By 12:15 IST, the Nusli Wadia group biscuit maker was trading higher by 5.18% at Rs 564.90. At that time, it recorded volumes of 25,752 shares on BSE .

For the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2003, Britannia Industries recorded a 79% fall in net profit to Rs 29.1 crore as against to Rs 139 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year. Total income (net of excise duty) dropped by 11% to Rs 337.5 crore from Rs 379.5 crore in MQ 2002. The fall in the company's bottom line is due to huge extraordinary income of Rs 123.70 crore in MQ 2002.

capitalmarket.com had, through a poll, predicted net profit at between Rs 16 crore and Rs 24 crore for MQ 2003 compared to Rs 139 crore in MQ 2002, a drop in the range of 83% to 91%.

For FY 2002-03, the company posted a net profit of Rs 99.1 crore (Rs 203.2 crore) on a 6.6% decline in total income to Rs 1328.8 crore (Rs 1423.1 crore). The board of directors has proposed an equity dividend of Rs 10 per equity share for the year ended 31 March 2003.

The board has decided to seek voluntary de-listing of the company's equity share from the Banglore and Cochin stock exchanges subject to the approval of the shareholders being obtained at the ensuing AGM scheduled on 8 August 2003.

Meanwhile, John Miller has been appointed as additional director of the company.

The Indian bakery and dairy product maker has approved a buy-back of 2.5 million shares through open market purchases at a price not exceeding Rs 650 per share, which is at a 15% premium to the current market price of Rs 564.90. The outflow is not expected to exceed Rs 78 crore.

The company had only recently completed its buy-back programmeinvolving the purchase of up to 25,00,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each, at a maximum outgo of Rs 92 crore, up to a price not exceeding Rs 650 per equity share. In its earlier buy-back programme, the company had mopped up 10 lakh shares at Rs 533 a share, which saw a net outflow of Rs 54 crore. With this buy-back, the combined stake of the promoters, Danone Groupe, France and Nusli Wadia had risen to 46.96% and the non-promoter's shareholding dropped to 53.04% as against 54.66% previously.

BIL is the market leader in the Indian biscuits industry with close to 60% market share. It mainly caters to the premium segment. The biscuits business is the revenue driver for the company. BIL has also diversified into dairy and bakery products like butter, cheese and ghee. It continuously expands its product portfolio to achieve its vision of converting every third Indian into its consumer. However, the company has dropped its plans to enter the mineral water segment.

BIL has decided to focus on seven core brands in the biscuits and bakery category. The brands included Good Day, Tiger, 50-50, Snax, and the Cream Treat brands, among others.

As on 31 March 2003, the public and institutions held 21.97% and 27.36%, respectively.