Patel Engg Q1 net up 70.42 pc

Mumbai, July 29 (UNI) Patel Engineering, a civil infrastructure construction company, has reported a 70.42 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 20.10 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2006 as compared to Rs 11.79 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Total income from operations for the quarter rose 30.20 per cent at Rs 311.08 crore as against Rs 238.92 crore during the same period previous year.

Net profit margins improved to 6.46 per cent as against 4.94 per cent during the same period in the previous year. The earning per share (basic and diluted of face value of Re 1) for the quarter stood at Rs 3.72 as on June 30, 2006 compared to Rs 2.43 in the corresponding quarter last year.

Company managing director Rupen Patel said, ''Sentiments in the infrastructure construction sector will continue to remain bullish and the real boom will come in two to three years.'' He said it was the Company's strategic intent to move towards BOT and BOOT based projects with an emphasis on public-private partnership. The Company is also exploring opportunities in the hydro power sector as independent power producers, he said.

The Company recently bagged its first annuity based Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project worth Rs 410 crore from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This project on NH-7 in Karnataka, jointly executed by Patel Engineering and KNR, will generate a total revenue of Rs 1185.84 crore. The work on the project is expected to commence from December 2006.

UNI AR MAZ SKB1704