Oct 31, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Driven by the firm demand for paper, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) has reported a 18.5% increase in the net profit on a standalone basis for the first quarter ended September 30, 2007. The company’s net profit for the quarter was at INR 690.2 million ($17.6 million) as against INR 582.6 million ($14.8 million) in the corresponding previous quarter. On a consolidated basis, BILT’s net profit increased 24.9% to INR 730.7 million ($18.6 million) as compared to INR 585.1 million ($14,9 million) in the first quarter of the previous fiscal. According to Mr. B. Hariharan, group finance director, Ballarpur Industries Ltd, “The current quarter’s results continue to reflect a firm demand for paper. The ongoing positive economic trends and a positive industry cycle are key factors for strengthening our optimistic outlook in the forthcoming quarters. Better price realization was also a reason for the increase in the top as well as bottom line of the company.” The net sales on a standalone basis for the quarter rose 5.9% to INR 6.1 billion ($155.1 million) as against INR 5.8 billion ($147.5 million) in the corresponding previous quarter. On a consolidated basis, the net sales registered a growth of 23.0% to INR 7.1 billion ($180.5 million) as compared to INR 5.8 billion ($147.5 million) in the first quarter of the last financial year. Expectations The company expects a 3-4% quarter-on-quarter rise in revenues in the remaining quarters of the current financial year and on a year-on-year basis expects a 7-8% growth. The company is also increasing its focus on the retail operations, which currently contribute only 2-3% to the total sales. “Retail is a very important focus area; in next three years we expect 10% of sales to come from retail operations and we are considering setting up own stores, plans for which will be announced by June 2008,” Mr Hariharan said. BILT is also expanding its production capacity in both coated and non-coated paper, to take its current capacity of 460 000 tonnes to around one million tonnes by 2009-2010. With the increase in overall capacity, the company expects to double its turnover by 2009-2010. The consolidated results for the quarter include the results of Sabah Forest Industries, Malaysia which was acquired by BILT earlier this year. “During the current fiscal about $140 million is expected to come from Sabah,” he added. The company is also considering an increase of between INR 750 ($19.1) and INR 1 000 ($25.4) per tonne on uncoated paper but expects the price of coated paper to be stable in the short-term. BILT is India's largest paper company and the only Indian company to rank amongst top 100 paper companies in the world.