SAIL pays final dividend of Rs 265.85 crore to Govt

New Delhi, Sep 29 (UNI) Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) Chairman S K Roongta today handed over a cheque for Rs 265.85 crore towards the amount of final installment of dividend payable to the Government for FY 2005-06, at the rate of 7.5 per cent of the company's paid-up share capital, to Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

With this SAIL has paid total dividend of Rs 708.94 crore for 2005-06 to the government.

Interim dividend at the rate of 12.5 per cent was paid by the company earlier this year, taking the total dividend payout to 20 per cent of the paid-up share capital of the company.

This is the second highest dividend ever paid by SAIL, which had achieved a net profit of Rs 4,012.97 crore in 2005-06.

SAIL shareholders had approved the final dividend in the company's AGM held on September 22. The total dividend (excluding dividend tax) paid to shareholders by SAIL thus amounts to Rs 826.08 crore in addition to Rs 115.86 crore paid by way of dividend tax.

It contributed Rs 7,953 crore to the Central Government kitty during 2005-06 by way of excise duty, custom duty, corporate tax (including fringe benefit tax), and dividend (including dividend tax).

This was an increase of nearly 62 per cent from Rs 4,917 crore paid by SAIL in 2004-05.

UNI DKS PKS DB1906