Colour picture tube prices expected to stabilise

Chennai: The continued fall in the colour picture tube prices is expected to halt soon thereby giving a breather to the domestic company, Samtel Colour Limited. According to Satish Kaura, chairman and managing director, the liquidation of the inventory by some global colour picture tube manufacturers had resulted in the downward adjustment in the international prices to the tune of 15-18 per cent.

"The early trends indicate that the colour picture tube prices in the export markets have begun to normalise at current levels. However, prices in the domestic market continued to witness some downward pressure in Q3 FY2006 following slower than anticipated growth of domestic television demand."

According to him, Samtel Colour will introduce new products while phasing out older ones. The company will also increase productivity and enter new markets in Latin America, East Europe and South Asia.

For the nine months ended 31^st December 2005, the company has posted a turnover of Rs697 crore and a net loss of Rs10 lakh. The company took a major hit of Rs7.1 crore because of foreign exchange fluctuations that impacted its the bottomline adversely.