Godrej Global Mideast FZE expects to see a "huge jump" in profits as a result of the launch of soap manufacturing in the UAE, general manager Ravi Narayan said.

The financial year ending March 2002 should see the soap side of the business having a marked effect on the overall bottom line, which is expected to double," a report in the Gulf News quoted him as saying.

In its three years of operations in Sharjah the company has enjoyed triple-digit growth. It claims a significant return on capital, enabling it to return a sizeable portion of this to its parent Godrej Soaps.

Narayan expressed the company's intention to expand the Cinthol soap brand throughout the Middle East, and hoped to be a dominant player in the GCC with five per cent of the market by March 2002.

The company also has a significant portion of the hair dye market and its improved version incorporating herbal extracts launched six months ago had been well accepted in the GCC, the manager said.

The company claimed 12 to 15 per cent of these sales in the lower Gulf, and said it had just entered the Saudi Arabian market with its black henna range. Godrej is also a player in toiletries, with its spray deodorisers that are contract manufactured locally, and its shaving cream and hair rejuvenator.