Satyam Infoway net loss dips to $148 m
Chennai: Satyam Infoway Ltd (Sify) incurred a net loss of $ 147.50 million for the year ended March 2001 against a net loss of $ 51.4 million for the previous year.

On a quarterly basis, the company had reported a net loss of $ 8.4 million for the quarter ended March 2002 against $ 17.5 million.

R Ramaraj, CEO, told a news conference here that the company had achieved leadership position in every sphere of business that it operates in.

Total revenues for the year were at $ 32.3 million, an increase of 29 per cent over last year. Sales revenue in the last quarter was at $ 8.2 million, up by 16 per cent.

Cash loss during the year was at $ 20.1 million (26 per cent lower than the previous year). Cash loss for the fourth quarter was 40 per cent lower than the previous year at $ 5.3 million.

Ramaraj said that the cash burn during the quarter was at $ 3.4 million, which was 20 per cent lower than the previous quarter.
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Coke India Q1 sales up 34%
New Delhi: Coca-Cola India has notched up a 34 per cent growth in sales (by volumes) during January-March 2002, over the same period last year.

While the carbonated soft drink category, the mainstay of the company, has shown a growth of over 10 per cent, the rest has come from bottled water Kinley and new launches like the flavoured ready-to-powder drink Sunfill.
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DSP, Morgan to handle TCS issue
New Delhi: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has appointed DSP Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley as the lead managers of its soon to be launched public issue.

TCS is also likely to achieve its projected revenue figure of Rs 4,200 crore for the financial year ended 31 March 2001.

For the first time, TCS is expected to announce its annual results for the last financial year, at a press conference later this month.
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Enfield launches Thunderbird
Bangalore: Royal Enfield Motors, a unit of Eicher Ltd, has a new 350cc bike, called Thunderbird.

Royal Enfield mainly makes the "Bullet" range of bikes with engine capacities of 350cc or above. It sold more than 24,000 units in the year to March of which 1,600 of them were exported.

Thunderbird, with an estimated street price of around Rs 67,000 and a maximum speed of 120 km per hour, is targeted at existing bikers upgrading their machines.
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Nirulas to foray into hotels
New Delhi: Nirulas is all set to open highway hotels, launch budget hotels in neighbouring cities and kick off a chain of ice-cream parlours across the country.

While Nirulas will open its first hotel on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway this week, it will open its first ice-cream cafe in the city next week. Talks are also on to acquire or develop properties for budget hotels in neighbouring cities and family restaurants in other states.

Nirulas is planning to open four hotels and 10 family style restaurants by 2003-end. It is also aiming to have in place around 10 ice-cream cafes by March next year. The total investment earmarked for the various projects is Rs 60 crore.
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Gail posts Rs 1,160 cr net profit
Tranquebar: Gas Authority of India Limited (Gail) has earned a revenue of Rs 10,550 crore from sale of gas and earned a net profit of Rs 1160 crore in 2001-02, according to Gail projects director S P Rao.

Rao told reporters here that production of gas from the Cauvery basin would be increased to 15 lakh scmd per day from July this year from the present 7.5 lakh scmd.
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Bharti gets Trai nod on ISD tariffs
New Delhi: Bharti has received nod from the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for its proposed international long distance tariffs, and is likely to launch the services before month-end.

Bharti is among three private companies which have so far been issued ISD licence in the wake of opening up of the international long distance sector, to competition, on 1 April.

Other licencees are Data Access and Reliance.
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Merrill Lynch to sell 40% in local MF venture
Mumbai: Merrill Lynch is in negotiations to sell its 40 per cent stake in DSP Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.

DSP Merrill Lynch, which is a 60:40 joint venture between DSP Financial Consultants and Merrill Lynch, is planning to buy out the 40 per cent stake held by Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. The paid up equity capital of the AMC is Rs 20 crore.

As Merrill Lynch already held a 40 per cent stake in the parent investment bank, its additional 40 per cent stake in the asset management venture gave it a 64 per cent stake in the venture.

This has led to Merrill lynch Investment Managers regional headquarters in Singapore calling the shots in the MF venture.

The buyout will make the investment management company a 100 per cent subsidiary of DSPML

Alok Vajpeyi chief operating officer of DSPMLIM is being elevated to the rank of CEO. Ramamoorthy Rajgopal has been made chief financial officer of the venture.
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Dr Reddy's to launch Grastim abroad
Hyderabad: Dr Reddys is exploring options for its new biotech drug Grastim to penetrate into the Sri Lankan and Russian markets.

The company is expected to launch its anti-cancer product in Sri Lanka in June this year.

Dr Reddys began working on anti-cancer drug in 1998 and launched Grastim in July last year.
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P&G plans to slash shampoo price
Mumbai: Procter & Gamble Home Products plans to slash the price of Head & Shoulders shampoo this summer by Rs 23 to Rs 99 for its mid-sized 200-ml bottle.

The company is looking at a 5-10 per cent growth in Head & Shoulders volumes, which currently are similar to those of Pantene.

P&G shampoos have, over the past few months, taken away some of HLLs market share.

The size of the total shampoo market is around Rs 930 crore, of which, anti-dandruff shampoos account for 20 per cent.

Head & Shoulders is positioned at the premium end and directly competes with HLLs Clinic All Clear and Daburs anti dandruff shampoos.
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Alstom to double production capacity
New Delhi: Alstom is planning to double production capacity in India to generate more business in the next 2-3 years.

Alstom would focus on enhancing production of transformers and high voltage and medium voltage switchgears.

The Rs 1,200-crore Alstom, which has invested $150 million in the last three years in India, plans participation in distribution management through remote monitoring and control of equipment.

For this, the company planned to increase its outsourcing capabilities from its software facility at Noida.
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Quintiles plans third office in India
Bangalore: Quintiles, a global contract research organisation, is looking at expanding to a third location in India.

Starting its India operations four years ago from Ahmedabad, it recently moved its London office to Mumbai and is now looking at a southern base possibly in Bangalore or Hyderabad.

Quintiles conducts Phase 2 and 3 clinical research for drug companies and is looking at a southern location where there are lot of opportunities.

The company offers services such as clinical development, data management, and recently EEG readings for clinical trials, besides training.
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Bajaj plans assembling in Brazil
Chennai: Bajaj Auto is mulling using an assembling facility of its dealer in Brazil to assemble vehicles there.

Bajaj Auto could also be exporting to China. One Chinese company had evinced interest in buying scooters and motorcycles from Bajaj and a couple of rounds of discussions had taken place.
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Unichem to partner with RPG Life, Medicorp
Mumbai: Unichem Laboratories has allied with RPG Life Sciences and Medicorp Technologies after it announced the formation of its UK arm, Niche Generics.

Niche will buy out some assets and product licences of Bioglan Generics, a UK off-patent drugs company that has also been engaged in joint product development with RPG Life Sciences and Medicorp Technologies.

These relationships will now be transferred to Niche. Both RPG Life and Medicorp are attempting to tap the European off-patent drugs market.

Unichem holds 60 per cent in Niche, which will develop, manufacture and market off-patent drugs in the European Union (EU).
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E Merck offers VRS to managerial staff
Mumbai: E Merck India has offered voluntary retirement scheme to its managerial staff. Those opting for VRS would be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh.

The company has announced the VRS for its 21 employees who have completed minimum 10 years of service or are of 40 years or above as on 30 April 2002.

The company, which has been rechristened as Merck Ltd, would also pay an additional compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh to those employees who opt for the scheme and have more than two months of service remaining.

Last month, the company announced a VRS for about 400 employees at the Taloja plant with a maximum payout of Rs 10 crore.
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Infosys in deal with Nordstrom
Bangalore: Infosys has entered into a partnership with Nordstrom to install and launch Oracle financial system that increases flexibility and back-office efficiency.

The new financial system being put in place by the fashion specialty retailer is aimed at providing Nordstrom a foundation for better controls and rules including a more manageable chart of accounts and reporting flexibility.

The system will also be a foundation for integration with Nordstrom's retail inventory and merchandising systems.
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HSBC launches Internet merchant services
Mumbai: The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC) has launched Internet merchant services, facilitating a secure means to process credit card payments online through its Internet payment gateway.

The payment gateway will enable straight-through processing of online payments as well as a secure environment for the processing of credit card transactions over the Internet.

The Internet payment gateway is based in Hong Kong and processes Internet card transactions for six countries - Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brunei and Singapore.

Cardholders paying by credit card for goods and services bought at a merchant site using HSBC's Internet payment gateway will be forwarded directly to HSBC's service for payment processing.
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JK Tyre earmarks Rs 50 cr for marketing
New Delhi: JK Tyre is all set to launch a series of marketing initiatives to increase its sales. The company intends to invest Rs 50 crore in various marketing activities during the current fiscal. These include increasing the company's retail presence, increasing its visibility through IOC petrol pumps and rural marketing.

JK Tyre is planning to increase its number of exclusive retail outlets called `Steel Wheels' from 95 to 120.

The company will also be investing Rs 20 crore in installing digital air pressure machines at IOC petrol pumps. It is planning to install around 1,000 machines by 2004. It will install 150 new machines this year.
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Pfizer earnings surge
New York: Pfizer Inc, the worlds largest drugmaker, posted a 22 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, driven by strong sales across all product lines.

Pfizer, whose industry-leading stable of prescription drugs includes cholesterol-fighter Lipitor and impotence pill Viagra, reaffirmed 2002 earnings forecasts but sees only single-digit earnings per share growth in the second quarter due to higher marketing and research costs. It expects earnings to pick up in the third and especially fourth quarters.
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Cadila Pharma to increase presence in dermatological mkt
Ahmedabad: Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited (CPL) is all set to increase its presence in the dermatological sector.

Le Sante, the speciality marketing arm of CPL, proposes to enter the Rs 876-crore topical dermatologicals market in a big way in the near future.

In its latest foray into topical dermatologicals, the range of products identified by Le Sante include exclusive and latest molecules for two chronic skin problems namely acne and psoriasis.
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LIC info centre in Mumbai
Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched its first `Info-centre' in Mumbai to enable customers to make enquiries on LIC products and policy details.

Customers in Mumbai can now dial 612 55 55 for information on LIC products between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on all working days and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays, according to a press release.

In the western zone, centres in Ahmedabad and Pune would be commissioned shortly.
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L&T puts on hold telecom plans
Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro has decided to shelve its telecom plans. The conglomerate had set up two subsidiaries, L&T Netcom and L&T Communications, in 2000 for the proposed entry.

While L&T Netcom was to be a category A Internet service provider, L&T Communications was to set up a nationwide optic fibre backbone to provide convergent communication services.
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Amul plans overseas spread
New Delhi: Gujarat Co-operative and Milk Marketing Federation, better known by its flagship brand Amul, is planning to set up offices in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, apart from sprucing up its presence in Singapore, the US and the UAE.

The milk cooperative has plans to expand its horizon in these markets by becoming a direct retailer of its products from being a mere distributor.

While Amul will launch its entire range of milk products, including butter, cheese and ice-creams in these markets through a network of retail outlets, plans are also being drawn up to open up Indian cuisine-based restaurants in overseas markets.

The Indian vegetarian restaurant chain will also offer other popular foreign cuisine being developed by Amul, but its overseas rollout plan will depend on the success of the first restaurant being opened in Mumbai.

Amul is also planning to spend huge sums of money in promoting the brand in these markets through outdoor advertising and promotional campaigns of "Taste of India" in local print media and television channels.
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Phillips Carbon to merge arm
Kolkata: Phillips Carbon Black Ltd (PCBL), a part of the RPG Enterprises, has decided to merge Transmission Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary, with itself.

In addition to Transmission Holdings, PCBL has subsidiaries namely South Asia Electricity Holdings and PCBL Industrial Finance.

Both the companies would seek approval of shareholders for the merger at their respective general meetings on 10 May.

The paid up equity of Transmission Holdings would be extinguished as it was a wholly-owned subsidiary and hence there is no need to issue shares of PCBL to Transmission shareholders.
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DSQ to open call centre in Kolkata
Kolkata:  DSQ Software Ltd has decided to set up its second call centre in Kolkata. The Kolkata operation will have a provision for 150 seats to be expanded up to 500 within six months. DSQ has bought 30,000 sqft area at the Salt Lake Electronics Complex for IT-enabled service business.

DSQ will invest around Rs 8 crore for the Kolkata unit.

Over the last few months, the West Bengal government has been trying to sell Kolkata as a centre for IT-enabled services. The government has come up with incentives to attract companies like Spectramind and GE to set up their units in the city.
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Guj Samachar eyes Hindustan Newsprint
Ahmedabad: Bahubali S Shah, managing director of Lok Prakashan Ltd, which publishes the largest circulated vernacular daily Gujarat Samachar, is eyeing a controlling stake in Hindustan Newsprint Ltd.

The newspaper group has submitted its bid for acquiring a majority stake in HNL.

HNL produces 1,08,000 tonne of news print per annum.
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StanChart offers new home loan scheme
Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank is offering a new scheme under which a savings deposit holder can get a home loan at a lower rate of interest.

The new product, called Homesaver combines a home loan and a bank account, designed to reduce the interest and term of the loan.

Homesaver enables customers to reduce the interest on the home loan principal by utilising excess funds kept in it. This reduces the total interest payment and the term of the loan.

Customers can pool their salary, savings and surplus funds lying in other accounts into Homesaver and that goes towards reducing the balance principal outstanding.
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Puma to re-enter Indian Market
New Delhi:  Lifestyle and sports footwear and apparel brand, Puma, is entering the Indian market a second time through its exclusive licensee Planet Sports. Planet Sports will be the licensee for Puma apparel and accessories and the distributor for its footwear and eyewear range.

Puma stores will be designed on the lines of its stores in Japan, US and Europe. It plans to set up six concept stores this year in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

The Indian product portfolio will include footwear, apparel, accessories, sports equipment and eyewear.

Puma had first entered the Indian market through a licensing arrangement with Carona in the early 90s, which was revoked in 1998.
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Eicher to launch new tractor range
New Delhi: Eicher Ltd has launched three new tractors using water-cooled engines to broaden its range.

The Eicher 380 (35-hp), Eicher 480 (45-hp) and Eicher 6100 (61-hp) were the ones launched on 17 April.

"The new tractors have specifically been designed for higher performance, resulting in greater operating economy across the full range of farming applications," the company said.

The 61-hp tractor uses technology from Finland's Valtra and features power steering, fully synchromesh gear box and wet disc brakes.

Eicher now has 24-hp, 30-hp, 35-hp, 42-hp and 60-hp tractors.
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Siemens Info signs pact with VocalTec
Mumbai: Siemens Information Systems Ltd has signed a distribution agreement with the US company, VocalTec Communications Ltd., for including the latter's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions with its end-to-end system integration services.

SISL plans to offer comprehensive VoIP solutions through this agreement to carriers, telecom services providers and other enterprises in both India as well as neighbouring countries including those in the West Asian region, but excluding Nepal.

The company will distribute and perform systems integration for the full range of VocalTec's solutions, including those for international and long distance calling, voice virtual private network, calling cards, exchange carriers, surfing and e-commerce.
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Zenith Acquires Sai Global Tech
Bangalore:  Zenith Software Ltd has acquired Sai Global Technologies. "The acquisition of Sai Global Technologies will enable Zenith Software Ltd to expand in a big way in the emerging areas of telecom, embedded systems and very large system integration (VLSI) design both in India and overseas," a company release said.

ZSL has been consistently recording 100 per cent annual growth since its inception and has ambitious growth plans of adding more markets and stretching into other niche areas, embedded systems and VLSI design being one of them, it said.
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Ingersoll plans energy audit foray
Kolkata: Ingersoll Rand (India) Ltd plans to enter energy audit services business.

The move is part of an exercise in reorganising its product and services portfolio.

Currently 30 per cent of the company's turnover comes from services and the rest from products.

Ingersoll Rand (India), a subsidiary of the US-based multinational Ingersoll Rand Company is expected to finish 2001-2002 with a topline growth of around 15 per cent over its 2000-2001 net sales of Rs 337.78 crore.
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Hero Honda to phase out CD100 series
Bangalore: Hero Hondas CD100 and CD100ss bikes are likely to be phased out of the market once the new model, Dawn, sells 10,000 plus units per month. CD100 model sells close to 15,000 units per month.

Hero Honda would also launch a new model in the 100cc-150cc category by the middle of the current year.

Hero Honda, which has a technology tie-up with Japan's Honda Motors, is currently discussing the feasibility of manufacturing scooters for the Indian market.
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16,000 Altos for Europe
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Ltd has bagged orders for exporting 16,000 Alto cars to European countries in the current financial year.

The orders for the 1.1-litre version of the Alto had come from across Europe, from countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, the UK and Belgium.

In 2001-02, Maruti exported 11,874 cars, down about 21 per cent from 15,025 cars exported in 2000-01.

Europe is said to account for every second car the company exports. The company uses the Maruti, Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki badge in the international market.
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