The board of directors of Berger Paints on Wednesday announced the issue of bonus shares for the company’s shareholders. One new equity share of Re 1 each is proposed to be issued by the company for every five existing equity shares of Re 1 each.

“Rs 19,42,84,497 would be capitalised from the securities premium account for implementing the bonus issue,” the company said in a stock exchange filing. The paint maker said the proposal would be taken through postal ballot on August 10 and the bonus shares would credit to the shareholders before October 7.

The consolidated net profit of Berger Paints for the quarter ended June was Rs 354.91 crore against Rs 253.71 crore in the corresponding previous quarter, representing an increase of 39.9 per cent.

Revenue from operations was Rs 3,029.51 crore against Rs 2,759.70 crore in the corresponding previous quarter, representing an increase of 9.8 per cent.

“Our operating profit to sales per cent increased substantially to 18.8 per cent, a growth of 37.5 per cent and a 2-year CAGR of 52.5 per cent. We usually are in the range of 16-18 per cent of operating profits and the Q1 performance has surpassed that range,” said Abhijit Roy, MD & CEO, Berger Paints India.

Bata net drops 10%

Footwear major Bata India on Wednesday reported a 10.45 per cent drop in net profit on account of an early start of the end-of-season sale by the industry.

Consolidated net profit for the first quarter was Rs 106.89 crore against Rs 119.37 crore a year ago. Total income was Rs 971.42 crore compared with Rs 952.30 crore a year ago.

“With our strategy of casualisation and premiumisation, expansion in retail network and accelerated investment towards core technologies (ERP, merchandising), we believe the template is set up for future profitable growth,” said Gunjan Shah, MD and CEO, Bata India Limited.

Zee suffers loss

Zee Entertainment Enterprise on Wednesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 53.42 crore in the June quarter on account of costs related to its merger with Culver Max.

The company incurred an exceptional expense of Rs 70.64 crore on account of the merger.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 106.60 crore in the year-ago quarter.

However, total income was up 6.46 per cent to Rs 1,998.26 crore against Rs 1,876.84 crore a year ago. Total expenses in the June quarter were at Rs 1,926.97 crore, up 16.5 per cent.