MUMBAI: Moser Baer India Ltd, which recently forayed into the home entertainment segment, has posted a net profit after taxes of Rs 376.24 million for the quarter ended 31 December, 2006 as compared to Rs 130.45 million for the quarter ended 31 December, 2005.

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The company’s total income (net of excise) has increased from Rs 4365.45 million for the quarter ended 31 December, 2005 to Rs 5150.20 million for the quarter ended 31 December, 2006.

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“The third quarter performance underlines our view of improving industry fundamentals. We are on track to achieve improved sustainable operating parameters by end of this fiscal and expect the trend of rising margins to continue. Additionally, we are very excited about our position in the next generation formats which will further consolidate our technology leadership in the global optical media industry,” said Moser Baer India Ltd executive director Ratul Puri.

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Moser Baer India Limited group chief financial officer Yogesh Mathur said, “FY07 is clearly a year of recovery. We are set to revert to sustainable returns from optical business by 4QFY07. We are very excited as we are set to enter the next year with the following positives: (1) Base optical media business is now reaching stabilization and is free cash accretive; growth and returns remain attractive from long term perspective; (2) Content distribution / entertainment business leverages existing core competencies and should add significant value apart from further strengthening Moserbaer brand in India; (3) PV business is set for a sharp growth curve and should significantly improve overall capital efficiencies given its inherent advantages and high returns on invested capital.”

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During the quarter, the company announced its entry into the Indian content distribution/entertainment market through the Indian home video market. “The content distribution will act as a lever to de-commoditise blank optical media business given its higher value addition and high returns on invested capital. The company will release video content on DVD and Video CD (VCD) formats using its proprietary and patented technology which enhances quality and significantly reduces cost. This will enable Moser Baer to revolutionize the quality-price parity and offer unprecedented value for the consumers,” added Puri.

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The new initiative will release titles in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi languages. With 18 CFAs and 400 distributors, this division will also set up exclusive branded outlets at about 300 locations in addition to its alliances with large format stores. The company is in final negotiations to acquire copyrights/exclusive license of more than 7000 titles in all major Indian languages, which comprises a third of all movies produced till date in India.