Central airconditioning and commercial refrigeration major Blue Star has reported a Total Income of Rs 209 crores for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 representing a growth of 27% over the corresponding period last year. Net Profit for the quarter grew 57% to Rs 8.75 crores, while Earnings Per Share (EPS) increased to Rs 4.86 from Rs 3.09.

The total income for the half year ended September 30, 2004 grew 26% to Rs 387 crores. Net Profit for the same period increased from Rs 8.22 crores to Rs 12.36 crores representing an increase of 50% over the same period last year. The cumulative EPS for the half year stood at Rs 6.87 as against Rs 4.57 last year.

The carry-forward order book as of September 30, 2004 at Rs 453 crores represents a 21% improvement over the previous year. The Company bagged several prestigious orders during the quarter including orders from Intelenet, Mumbai; National Stadium, Guwahati; HCL Technologies, Chennai and Delhi; ST Microelectronics, Noida; Microsoft, Hyderabad; i-Flex, Mumbai; Adlabs Films, Mumbai and Pune and Cognizant Technology Systems, Bangalore.

Ashok M Advani, Chairman & Chief Executive adds "The Company's good performance is attributable primarily to the buoyancy in the central airconditioning business as well as the improved profitability in the cooling products segment. We expect the central airconditioning market to grow at a healthy pace over the next few years. While the current growth is being fueled by the services sector, we anticipate that with the expected revival in industrial investment, airconditioning demand from this sector will also contribute to the overall market growth in the medium term."

It may be recalled that the Company had reported a Net Profit of Rs 32.55 crores on a Total Income of Rs 716.06 crores for the year ended March 31, 2004.