Kolkata, Oct 23 : Harsh Vardhan Lodha has been appointed the chairman of Birla Corp "unanimously" by the board of directors, a company statement said here Friday.

Harsh Vardhan Lodha, son of the late chairman R. S. Lodha, served the company as the director till now.

R. S. Lodha was the disputed beneficiary of the M. P. Birla group chairperson Priyamvada Birla's will that bequeathed the entire assets of the group to him.

Birla Corp, flagship company of M. P. Birla group, has posted a profit after tax of Rs. 152.05 crore in the second quarter this fiscal, 154.69 percent up from Rs. 59.7 crore reported in the like period last year.

The company's turnover stood at Rs. 556.31 crore in the quarter ended Sep 30 as against Rs. 431.49 crore in the year-ago period, registering an increase of 28.93 percent.

The performance of the cement division of the company helped it achieve the net profit, the release said.

"Improved realisation in the cement division, higher sales coupled with softening of fuel prices and reduction in various costs contributed to the higher profitability," it said.

The jute division of the company, which had been losing for the past 15 years, has made a turnaround and recorded profit during the quarter under review, it added.(IANS)