Wipro profits grow by 18%
New Delhi: Wipro's net profits have improved by almost 18 per cent -- past the Rs 200 crore mark. Sales rose by over 10 per cent touching Rs 875 crore although the market was expecting this figure to go beyond the Rs 900 crore mark.

Chairman of Wipro, Azim Premji, said that the results were as expected given the turbulent times. During the quarter gone by, Wipro has managed to add 27 new clients out of which there are six Fortune 500 companies.

Premji has forecast that the fourth quarter global IT business should be in excess of Rs 550 crore.
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HCL Q2 net profits down 18%
New Delhi: HCL Infosystems profit before tax for the quarter ending 31 December 2001 stood at Rs 15.4 crore, down 18 per cent over the same quarter in 2000. But compared to the first quarter, the profit after tax for quarter two is up 7 per cent.

Sales in quarter two are at Rs 271.8 crore, which is nearly a 4 per cent drop over the same quarter in 2000. But again on a sequential basis, sales in quarter two are 15 per cent higher than quarter one.
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Microsoft posts net profit of $2.28 billion
Washington DC : Microsoft posted a net profit of $2.28 billion for the most recent quarter, after taking a charge of $660 million estimate to settle consumer lawsuits. The profit was a drop of 13 per cent from the same period a year ago.

The earnings amounted to 41 cents a share, including eight cents per share for the estimated charge.
Revenues for the three months to 31 December hit a record $7.74 billion, an 18 per cent increase over the same period in the prior year.
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Yahoo shares surge
New York: Shares of Yahoo Inc. surged after it declared its fourth-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street forecasts.

Yahoo reported its fifth consecutive quarter in the red, losing $8.7 million, or 2 cents per share, on revenue of $188.9 million in the three months ending 31 December. In the same period in 2000, Yahoo lost $97.8 million, or 17 cents per share, on sales of $310.9 million.

The news pushed Yahoo shares up 92 cents, more than 5 per cent, to $18.79 in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The trend continued in early trading, with shares up $1.90, or more than 10 per cent, at $19.77.
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SBI to increase export credit to 12%
New Delhi: State Bank of India plans to increase export credit to traders. It targets to increase the export credit exposure to 12 per cent of its total credit from the current level of 9 per cent.

SBI claims that it has the lowest rate of interest on export credit in the country at 7.5 per cent, and also has sufficient funds and capabilities to provide finance to the exporters on a timely basis.
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Kinetic to export bikes to Europe and America
Pune: Kinetic Engineering Ltd (KEL) will shortly commence exports of its recently launched 'GF125' motorcycle to Europe and America.

The motorcycle, made with technology from South Korea's Hyosung Motor Co, is currently manufactured in 125cc engine capacity, which would be supplemented with a 150cc model by March this year.

The 'GF' series motorcycles will also be exported to Germany, Indonesia, Turkey, Argentina and Mexico within the next three months. These will be sold under the 'Kinetic' brand name through the existing dealership network of Hyosung.

KEL expects to export 10,000 motorcycles in the first year.
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ABN AMRO introduces net banking
Mumbai: ABN AMRO Bank (India) has introduced its net banking initiative on Infosys platform. The net banking initiative would allow customers to access features like tax deductible at source enquiry screens and the ability to download and analyse statements on the desktop.

The bank was also working on packages wherein some transactions could be available cheaper online.
Infosys Technologies is currently working with Punjab National Bank, Cosmos Bank, Tamil Nadu Merchantile Bank and Karnataka Bank for implementing such projects.
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Enron fires Arthur Andersen
New York: Bankrupt energy group Enron has fired Arthur Andersen as its external auditor.

Enron chief executive Kenneth Lay said in a statement his company had decided to sack Arthur Andersen before it had even completed a study of its accounting. "While we had been willing to give Andersen the benefit of the doubt until the completion of that investigation, we cannot afford to wait any longer in light of recent events, including the reported destruction of documents by Andersen personnel and the disciplinary actions taken against several of Andersen's partners working in its Houston office," he said.

Enron would immediately begin the selection process for a new external auditor, he said.
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PepsiCo to revamp Lays chips
New Delhi: PepsiCo has upgraded its plants to introduce a new-look, state-of-the-art Lays potato chips in India.

The new Lays chips will be lighter, uniform golden coloured and sized, with removal of the present brown stains. Also, the new multi-coloured packaging will not have any broken chip inside. Frito Lay's objective is to reposition Lays as a youth icon brand.

Frito Lay has upgraded and modernised its plants in Pune and Channo (Punjab) with introduction of various equipment for launching a revamped global standard Lays in India. There will be a total revamp of taste, appearance, texture and packaging of Lays.

However, there will be no change in price.
The new launch would be backed by a 40-second TV commercial to be shown in main channels, cinemas and aired in radio.
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Ashok Leyland starts sale of luxury buses
New Delhi: Ashok Leyland Ltd has begun selling luxury coaches it built with Spain's Irizar.

The company expects to sell 350 such buses this year and 500 in 2002-03.

Irizar builds bus bodies for Volvo, Scania, Iveco and Mercedes and is Europe's second-largest such firm.
Irizar TVS Pvt Ltd, the joint venture which Ashok Leyland, Irizar and the local TVS group set up last year, makes bus bodies at its two plants near Trichirapalli in Tamil Nadu. The three hold equal stakes in the firm.
The buses are built on Ashok Leyland's existing bus chassis and priced between Rs 20 and Rs 25 lakh depending on the features they carry.
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Reliance may float oil mktg firm
New Delhi: Reliance Petroleum has kept options open for floating an oil marketing company after dismantling of administered price mechanism (APM) on petroleum.

"We will keep all our options open. We will decide in the appropriate time what is appropriately good for us," Reliance managing director Mukesh Ambani told reporters here.

He said that the discussions with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was still on and Reliance Petroleum would wait for the outcome of the discussion on continuance of marketing tie up with the oil PSU.
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Kinetic mulls salary cuts
New Delhi: The Kinetic group has decided to trim its overhead costs by 20 per cent through salary cuts and workforce reduction.

The group is also working towards increased outsoucing of components from cheaper sources in China, besides targeting the export markets as an alternate source of revenue.
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Hyundai to launch new Santro
New Delhi: Hyundai is planning to come out with an upgraded version of its popular small car, Santro, by April this year.

The new Santro would be powered by a 1.1 litre engine, with power steering as a standard fitment. The present Santro is slightly underpowered with a 999 cc engine.
Santro is currently available in four variants with only the base model, LE, not sporting any power steering. With roll out of the new Santro, the LE model might be discontinued. The model with power steering (LP) is priced around Rs 15,000 more than the base model.
Hyundai would soon hike prices of various model Santro, Accent and Sonata - by 2 to 7 per cent to meet increasing production costs.
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DSP Merrill Lynch board approves buy-back
Mumbai: The board of DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd has approved a buy-back proposal of up to 2.51 per cent of its equity at a price not exceeding Rs 250 per share.
The buy-back would be through the tender offer or such method as may be deemed fit by the board, DSP Merrill Lynch informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company proposes to delist the shares from the Bombay Stock Exchange.
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Murugappa group moves into services
Bangalore: The Murugappa group plans to boost service businesses to drive up shareholder returns. Known for industrial abrasives, fertilisers, sugar, bicycles and confectionery, the groups new focus areas include insurance and information technology-enabled services like electronic publishing.

The 100-year-old family-controlled group has annual sales of more than $800 million and holds majority control in its firms.
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Exide records 11% jump in Q3 net
Kolkata: Exide Industries reported an 11 per cent jump in net profit and 14 per cent increase in gross sales during the third quarter of this fiscal, compared to the same period last year.

The net profit during the quarter stood at Rs 7.75 crore, up from Rs 6.86 crore earned during the same period last year. Gross sales increased to Rs 243 crore over Rs 212 crore registered during comparable period last year.
While the industrial battery division registered a growth of 20 per cent, the automotive battery segment recorded a growth of 27 per cent over the comparable figure last year.

The improvement in overall performance was reflected in a 54 per cent jump in the profit before tax, which increased to Rs 11 crore (Rs 7.12 cr).
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BASF India Q3 net up 35.1%
Mumbai: BASF India has posted a 35.1 per cent jump in its net profit for the third quarter ending 31 December at Rs 8.07 crore as against Rs 5.97 crore in the same period of previous fiscal.

Net sales were also higher by 36 per cent at Rs 143.85 crore (Rs 105.59 crore). The current quarter results include the sales from erstwhile Cynamide Agro consequent to its merger with BASF India with effect from 1 April last year.

During the nine month period ending 31 December, the net profit stood at Rs 30.92 crore (19.24 crore) while net sales touched Rs 459.17 crore (Rs 326.45 crore).
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Morepen Q3 net up 11.58%
New Delhi: Morepen Laboratories reported an increase of 11.58 per cent in net profit at Rs 24.66 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2001.

The company's turnover jumped by 10.34 per cent to Rs 122.33 crore from Rs 110.86 crore in the corresponding period previous year.

Morepen's net profit in the nine months period ending 31 December also jumped by 12.58 per cent to Rs 358.85 crore as against Rs 320.57 crore in the corresponding period previous year.

During the quarter, the company acquired 'Burnol' from Reckitt Piramal for Rs 8.95 crore for its over-the-counter division.
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CAPEXIL to launch B2B portal
Kolkata: CAPEXIL, formerly Chemicals & Allied Products Export Promotion Council, will launch a B2B portal to enable traders to conduct business online.
CAPEXIL is currently sorting out the payment issue for online trading.

The portal would also allow traders to put up their products on the Internet.

CAPEXIL would also set up a facilitation centre in the city in coordination with Shellac Export Promotion Council and Engineering Export Promotional Council.
The centre would have all the amenities for obtaining quick information.

The promotional activities of the council would focus on the markets of USA, Japan, Singapore, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, South Korea, UAE and China.

The thrust products include tyres and tubes, rubber manufactured products, stone and stone products, glass and glassware, ceramic and ceramic ware.
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Siemens Q 1 net profit up by 20%
Kolkata: Siemens has registered almost 20 per cent increase in its first quarter net profit at Rs 19.01 crore against Rs 15.87 crore in the corresponding quarter ending on December, 2000.
Net sales shot up to Rs 260.30 crore from Rs 222.54 crore whereas lease and other income stood lower at Rs 22.68 crore against Rs 23.16 crore last year.
Included in lease income was Rs 6.9 crore on account of sale of investment.
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BMW unveils the 7-Series cars 
New Delhi: German car maker BMW unveiled on 17 January its latest 7-Series cars at the ongoing Auto Expo 2002.

The 7-Series was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year.

The 7-Series will be available to the Indian customers in two versions - standard and Li version - with extended wheelbase.

The extra length of 140 millimetres or 5.5" in the Li version gives the rear-seat passengers even more legroom and space. The rear-seat airconditioning, complete with a cooling box, gives the rear-seat passengers an individual climate zone.
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IOC to loses crude import monopoly
New Delhi: The government has decided to put an end to Indian Oil Corporations monopoly over crude imports for public sector companies, Bharat Petroleum Corpn (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corpn (HPCL), from April 1.

The petroleum ministry also issued a policy amendment order in this regard to all the state-run oil companies, specifying the structure for carrying out crude imports by new entrants through term contracts, spot procurement and the tender route.
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Indian Rayon, Grasim prune staff
Mumbai: AV Birla group companies-Indian Rayon and Industries and Grasim Industries have undertaken significant manpower reduction.

Indian Rayon and Industries Ltd has completed a voluntary retirement scheme for its employees in the Jaya Shree Textile division, which has reduced the manpower by about 15 per cent.

The group has also undertaken a second round of VRS at Grasim Industries viscose staple fibre plant at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh involving about 100 employees.
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Ford launches web-based CRM
New Delhi: Ford India Ltd has launched a web-based customer relationship initiative named My Ford, offering its customers direct connectivity to the company via a personalised and secure web page.

My Ford will offer maintenance schedules, service logs, service and insurance renewal alerts, access to trusted advise on dealer contact information, driving and safety tips and do-it-yourself pointers.

India is among the first few countries where Ford has launched this initiative in the Asia Pacific region.
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Lextran Orion launched
New Delhi: Automobile designer Dilip Chhabaria has announced the launch of a 34-seater super bus Lextran Orion with his trade mark design.

His company, DC Design, has a fully integrated manufacturing facility for bus bodies at Silvassa with a capacity of 10 buses a month.

The bus will be made on the Ashok Leyland platform. The company plans to double its manufacturing capacity by mid-2002 and increase its market share from eight per cent to 20 per cent.
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Modicorp becomes Spicecorp
New Delhi: BK Modis ModiCorp has decided to change its name to SpiceCorp. The decision is in continuation of the process that began when BK Modi had stepped down as the director and chairman of ModiCorp on 1 January this year and the board appointed Veena Modi as the new chairman.
"The change in name is part of an effort to put together a new corporate identity. We are a new economy company with a vision of creating value through knowledge and global connectivity. We felt it was important that we have a new corporate identity that reflected and conveyed the aspirations of the company and its shareholders," said Veena Modi in a statement.
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ITC profit rises 17% to Rs 259cr
New Delhi: ITC, India's largest cigarette maker, on Friday said its net profit in the October-December quarter rose 16.46 per cent year on year.

It has registered a post-tax profit Rs 259 crore in the third quarter of the financial year 2001-2002 compared to Rs 222 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The net turnover has also grown by nearly 8 per cent to Rs 1,195 from Rs 1,107 crore during the same comparable period. Gross income during Q3 has swelled to Rs 2,420 crore as against Rs 2262 crore in the previous year.

The companys FMCG segment comprising cigarettes and other products continued to play a dominant role, roughly 80 per cent of the overall operations in terms of revenue.
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