Contraceptives major Hindustan Latex has been awarded mini-ratna (category-1 PSE) status by the Union government.
This status has been accorded to the company after the evaluation of its performance over the last three years, in terms of profitability and a positive net worth of over Rs 90 crore.
A company source said in Thiruvananthapuram that the company neither depended on budgetary support nor availed of any guarantee from the government.
Companies with mini-ratna status are empowered to invest up to Rs 250 crore in various projects, without approval from the government and allowed to exercise enhanced
financial and operational powers, a company source said. The company had also recently been raised to the schedule 'B' category by the Centre.
Past three years have been good for the company. During 2005-06, it posted a record turnover of Rs 213 crore and profit after tax of Rs 22.65 crore. It has set a turnover target of Rs 1,000 crore by 2010, and has etched a roadmap to be the world leader for its core products.
Chairman and Managing Director M Ayyappan recently announced that the public sector major plans to foray into the vaccine segment and is all set to launch the marketing of Hepatitis B and Typhoid vaccines in the country soon.
