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        Riding the continuing buoyancy in the commercial vehicle market nad on the back of a 54 per cent increase in vehicle sales, Ashok Leyland has reported a net profit of Rs 1,052.57 million, up by 93 per cent in the third quarter ended 31 December, 2006. Gross operating margin at Rs 1,840.54 million has improved 59 per cent while gross profit at Rs 1,878.40 million. 'Our operating margins for the quarter are up by 68 basis points despite continuing pressure from input costs. Volume expansion and the resultant oprating economies helped. However, he cautioned that while vehicle demand remained robust and the company was targeting a sales growth of over 30 per cent for the year, material costs were not expected to soften. During April-December 2006, the company's net sale revenue grew 39 per cent to Rs 48,771.84 million', observed R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland Ltd.

        Chennai-based CCS Infotech Limited has posted a revenue increase of Rs 15.52 crore, up by more than 6 per cent from Rs 14.59 crore in the third quarter of 2005-06. Commenting on the financial results, Hasan Abdul Kader, managing director, CCS Infotech Ltd said, 'we are accelerating our margin improvement plans in this business. We expect more opportunities in the coming quarters. The next step is consistent profitability.' H Ratna Kumar, director, CCS Infotech Ltd said, 'during the quarter, the company increased its client list and the results are yet to come. With strong relationship with our clients, we anticipate forth coming quarter of strong performance and look forward our business to return to profitability in the next quarter.' The company for the fourth quarter anticipates a revenue of Rs 20 crore and expects to increase the headcount to more than 200.

        La Opala RG Ltd, a glass tableware manufacturers major has registered a total revenue at Rs 39.37 crore in the third quarter as against Rs 34.39 crore in the previous year. The EBDIT increased to Rs 6.81 crore from Rs 5.68 crore and net profit increased by 13.57 per cent from Rs 3.43 crore to Rs 3.02 crore in the third quarter ended December 2006. The company specialises in the manufacturing fo opal glass tableware and hand cut lead crystal glassware. The company is exporting tableware to several countries and has received numerous awards for its export performance. Work on the company's new plant at Sitarganj, Uttaranchal is proceeding as per the schedule and is likely to commence production from April 2007.

        Heg Limited, graphite electrodes manufacturer, has reported a rise of 73 per cent in net revenues for the nine month period from Rs 331.5 crore to Rs 573.5 crore. Strong revenue growth was a result of improved realisations and higher volumes in the graphite segment and value-added realisations from the new steel billet plant. Ravi Jhunjhunwala, chairman and managing director, Heg Limited said, 'Demand for graphite electrodes continues to be robust and we have booked a large part of our graphite capacities for the financial year 2008 at better prices.' For the nine months, graphite revenues grew by 60 per cnt to Rs 436 crore from Rs 272.1 crore last year. The export revenues increased by 86.4 per cent to Rs 337.1 crore, this demonstrates that the company's products continue to enjoy worldwide acceptance.