Warburg Pincus to invest $800 m
Mumbai: Private equity investor Warburg Pincus has earmarked $500 million-$800 million for investments in India over the next three years.

The firm recently made its foray into the Indian IT enabled services sector with the acquisition of a majority stake in WNS. WNS is one of the largest non-captive business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in India and employs 1,500 people.

In India, the firms total investments till date are around $670 million of which Bharti Tele-Ventures accounts for $293 million. Bharti Tele-Ventures, HDFC, Moser Baer and Gujarat Ambuja Cements collectively account for 80 per cent of Warburgs India investment.
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Bharti net loss at Rs 112 cr in 2001-02
New Delhi: Bharti Televenture announced a hefty loss of Rs 112.69 crore during 2001-02 compared to Rs 120.80 crore in the previous financial year.

Bharti Televentures, which raised over Rs 830 crore recently through its maiden public offering of 18.5 crore shares, however, registered a cash profit of Rs 294.82 crore compared to Rs 97.14 crore during the period under consideration.

But cash profit during the last quarter (January-March) of 2001-02 dipped by 30 per cent to Rs 54.78 crore as against Rs 78.28 crore in the corresponding period of 2001.

Total revenue of the company registered a growth of 77 per cent at Rs 1500.46 crore in 2001-02 as against Rs 848.14 crore in the previous year.

The net worth of the company as on 31 March 2002 was over Rs 4870 crore while the net debt stood at arond Rs 1400 crore resulting in a low debt-equity ratio of 0.29.
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NIIT's net profit dips 93%
New Delhi: NIIT reported a 93 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 5.47 crore for the six months ended March 2002, while the net profit for the second quarter dipped as much as 96 per cent at Rs 2.01 crore, mainly on account of slowdown.

Income from operation was down 59 per cent to Rs 89.03 crore in January-March 2002 as compared to Rs 217.03 crore in the corresponding period the previous year, while for the six-month (October to March) period, the income declined by 54.8 per cent to Rs 168.29 crore as compared with Rs 372.84 crore in the previous year.

Global revenues for the second quarter was Rs 189.2 crore, a nine per cent increase over previous quarter ending December 2001.
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Hyundai to roll out Getz
Chennai:  Hyundai Motor India Limited is gearing up to launch Getz in India during the early part of the next calendar year.

It is likely to be priced at Rs 4 lakh upwards. Getz was premiered at the recent Geneva Motor Show.

Getz will be powered by 1.1 litre and 1.5 litre petrol engines.

Getz has been developed for the European market and will spearhead Hyundais foray into the highly competitive market of super minis in the region.
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Nicholas Piramal net up 38.59%
Mumbai:  Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) has posted a 38.59 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 92.47 crore for the year ended 31 March 2002, as compared to Rs 66.72 crore for the previous year. Sales during the year increased by 67 per cent at Rs 946.48 crore as against Rs 566.76 crore for the previous year.

The board has recommended a dividend of 85 per cent for the year. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at Rs 24.33 as compared to Rs 19.14. The company, in a statement said that the lower growth in net profit at 38 per cent was mainly on account of higher interest cost of Rs 31.98 crore as against Rs 9.59 crore in the previous year. The higher interest expenditure was due to interest on borrowings used for acquisition of Rhone-Poulenc (India) Ltd and ICI Pharma division.
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Crompton Greaves net slips 99.5%
Mumbai: Crompton Greaves has announced a 99.5 per cent decline in net profit for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 to Rs 7 lakh, as against 13.4 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Total income however fell marginally from Rs 469.5 crore to Rs 468.6 crore during the period.

For the 12-month period, Crompton Greaves reported a net profit of Rs 4 crore as against a net loss of Rs 73.2 crore. Total income rose from Rs 1355.5 crore to Rs 1485.4 crore during the period.
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Decks cleareed for Pajero
Mumbai: The Mitsubishi Pajero has recently cleared the automotive research association of India testing.

Hindustan Motors (HM) will initially import the 3.2 litre Pajero as a completely built unit (CBU) directly from Japan and sell it through select dealerships in the major metros. It is liked to be priced at Rs 32 lakh.

The cheaper variant of the Pajero expected to cost between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 24 lakh will be assembled in HMs Chennai plant alongside the Lancer.

The 3.2 litre model is a seven seater, latest generation, four wheel drive, Pajero GLX, with a 16 valves double overhead camshaft (DOHC) turbo charged diesel engine.
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Thermax posts Rs 24 crore net
Mumbai: Thermax has bounced back to black by posting a net profit of Rs 24.01 crore in 2001-02 against a net loss of Rs 13.22 crore in 2000-01.

Its sales and other income was marginally down to Rs 494 crore in 2001-02 from Rs 504 crore in the previous year.

The profit before tax was Rs 30.91 crore against a loss of Rs 10.47 crore in the previous financial year.

The earning per share for the year is Rs 10.32.
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GE to buy out Bently Nevada India
New Delhi: General Electric is acquiring 100 per cent shareholding in Bently Nevada India Ltd, following the latter's merger with GE earlier this year.

GE is bringing in Rs 21 crore to acquire the entire shareholding in the Indian subsidiary of Bently Nevada Corporation, which is headquartered in Mumbai.

Bently holds a 99 per cent stake in the company, while the balance one per cent shareholding is with another partner.

General Electric has sought approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to acquire stake in Bently Nevada India.
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Wockhardt Q1 net up 36.99%
Mumbai: Wockhardt has posted a 36.99 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 23.7 crore in the first quarter ended 31 March as compared to Rs 17.3 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

The company has declared a 9.25 per cent dividend on preference shares of Rs 10 each aggregating to Rs 34.2 lakh, Wockhardt said in a release.

Net sales/income from operations were up 26.9 per cent at Rs 165.3 crore in the period under review as compared to Rs 130.3 crore in the same period of 2001, it said adding on a consolidated basis, including the UK subsidiary Wallis Laboratory, sales grew by 21 per cent to Rs 185 crore.
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Ingersoll Rand net dips 27.64%
Mumbai: Ingersoll Rand India (IRIL) has posted a 27.64 per cent lower net profit at Rs 37.17 crore for the year ended 31 March as compared to Rs 51.37 crore in the previous year.

Explaining the reason for a lower net profit, IRIL said its previous year's profit after tax included an extraordinary item of Rs 45.33 crore from sale of gas compressor business.

The total income in the fiscal 2002 increased to Rs 401.95 crore from Rs 331.97 crore in 2001, it said, adding the sales for 2001 included Rs 6.2 crore on account of pumps, the manufacture of which has been discontinued during the current period.

For the fourth quarter ended 31 March, the company posted a net profit at Rs 11.95 crore over Rs 1.39 crore for corresponding period last year.
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GM inks deal to buy Daewoo
Seoul: General Motors signed a final agreement to acquire key assets of South Korea's bankrupt Daewoo for $251 million in cash, capping off more than a year of buyout talks.

GM agreed to take a 42.1 per cent stake in a joint venture with Daewoo creditors to revive South Korea's third-largest automaker in sales terms. The creditors will hold 33 per cent and GM partner companies will take a 24.9 per cent stake, GM said in a statement.

The deal marks a major victory for a government that has pushed to attract foreign capital, while offering GM a far larger foothold in one of Asia's largest auto markets.
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Zee Tele Q4 net down 55%
New Delhi: Zee Telefilms announced a 55.3 per cent drop in net profit for quarter ending 31 March 2002 to Rs 21.13 crore, compared to Rs 47.29 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

Total income in the quarter is pegged at Rs 126.5 crore as against Rs 136.44 crore in the 2001-02, a drop of 7.28 per cent.

For the fiscal 2001-02, net profit was down at Rs 104.5 crore, a drop of 24.37 per cent, from the previous year when net was Rs 138.18 crore However, total income has gone up to Rs 470.71 crore for the whole year, as against Rs 435.7 crore in 2000-01, a modest jump of 8 per cent.
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Ranbaxy Q1 net up 70%
Mumbai: Ranbaxy Laboratories reported its January-March net profit rose 70 per cent year-on-year to Rs 949 million on the back of large extraordinary income.

Stripping out this income, the net profit was Rs 385 million. Sales rose 24 per cent to Rs 5.53 billion.
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Cadbury India Q1 net up 8.87%
Mumbai: Cadbury India has posted a 8.87 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 13.49 crore for the first quarter ended 31 March as compared to Rs 12.39 crore in the same period previous year.

Net sales for Q1 were at Rs 159.68 crore as against Rs 149.91 crore in the fourth quarter of FY-01, managing director Bharat Puri said in a release.

The exceptional items for the current quarter include Rs 22 lakh toward refurbishment of the registered office and Rs 63 lakh towards voluntary retirement scheme, he said.
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Cipla Q4 net up 79.6%
Mumbai: Cipla said its January-March net profit rose 79.6 per cent from a year earlier.

The strong showing was powered by surging exports, while domestic growth was substantially better than Cipla's main rival, Ranbaxy Laboratories, which reported earlier.

Cipla's fourth-quarter net profit rose to Rs 61.71 crore or Rs 10.29 per share, from Rs 34.36 crore or Rs 5.73 a share a year earlier.

Sales rose 48 per cent to Rs 386 crore from Rs 261 crore.

For the full year ended 31 March, Cipla reported a net profit of Rs 229 crore, up 28 per cent. Net sales rose 32.4 per cent to Rs 1387 crore.

Exports for the year also rose sharply, to Rs 497 crore from Rs 258 crore a year earlier.
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Godrej announces second buy-back
Mumbai: Godrej Consumer Products has registered a net profit of 41.98 crore and sales at Rs 514.20 crore for the year ended 31 March 2002.

The board has declared a second interim dividend of 87.5 per cent (Rs 3.5 per share with a face value of Rs four each), subject to tax deducted at source provisions.

The first interim dividend constitutes a total pay-out of Rs 5.5 per share (137.5 per cent of face value of Rs 4 each), chairman and managing director Adi Godrej told reporters here.

The total dividend payout for the year till date works out to Rs 5.50 on a face value of Rs four per share.

He said the board has also given its in principle approval for a second buy-back of equity shares.
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ABB, IBM in IT outsourcing deal
Bangalore: The Indian unit of Swiss-based engineering group ABB has hived off its information technology work to the local unit of IBM, in line with a global trend to cut costs.

The contract includes shifting of people, managing ABB's IT application, and technology upgrades.

The deal would be one of the biggest contracts for IBM India and 50 to 60 people would service ABB.

Under the contract, which is for more than five years, IBM would manage ABB's data centre, disaster recovery services and technical support of business applications, and act as ABB's IT arm in India.
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MTNL Q4 net up 15.5%
New Delhi: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam reported January-March net profit rose 15.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter net profit rose to Rs 416 crore or Rs 6.61 a share, from Rs 360 crore or Rs 5.72 a share in the same period a year earlier.

MTNL, which provides fixed-line, cellular and Internet access services in two of India's biggest telecom markets, Mumbai and New Delhi, said net income from services rose nearly three per cent to Rs 1381 crore from Rs 1341 crore a year earlier.

But net profit for the full year fell 5.3 per cent to Rs 1459 crore from Rs 1540 crore a year earlier. Net income from services rose 6.25 per cent to Rs 6147 crore.
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IFC loan to Sundaram Housing Finance
New Delhi: International Finance Corporation will give a Rs 50-crore loan to Sundaram Housing Finance to help expand its housing loan portfolio.

IFC's loan to Madras-based Sundaram Housing Finance, a subsidiary of Sundaram Finance, will be its first rupee loan in India, according to a press release.

The loan by IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank, is a part of its broader strategy to give its Indian clients much-needed longer-term finance without imposing currency risk.
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IOC, Reliance, Nirma bid for IPCL
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries and Nirma have put in their price bids for acquiring government equity and management control of Indian Petrochemical Corporation (IPCL).

Government is expected to determine the reserve price for selling its 26 per cent equity in petrochemical company on 1 May and inter-ministerial group would meet thereafter to evaluate the price bids.

Government, which presently has 59.95 per cent equity in IPCL, has decided to offload 51 per cent stake in two phases.

The management control over the company would be transferred to the successful bidder for the 26 per cent stake within the current fiscal and the new partner would have the right of refusal over the remaining 25 per cent equity.
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