Riding on the back of an improved performance in its sugar and distillery segments, Balrampur Chini Mills almost halved its net losses to Rs 39 crore for the quarter ended September 30, against a loss of Rs 78 crore during same period last year.

Though the company posted a profit before tax of Rs 2 crore, however, interest outgo of about Rs 32 crore and other un-allocable expenses of Rs 10 crore, dragged down its profits thereby leading to a net loss, according to a company notification to the BSE on Monday.

Net sales dropped by about one per cent to Rs 503 crore. The losses from its sugar business came down steeply to Rs 3 crore from Rs 54 crore during the year-ago period.

The distillery business garnered profits of Rs 9 crore during the quarter under review.