Foseco was worth a dekko in late morning trades on Friday as it hit its 10% upper limit of Rs 106.70 after turning into the black and declaring a dividend.

The scrip recorded volumes of 1,348 shares by 11:50 IST. At the time of writing this article, the outstanding buy position on the counter on BSE was 2,373 shares.

The company announced fourth quarter as well as full year's results on Friday.

For the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2002, Foseco registered an impressive net profit of Rs 2.09 crore compared to a net loss of Rs 0.82 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Total income decreased by 10.9% to Rs 19.87 crore from Rs 22.30 crore in DQ 2001.

For the full year ended 31 December 2002, the company recorded a net profit of Rs 10.66 crore on a total income of Rs 80.61 crore.

The company also recommended a huge dividend of 150% for the last year. However, this will be forthcoming only after shareholder approval at an annual general meeting on 14 May 2003.

Incorporated on 22 March 1958 as Greaves Foseco, Foseco India was originally promoted as a joint venture by Greaves, Bombay and Foseco UK. The company has technical collaboration with Foseco UK, which holds a 51% stake.

The company offered shares in November 1993 to get listed on the stock exchanges.

It manufactures 400 different products for the metallurgical industry including the steel and foundry industries. The products are in the nature of additives and consumables and improve the physical properties and surface qualities of castings as well as reduce costs of melting, moulding and castings.

The company's market covers integrated steel plants like Sail and Tisco, mini mills like Mukand, Kalyani and Musco; and foundries like Ennore Foundries, Lakshmi Machine Works, etc. The company exports its products mainly to the Middle East, the Far East, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, Singapore and Taiwan.

As on 31 December 2002, promoters held 66.48% stake in the company, while the public, institutions and foreign entities held 12.68%, 0.19% and 20.07%, respectively.