Ranbaxy talks to herbal cos for brand acquisitions, EMRs
New Delhi--Pharma major Ranbaxy is looking for some strong brands in the herbal segment and sources indicate that it is already in talks with some domestic herbal players -- including a South-based herbal major -- for buying out some of their products.
This herbal brand acquisition move is part of Ranbaxy’s grand entry plan into the lucrative herbal segment. It plans to complete its acquisitions in the herbal segment over the next 3 to 4 months and has decided to be present only in the herbal OTC and prescription drugs segment.
Said D S Brar, Ranbaxy CEO and MD, "We are looking at buying out some good brands in the herbal segment and are talking to some of the companies in the segment. However, nothing has been finalised yet. Alternatively, we may also look at entering into marketing arrangements with some companies for these products.
He refused to divulge the names of the companies with which Ranbaxy was negotiating.

The last time Ranbaxy made an acquisition in the domestic market was in 1996 when it acquired Crosslands. Just prior to that, the pharma major had acquired the Gufic brands.
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Lombardini may buy Greaves engine division
New Delhi—Lombardini, the Italian engine manufacturer, is in talks to buy the engine division of, Greaves, a Thapar Group company, for Rs 150 crore.
Greaves has put two of its divisions, engines and Rajasthan Polymers on the block as part of a major restructuring exercise. The entire consideration from both deals will be used to reduce Greaves’ high cost debt of around Rs 400 crore.
Sources say that the turnover of the engine division primarily used for three-wheelers is around Rs 400 crore. Greaves has already sold its 49 per cent stake in three-wheeler manufacturer Piaggio Greaves to the majority partner, Italy-based Piaggio.
Both the transactions are reportedly inter-related, as Lombardini is the technical partner and provides know-how for Piaggio three-wheelers. The consideration for Rajasthan Polymers is yet to be finalised, but could be in the region of Rs 50 crore.
Greaves engine division has a turnover of over Rs 450 crore.
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Infosys Q1 net zooms 50 percent
Bangalore—Infosys Technologies has announced a 50 per cent rise in net profit over a nearly 70 per cent rise in total revenues for the first quarter of this financial year over the previous corresponding quarter.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2001, Infosys net profits stood at Rs 190.03 crore, up 49.88 per cent compared to Q1 of 2000-01 (Rs 126.79 crore). Total income rose to Rs 626.01 crore representing a growth of 68.90 per cent (Rs 370.64 crore same period in 2000-01).
Sources at Infosys said Tier-I Indian software services companies are beginning to feel the heat on the pricing front as a result of the recent slowdown in the crucial US market.
Infosys has taken a 2.8 per cent decline in its 'blended' (offshore plus onsite) billing rate on a quarter-to-quarter basis The pricing pressure is mainly on the offshore front with the company having to take a 6 per cent cut. The onsite rate has actually risen by a percentage point making for a 2.8 per cent fall in its blended rate.

Lowest-ever quarterly growth: Infosys Technologies current growth in net profit is the lowest in the last 12 quarters.
The company's net profit grew by over 100 per cent for as many as 11 of the last thirteen quarters. Analysts say this is because of sluggish topline growth and higher outgo on the salaries and wages front.
Infosys' sales revenues increased by 72.28 per cent to Rs 612.52 crore, while its salary bill went up by 82.4 per cent to Rs 260.16 crore. This has been reflected in total expenses which increased 70.7 per cent to Rs 372 crore.
Due to this, the company's salaries to sales ratio has hit an all-time high of 42.47 per cent, much above the 37.77 per cent clocked in the year ended March 2001.
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Samsung, LG gaining marketing share over desi rivals
Mumbai—According to the latest ORG data on the CTV market, Korean brands like Samsung and LG are gaining market share at the expense of heavyweight Indian brands like BPL, Onida and Videocon.
Samsung is now almost at par with Onida for the number three slot in the CTV market with an 8.5 per cent marketshare for May 2001. Onida’s market share has slipped from 11.6 in Jan-May 2000 to 9.9 per cent in Jan-May 2001 and has slipped even further in May 2001 to 8.7 per cent.
BPL’s marketshare also seems to be on a downward spiral and was placed at 18.4 percent for Jan-May 2001 against 19.4 per cent in Jan-May 2000.
BPL’s market share for May 2001 slipped further to 17.6 from 18.9 in April.
Videocon‘s market share is down to around 11-12 per cent from 14 per cent a year back.
Korean majors like Samsung and LG have been quietly improving their shares. While Samsung is up from 5 per cent in Jan-May 2000 to 6.1 in Jan-May 2001, LG is placed at 6.7 per cent in Jan-May 2001 from 6 per cent in Jan-May 2000. LG’s market share for May 2001 is placed at 7.3 per cent. Sansui claims a market share of 6.4 per cent in May 2001.
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VSNL announces massive 500 percent dividend
New Delhi—Videsh Sanchar Nigam has decided to give a 500 per cent dividend, including 400 per cent special dividend for the year ended March 31, 2001.
VSNL has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the board of directors have recommended a normal dividend of Rs 10 per share and a special one time dividend of Rs 40 per share totalling to Rs 50 per share of face value of Rs 10 each for 2000-01.
The major beneficiary of the board's decision will be the government, which holds about 53 per stake in VSNL
The government is in the process of offloading 26.97 per cent equity to a strategic partner and to employees through employee stock option plan.
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Tatas get Internet strategy right
New Delhi—The Tatas are now getting their Internet strategy finally in place having entered the arena to provide Internet services and operate data centers. Besides this the Tatas are thinking of becoming active in the Internet infrastructure arena too, through laying fibre optic cable and picking up a stake in submarine cable projects.
Tata company, Tata Internet Services Ltd, will be the Tata flagship for providing Internet services in both the consumer and corporate space, through its, Tatanova. The company plans to invest Rs 500 crore in Internet business in the next five years, with Rs 120 crore investment already on the ground.
Besides services, the Tata Internet Services is keen on participating in the Internet infrastructure arena too and through various Tata entities, including Tata Power, which has already put in more than 2,000 km of fibre across the country.
The company is also interested in dipping its finger in the submarine cable pie, which currently has players like Reliance, Bharti and SingTel.
However, Tata Internet Services is quite clear about not investing in creating fibre capacity on its own, but rather ride the fibre owned by others, including Tatas.
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Reliance first Indian private company among Forbes' International 500
London—A total of four Indian companies - three public sector undertakings and a private group - have come into the list of Forbes International 500 Companies with a minimum revenue of $5.2 billion.
While three companies Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum the State Bank of India group are public sector behemoths, Reliance Industries is the only private sector company to qualify to join the list from India.
IOC is ranked 112 with a revenue of $22,281 million while Bharat Petroleum with a revenue of $121 million is ranked 302 and SBI with a revenue of $6,571 million is at 401, according to the survey in the latest issue of Forbes, a leading US international magazine. RIL with revenues of $5,566 million is at the 469^th place.
Forbes International 500 Companies is an exhaustive list ranked according to country, industry, revenue or enterprise value.
The term 'international companies' denotes the biggest foreign companies (outside USA) by revenues. In order to qualify for his year's Forbes International 500 Companies, companies had to have at least $5.2 billion in revenue, be incorporated outside the US and be publicly traded as of May 31, 2001.
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HSBC second global services centre comes up in Hyderabad
Mumbai—The HSBC Group has opened its second global services center--HSBC Electronic Data Processing India, in Hyderabad to manage the back-office processing work for HSBC group companies. The group now has two facilities in the country to process back-office work for overseas group subsidiaries.
The first one is a 30,000 sq ft facility in HITEC City on the outskirts of Hyderabad and the second site measures 100,000 sq ft at Banjara Hills.
The two centers presently employ more than 650 staff, which is expected to increase to 1,200 by the end of 2001. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the company will process selected back-office banking activities for HSBC group subsidiaries overseas.
The HSBC centre in Banjara Hills is the third global service centre established by the HSBC Group. The group’s first centre was established in 1995 in Guangzhou, China, to undertake back-office processing for group subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
The second global service centre, at HITEC City in Hyderabad, commenced operations in July 2000 and currently processes back-office work for HSBC Group subsidiaries in the UK.
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Nirma sees potential in food retailing biz
Mumbai--Nirma Industries, the detergents company has made a foray into a new area: food retailing through the launch of a retail supermarket under the brand Radhe in Ahmedabad. The 3,000 square feet grocery and food products store has been launched as a pilot project, with a possible expansion across the country hinging on its success.
Though Nirma Industries plans to go national over the next two years, it has not yet opened another branch anywhere else in India.
Hiren Patel, chairman and vice-chairman of Nirma Consumer Care and the designated spokes- person for the group said, Nirma has entered the food retailing business as it sees a a distinct synergy because of its presence in the FMCG sector.
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Bajaj Auto cuts down on production of scooters
Mumbai--Bajaj Auto Ltd is cutting down the production of scooters at its scooters plant at Akurdi, Maharashtra, by one day every week. The company will now be working only five days a week at the plant instead of six. This is following the persistent decline in scooter sales during the past few quarters.
However, production at the company’s Waluj plant, which manufactures motorcycles, will not be affected. The company’s motorcycle business has seen a remarkable turnaround of late, thereby arresting the decline in profits.
Senior Bajaj Auto officials said the decision was taken as the company can cater to the current demand for scooters by following a five-day work schedule. The move is expected to result in significant cost savings for the company, which currently has a surplus scooters capacity.
The five-day week is expected to continue till at least August, as traditionally, there is a slump in demand in the northern region between June and August.
Bajaj Auto has a 78 per cent marketshare in the geared scooters segment, and has been badly affected during the past two years, as customers have shown an increasing preference for motorcycles. Although Bajaj Auto has emerged as the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the country, the increase in motorcycle sales has not been able to offset the loss in sales of scooters.
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Enron, state seek larger Centre role
Mumbai--Enron Corporation and the Maharashtra government today lobbed the ball back into the Centre's court by seeking its "greater participation" to solve the deadlock between Enron, DPC and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).
US energy major's chairman Kenneth Lay said, DPC’s tariff is globally competitive and once the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) begins, it will be lower,"
He said that he had a constructive meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and that it was "in common interest for both the parties to solve the issue amicably."
Maharashtra chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh said both the state government and the MSEB have made it amply clear to the Enron chairman that the centre's participation was necessary and the problems would not be solved unless the Union government comes ahead with constructive proposals.
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Philips plans brand shops on national scale
Pune--Philips India is planning to set-up a chain of brand shops called -- "Philips Arena- Vision of the Future" -- in 22 cities over the next two years.
The first Philips Arena brand shop was opened here recently, which will offer all Philips high-end audio and video products under one roof. The Philips Arena at Pune proudly boasts of showcasing the world's best cutting-edge technology such as the plasma TV, the brightest projection TV with MagnaBrite lenses, the 3rd generation 100 Hz CTV with digital natural motion (DNM) and worlds first DVD TV. Also on display is the worlds most powerful bass technology "wOOx" and world's largest range of MP3 players.
Also vying for attention are the recently launched monitors with light frame technology for Internet.
One of the main highlights at the Philips Arena is the "Event Zone", which will provide new upcoming artists a platform to launch their new albums and a place to perform for an enthusiastic audience.
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Ranbaxy global sales up
New Delhi--Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has increased the share of its overseas business in its consolidated global sales.
While domestic sales dropped from 47 per cent in the six-month period ending June 30, 2000, to 43 per cent in the first half of 2001. Overseas businesses, which include exports from India as well as the business of its affiliates and joint ventures in 25 countries, went up from 53 per cent to 57 per cent.
Ranbaxy managing director D S Brar said, "the figure of 57 per cent is an all-time high and has helped the company's bottomline as prices abroad are more attractive."
Thus, though the company's turnover grew 18.2 per cent during the first half of the current financial year, its operating profit rose 29.4 per cent, profit before tax 35.3 per cent and profit after tax 34.2 per cent.
The overseas dosage business has been the main contributor to the growth in turnover recorded by Ranbaxy during the first half of the current financial year. While it grew 44 per cent, the domestic business grew by 6 per cent and the overseas raw material business grew by only one per cent. During the period, the share of Ranbaxy's overseas raw material business too has come down from 20 per cent of its global sales in the first half of 2000 to 17 percent in the first half of the current year.
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Telco June LCV sales down by 22.5 percent
Mumbai ---A 22.5 per cent decline in light commercial vehicle sales negated the improved performance of the passenger cars business of Telco in June. The company's passenger cars business turned an unexpected corner with sales of its small car (Indica) jumping 16.5 per cent over June of last year. Overall Tata Engineering's sales in June remained flat. Mainline medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales remained flat at 3,882 units against 3,850 units in June 2000, but utility vehicle sales were down 8.4 per cent at 2019 units.
Indica sales rose to 4,758 units against a little over 4,080 units in the same period last year, while that of light commercial vehicles dropped to 2,160 units compared with 2,700 units last year.
Thus the company registered a decline across all product categories during the April-June quarter.
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UB to sell non-core unit holdings to FIIs, MFs
Mumbai--The Vijay Mallya-controlled UB group, which is on its way to becoming a focused alcohol beverage company, is looking at the option of selling its investments in Hoechst Marion Roussel, Aventis Corp Science India and Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers to FIIs and mutual funds.
UB group has a 11 per cent stake in Hoechst Marion Roussel and 35 per cent in Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers. Though UB group has said that it wants to exit from these investments it is yet to strike any deal for any of the investments.
United Breweries has a total debt of Rs 295 crore as of March 31, 2001, of which Rs 163 crore relates to the beer business. Around Rs 45 crore has to be repaid this fiscal. Hence analysts say it is critical that UB exit from non-alcoholic businesses.
As per an internal target, UB group expects to mop up close to Rs 400 crore through divesting from the non-core businesses including UB Engineering and UB Pharma.
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Four companies in fray for NFL divestment
Mumbai--Tata Chemicals, Indo Gulf Fertilizers, Zuari Agro and Nagarjuna Fertilizers are the four companies short-listed for the final bidding for the divestment of the government’s 51 percent stake in National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL). The government holds a 97.64 per cent stake in NFL while the rest is with the public and financial institutions.
These four companies have been short-listed in the first pre-qualification round after which they will put in their final bids.
Sources said the final bids are likely to be called around July 15.
Prior to the short-listing, the Pune-based Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemical Corporation had pulled out of the race which left only four bidders for the stake.
Sources added that the indicative valuation of NFL’s 51 per cent stake has been put in the range of Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore by the bidders. NFL is the second largest urea producer in the country with a capacity of 2.8 million tonne.
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