Padmalaya Telefilms took centrestage in a subdued market after the company said net profit more than trebled in Q4.

Such was the glee on the counter after the results that the scrip of the media company plumped up 8.98% to Rs 64.35 by 11:38 IST. Volumes of 43,239 shares were registered on the counter on BSE by that time.

After market hours Wednesday, Padmalaya Telefilms said that for Q4 ended 31 March 2003 net profit stood at Rs 7.30 crore on total income of Rs 26.78 crore. While for the year, the company's net profit was Rs 90.22 crore.

Padmalaya Telefilms, a Hyderabad-based entertainment and media software company is promoted by G S R Krishna Murthy (chairman). Murthy started his career as a film actor in the Telugu film industry and has acted in more than 315 Telugu films. He has also directed 13 films. G Adisesha Giri Rao, managing director, has over 25 years of experience in film production in Hindi (Himmatwala, Justice Chowdhary, etc.) and Telugu.

Padmalaya Telefilms has three core business segments - TV software, integrated communications and distribution, and animation.

The company is also engaged in the development of television entertainment software in Telugu and Tamil. It has a library of over 300 films and is engaged in distribution of films. The company has a strong presence in the south Indian media. So far, it has distributed over 500 films, both Indian and Hollywood.

Padmalaya Vision was created for production and audio/video marketing of films and serials. But it has now diversified to information technology activities. This company is also registered as an advertising agency for marketing airtime with Doordarshan, All India Radio, the press and private channels.

As on 31 December 2003, promoter holding in the company's equity stood at 49%, while the public and institutions held 25.3% and 10% respectively.