increased 18 per cent in 2004-05 to 11.848 million tonnes from 10.046 million tonnes.

The firm has reduced its debt-equity ratio to 0.96:1 on March 31, 2005 from 9.7:1 at the time of takeover by ONGC.