At a board meeting held on Tuesday, the company announced an interim dividend of Rs 2.40 per equity share for the year ended December 31, 1998.This is against the interim dividend of Rs 2.00 per share declared in 1997. The company paid a dividend of Rs 4.20 per share in 1997.

SBCH recorded a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 49.2 crore, a rise of 22 per cent over last year. The turnover of SBCH rose to Rs 311.4 crore in the period January-June 1997 up from Rs 266.6 crore for the first half of 1997 representing an increase of 17 per cent. The gross operating profit of the company increased by 22 per cent to Rs 53.2 crore from Rs 43.7 crore.