But for the exceptional gain of Rs.841 crore on account of asset sale, Linde India might have actually ended the third quarter with a very poor bottomline.

The company’s revenue from operations fell 26% (YoY) at Rs.413 crore and yet net profit rose to Rs.635 crore v/s Rs.14 crore (YoY).

Profit before tax and exceptional item was at Rs.35 crore v/s Rs.21 crore.

The market is obviously not happy with this performance. Despite the company declaring a 100% special dividend, the stock is the top loser on the BSE  currently, falling over 6% to Rs.723.