26,834 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

Raymond has reported a net profit of Rs 18.81 crore for Q1 June 2005 as compared to a net profit of Rs 3.14 crore in Q1 June 2004. Net sales has risen 30.9% to Rs 245.49 crore (Rs 187.46 crore).

Raymond has been moving up the value chain and aims to become a global outsourcing giant in the near future. The company recently inaugurated two state-of-the-art garment facilities in Bangalore - the jeans wear facility 'Everblue Apparel limited' and the shirting plant `Celebration Apparel Limited'.

The Everblue plant is the forward integration of its denim fabric division which will enable it to offer a complete solution to its customers for jeanswear. The Celebration facility will enable forward integration to Raymond's shirt manufacturing facility, allowing it to export shirts to Japan and Europe.

Raymond has also decided to increase is shirt producing capacity to 3000 per day in the first phase with the inauguration of its first plant at Celebration. The second phase will be implemented by 2006 and this will increase the capacity to produce shirts to 6000 shirts per day. The company is investing Rs 14 crore in this project and has a technical collaboration with a shirt manufacturing company Flex Japan Co

Raymond has already signed a 50:50 joint venture 'Raymond Fedora' in June this year with the Italian woollen fabric manufacturer Xanificio Fedora. Apart from the technical expertise from the Italian firm, it will increase the manufacturing capacity from 15 lakh metres per year to 25 lakh metres, of which two-third will be exported.