Arvind Mills' Q1 profits down 35 pc

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad-based Arvind Mills Ltd has reported a 35.33 per cent drop in net profits at Rs 18.16 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2004, as against Rs 28.08 crore posted in the corresponding period of last fiscal.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">This was on a total income of Rs 395.98 crore, up from the Rs 375.65 crore revenues in the same period of last year.</span><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">According to the company, performance in the quarter had been adversely affected in spite of a resurgent denim demand, largely due to increase in cost of inputs like cotton and naphtha.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">While the issue of power and fuel costs are to be addressed with the captive power plants shifting to gas from naphtha in the next quarter, the new cotton season opening in October will determine the future cotton costs, company officials stated.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">Further, to take advantage of the robust denim demand, plans are afoot to debottleneck the current manufacturing facility to increase capacity by eight per cent by the third quarter of the current fiscal, they added.</span></div> </div>