BWI: Astra Microwave Board Recommends 25% Dividend for FY09

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Astra Microwave Products Limited
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 03:56 PM IST (10:26 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Defence & security, Electronic appliances & components, Financial Analyst, Stock exchanges, Telecommunications; Technology
Release no: 19826
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Astra Microwave Board Recommends 25% Dividend for FY09


Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Audited Consolidated FY09 Sales INR 1.18 bln; Net Profit INR 156.74 mln

-- Orders on Hand INR 1.93 bln; Executable Over Next 18 Months

BSE: 532493
NSE: ASTRAMICRO
Reuters: ASTM.BO
Bloomberg: ASTM.IN

Astra Microwave Products Ltd, India's leading provider of microwave technologies used in defense, space, and telecom applications, today announced that the company's board of directors has recommended a dividend of 25%, or INR 0.50 per share of INR 2.00 par value, for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2009. With this payment, Astra Microwave has maintained its track record of dividend payments every year since 1993-94.

Audited consolidated FY09 net sales from operations was INR 1.18 billion against INR 1.27 billion a year ago, while consolidated FY09 net profit was INR 156.74 million against INR 202.95 million a year ago.

As of today, Astra Microwave has on hand orders worth INR 1.93 billion, which are scheduled for execution over the next 18 months.

Comment by B Malla Reddy, Managing Director, Astra Microwave Products

Astra Microwave's 16th consecutive dividend payout emphasizes the company's unfailing commitment to creating economic value and distributing it to shareholders, said B Malla Reddy, Managing Director, Astra Microwave.

"Right from its inception, Astra Microwave has been a company with a unique mission of creating cutting-edge microwave technologies for critical applications. With a healthy order book, and active customers and partnerships with the most active players in defense, space, and telecom across India and globally, we believe we are on the road to larger successes ahead," Mr Malla Reddy said.

The operational results for FY09 were in line with internal estimates, Mr Malla Reddy said. "I have said on many occasions that Astra Microwave's business order flows are project-driven, our customers being primarily government departments and government-run undertakings. Our revenue and cost flows, thus, do not follow a smooth pattern. We had an excellent first two quarters thanks to many orders getting lumped together."

The company exercised tight control over costs, improved its inventory management, and significant success was achieved, even as the reduction of production floor inventory compared with FY08 effected profitability on comparative terms, Mr Malla Reddy said.

About Astra Microwave Products Ltd

Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Astra Microwave Products Ltd (www.astramwp.com) designs, develops, and manufactures components and sub-systems for radio frequency and microwave wireless systems used in defense, space, and telecom applications. Prominent customers include, among others, the Defense Research Development Organization, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Dynamics, Electronics Corporation of India, the Indian Space Research Organization, the Indian Meteorological Department, Reliance Communications, Ericsson, and Tata Teleservices.

To view the Audited Results, please click on the link given below:

Astra FY09 Audited Table
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Astra_FY09_audited_table_090429.pdf
Astra_FY09_audited_table_090429.pdf


CONTACT DETAILS
S Gurunatha Reddy, Astra Microwave Products Limited, +91 40 30618000/+91 9849027681, sgr@astramwp.com
Dev Chandrasekhar, Ubiquus, +91 9821070043, d.chandrasekhar@ubiquus.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, DEFENCE, ELECTRONICS, Financial Analyst, STOCK EXCHANGES, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY, ASTRAMICRO.NS, 532493.BO

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