Jan. 30: Tata Tea Ltd has registered a 127.44 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 62.41 crore for the quarter ended December compared with Rs 27.44 crore in the same period of 2004-05.

Profit before tax grew 96.74 per cent at Rs 70.69 crore during the reporting period against Rs 35.93 crore a year ago.

Income from operations grew 16 per cent at Rs 278.47 crore compared with Rs 239.62 crore in the corresponding previous quarter, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

This comprises an 8 per cent growth in branded sales and inclusion of its subsidiary, Tata Tetley, consequent to the latter’s amalgamation with the company.

Earnings per share increased to Rs 10.92 from Rs 4.88.

For the nine-month ended December, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 167.61 crore against Rs 103.09 crore a year ago.

Income from operations during the period under review rose 13.2 per cent to Rs 770.13 crore from Rs 680.28 crore in the same period last year.

NTPC dividend

Encouraged by the growth in earnings, the National Thermal Power Corporation today announced an interim dividend of 20 per cent for the current financial year.

The company has fixed February 14 as the record date for payment of dividend.

The state-run power company has reported a 30.47 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 1,781.7 crore for the third quarter ended December compared with Rs 1,365.5 crore in the corresponding previous quarter.

Total income rose 22.34 per cent at Rs 7,671.5 crore against Rs 6,270.6 crore in the year-ago period.