State-promoted Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Ltd (GNFC), on Tuesday, reported a 51 per cent increase in its profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 790 crore for the financial year 2017-18, which is the highest in its 42-year history.

The net profit stood at Rs 521 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company said in a statement that its turnover was also the highest at Rs 6,058 crore, a 17 per cent growth over last year’s Rs. 5170 crore. Also, its PBT of Rs 1,162 crore (Rs 715 crore) was the highest PBT recorded by any Gujarat Government company on a standalone basis.

Dividend stood at 75 per cent, and exports at Rs 629 crore (Rs 321 crore), which was also the highest-ever. GNFCs long-term debt level has been reduced by 100 per cent from Rs 2,180 crore in 2013-14 to nil as of date. The company paid off total debt of Rs 1,436 crore in a single year.

According to the Managing Director, Rajiv Kumar Gupta, GNFC is now a long-term debt-free company. Prepayment of debt reduced the finance cost of the company by 51 per cent Y-o-Y. The growth in revenue and profits are significantly led by non-TDI chemicals, both in terms of revenue and profit.