Kochi, May 02: Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL), a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), has announced a record dividend of 120 per cent, for the fiscal ended March 2004, against 100 per cent in 2002-03. Announcing the results after a board meeting here last night, BPCL CMD and KRL chairman, S Behuria and KRL managing director, B K Menon, said KRL board had recommended dividend of Rs 12 per share totalling Rs 166.2 crore as against Rs 10 per share in the previous fiscal.

The company registered a net profit after tax of Rs 555 crore during 2003-04, an increase of 21 per cent against the previous year's profit of Rs 456 crore. KRL achieved a turnover of Rs 9863 crore during this fiscal against the previous year's Rs 9267.6 crore, they said.

Once the proposed LNG terminal becomes a reality in Kochi, KRL would like to be a major player in its marketing and distribution, Menon said, adding the company was also planning to revive power plan projects with natural gas as fuel. Retail gas distribution through piped gas was also under consideration, he said. Bureau Report