Aditya Birla Nuvo drops 130% in Q1

Aditya Birla Nuvo reported a 130 per cent dip in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, mostly on account of higher losses in its life insurance business and investments in its BPO and garment retail businesses. The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 28.3 crore during the quarter, as against a profit of Rs 94.7 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Its life insurance business reported a net loss of Rs 146.8 crore during the quarter from Rs 33.6 crore in the year-ago period, which was largely due to the growing share of new business premium. “The new business is fully profitable – however, income from it will accrue over the policy period, as is the case with the nature of this business. Higher spends on intensification of distribution network also affected profitability,” the company said.