GE Shipping Q4 net down 44%
Mumbai: Great Eastern Shipping Company has reported a 44% fall in net profit to Rs 30.78 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with Rs 54.6 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Net sales fell 23% to Rs 256.01 crore from Rs 331.64 crore.

The company has posted a 17% increase in net profit to Rs 207.51 crore for the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 177.41 crore in fiscal 2001. Net sales rose 8% to Rs 1172.43 crore from Rs 1080.68 crore.
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BTAL renamed Idea Cellular
Mumbai: The Birla-Tata-AT&T entity will now be called Idea Cellular to reflect its merged identity..

The new brand will replace the AT&T brand in Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat, the Tata Cellular brand in Andhra Pradesh and the RPG Cellular brand in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

BTAL was formed after a merger between Birla AT&T and Tata Cellular in January 2001 although the formalities were completed only in October.

The company, which posted its first cash profit in March 2002, said its customer base grew 135% last year to 8,50,000 subscribers.
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LML Q4 net profit at Rs 7.17 crore
Mumbai: LML has reported a net profit of Rs 7.17 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with a net loss of Rs 13.23 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.

The total income has decreased 35% to Rs 105.77 crore from Rs 164.18 crore.

The company has posted a net loss of Rs 39.51 crore in the fiscal 2002 when compared with a net loss of Rs 41.29 crore for the fiscal 2001.

The total income fell 9% to Rs 479.88 crore from Rs 527.86 crore.
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TV 18 Q4 net down 6%
Mumbai: Television Eighteen India has reported a 6% decline in net profit to Rs 1.25 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with Rs 1.33 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total income has decreased 17% to Rs 8.15 crore from Rs 9.87 crore.

The company has posted a 9% increase in net profit to Rs 3.49 crore for the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 3.18 crore in 2001. Total income rose 51% to Rs 32.20 crore from Rs 21.31 crore.
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Wartsila Q1 net surges 64%
Mumbai: Wartsila India has reported a 64% increase in net profit to Rs 5.9 crore for the first quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with Rs 3.6 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.

The total income has decreased 15% to 72.7 crore from Rs 86 crore.
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Arvind Mills Q2 net profit at Rs 10.05 cr
Ahmedabad: Arvind Mills has reported a net profit of Rs 10.05 crore for the second quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with a net loss of Rs 96.2 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Net sales rose 9% to Rs 339.34 crore from Rs 310.75 crore.
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Moser Baer Q4 net zooms 60%
Mumbai: Moser Baer India has reported a 60% rise in net profit to Rs 61.64 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with Rs 38.56 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.

The total income rose 84% to Rs 199.63 crore from Rs 108.64 crore The company has posted a 59.71% increase in net profit to Rs 221.31 crore in the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 138.57 crore for 2001. The total income has increased 94% to Rs 683.02 crore from Rs 351.91 crore.
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MRF Q2 net zooms 212%
Mumbai: MRF has reported a 212% increase in net profit to Rs 13.34 crore for the second quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared with Rs 4.28 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.

The total income (net of excise) rose 4% to Rs 444.9 crore from Rs 430.34 crore.
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Tatas create new strategy group
Mumbai: The Rs 48,000-crore Tata Group has added a new layer to its management structure by creating a group corporate centre under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata.

The GCC will report to Tata Sons. The mandate of the GCC will be to guide the future group strategy and direction, in close coordination with the group executive office.

The other members of the GCC include J J Irani, former managing director of Tata Steel and chairman, Tata Teleservices, R K Krishna Kumar, the Tata Tea vice-chairman and managing director, Indian Hotels Company Ltd and N A Soonawala. Krishnakumar was recently inducted into Tata Sons as executive director.

The existing group executive office members, which will be part of the GCC, includes R.Gopalkrishnan, Ishaat Hussain and Kishore Chaukar.
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Indin ops left out of GM-Daewoo deal
New Delhi: The Indian operations of South Korea's Daewoo Motor have been left out in a takeover deal signed with US auto giant General Motors.

GM has forged an agreement with Daewoo Motor and its creditors to acquire key assets of the bankrupt automaker.

This included two of Daewoo's three manufacturing plants in South Korea and another in Vietnam besides nine sales subsidiaries, including seven in Europe, one in Puerto Rico and one parts unit in the Netherlands.

GM would invest $251 million in cash and take a 42.1 per cent stake in a new company which is yet to be named.
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Shaw Wallace post Rs 5.66cr net profit
Kolkata: Liquor major Shaw Wallace and Company reported a net profit of Rs 5.66 crore on total sales of Rs 240.33 crore during the fiscal 2001-02.

The company had a net profit of Rs 1.79 crore for the nine month period ended March 2001 and hence both the figures were not comparable, a company release said.

As per the unaudited financial result of the company, which was taken on record at a board meeting in Mumbai, the total sales, however, showed a marked decline during the year due to business restructuring.

The total sales during the year was much less than the net sales figures of Rs 553.38 crore during the previous nine month period because the majority of manufacturing and marketing activities were transferred to subsidiaries, the release said.
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Tata Infomedia to make movies
Mumbai: Tata Infomedia Ltd, a Tata Group company, is all set to make its foray in production of commercial Hindi movies.

The company will soon set up a new division for production of motion pictures and initially look at commercial Hindi films.

The company is currently shortlisting scripts and is likely to announce its first venture by June.

Previously known as Tata Donnelley, TIL is one of India's leading information products entity and the largest commercial printing company, which publishes business directories popularly known as the Tata Press Yellow Pages.

TIL is also in the business of database management and direct marketing solutions for corporates and provides gifting solutions under the 'Touchstone' brandname.
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Wipro, Canadian firm in security solutions deal
Bangalore: Wipro and Toronto-based Blockade Systems have entered into a pact to provide security solutions.

The strategic alliance, which includes joint marketing, will enable customers to secure their networks and business applications using an integrated solution from both firms.

The integrated solution will enable customers to extend their centralised security policies for Web-based access control.
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SAIL to cut 9,000 jobs
New Delhi: The Steel Authority of India plans to reduce its workforce by 9,000 during the current financial year.

SAIL aims at a gross margin of Rs 2,110 crore and wants to reduce loss to Rs 800 crore in 2002-03.

The company plans to separate 9,000 employees in 2002-03 including options under voluntary retirement scheme, an official release said.

SAIL has set targets of 5 per cent sales turnover growth and saleable steel output at 10.48 million tonne for 2002-03.
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Kotak Mahindra profits up 11%
New Delhi: Kotak Mahindra Finance reported a 11.3 per cent rise in net profit for the year ended March 2002 at Rs 55.19 crore, as compared to Rs 49.60 crore in the previous year.

The company has also intitiated steps towards its conversion into a bank, following in-principle approval by Reserve Bank of India, a company release said here.

The financing portfolio grew in excess of 50 per cent over the previous year, the release said.

Of this, the comercial vehicle financing business was up 90 per cent over the previous year with new disbursements crossing Rs 500 crore, it said, pointing out that this was significant as financing business had a long term growth opportunity on the future banking platform.
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HM begins bookings for Pajero
New Delhi: Hindustan Motors has started accepting bookings for the luxury sports utility vehicle 'Mitsubishi Pajero'.

The 3200cc inter-cooled-turbocharged diesel engine-fitted model called 'Pajero GLX' would be sold at about Rs 34 lakh (ex-showroom in Delhi).
  
The 'Pajero', manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, would be imported as completely-built-units (CBUs) and sold in select dealerships in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin and Chandigarh.
  
HM also has plans to import a 2.8 litre lower-end diesel engine variant of the 'Pajero' within the next six months at Rs 20-25 lakh.
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Wockhardt drops Andersen
Mumbai: Wockhardt has dropped accounting firm Arthur Andersen as its auditor. The company has appointed S R Batliboi, a member firm of Ernst & Young International, in its place.

Wockhardts decision comes several months after the first allegations erupted against Andersen in the US late last year.
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Star reports profits on back of India ops
Mumbai: The Star Group has reported a quarterly operating profit of $2.4 million in the first three months of 2002 for the first time.

Significantly, Stars India operations are said to have contributed as much as 70 per cent of both revenues and profits towards the Rupert Murdoch-promoted News Corp subsidiary.

The projected profit after tax from the companys India operations were close to $30 million, or about Rs 145 crore, for the 2002-03 financial year.

This is in excess of Zee Telefilms PAT of Rs 104 crore ($21.6 million) for FY 2002 and Rs 138 crore ($28.75 million) for the previous FY 2001.

For the first three months of this calendar year, Star generated a total revenue of $120 million.

Losses for the satellite network declined 40 per cent for the nine-month period ended 31 March 2001, to $10.7 million from $17.8 million for the same period in 2000.
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South Indian Bank net up 50%
Kochi: The net profit of South Indian Bank has climbed to an all-time high of Rs 62.4 crore growing at a rate of 50.4 per cent.

The profit stood at Rs 41.5 crore last year. The board of directors of the Bank has recommended a dividend of 25 per cent.

Addressing a press conference here A Sethumadhavan, chairman and CEO of the Bank said the overall business growth rate of 91 per cent achieved by the bank in the last three years is phenomenal by industry standards.

SIB's gross profit increased by 61.6 per cent to Rs 172.9 crore. The total business grew by 28.2 per cent to Rs 9,151 crore. Deposits grew 26.8 per cent to Rs 5,920 crore and advances increased by 30.9 per cent to Rs 3,231 crore.
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Star to buy 26% into RPG Netcom
Mumbai: Star is in talks with Kolkatas largest cable network, RPG Netcom, to pick up a strategic stake of 26 per cent in the company.

RPG Netcom is seeking a price of Rs 52 crore for the 26 per cent stake. This is considered too high by Star.

Star has a 26 per cent stake in the Rajan Raheja cable company, Hathway Cable.
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IDFC net up 33%
Mumbai: Infrastructure Development Finance Company has posted a net profit of Rs 186.6 crore for the year ended March 2002. This is an increase of 33 per cent over the previous years profit of Rs 140.4 crore.

The board of directors has recommended a dividend of 10 per cent as against 7 per cent last year.

The board of IDFI also cleared the proposal of float an AMC for managing Rs 1,000-crore equity capital aimed funding infrastructure projects as proposed in the Union Budget. The fund will be operational by August this year.
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Baidyanath acquires Puma Herbal
Kolkata: The Rs 200-crore ayurvedic company Baidyanath has taken over Puma Herbal of Nagpur.

The acquisition is expected to help Baidyanath enter a new product segment.

Puma Herbal, which has a product line of beauty-care products will now help Baidyanath make its debut in the ayurvedic beauty-care segment.

To be sold under the Puma Herbal brand, Baidyanath has already recruited around 25 people for sales and marketing of these products. A network of 250 dealers will also be set up to create the required dealer-distributor channel.
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CK Birla cuts stake in Orient Paper
Kolkata: The Chandrakant Birla group and his associates have reduced their holding in Orient Paper & Industries.

The promoters holding has dipped by some 10 percentage points to 34.4 per cent as on 31 March 2002, against 44.07 per cent on 31 March 2001.

With this, the companys shareholding pattern has undergone a change. Mutual funds including the Unit Trust of India (UTI) currently hold 6.41 per cent compared to 6.44 per cent held as on March 2001.
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Novartis net rises 56%
Mumbai: Novartis Indias net profit rose by 56 per cent to Rs 65.3 crore in 2001-02. Net sales rose 7 per cent to Rs 467.7 crore.

The company said it made a profit of Rs 14.2 crore from the sale of prime real estate in a Mumbai suburb and earned income of Rs 2.6 crore from surrender of development rights.

Total expenditure increased 5 per cent to Rs 402.8 crore which includes a voluntary retirement scheme of Rs 4.7 crore.

The operating margin expanded by about 2 percentage points to 14 per cent of sales from 12 per cent of sales in the previous year. The board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 7.50 per equity share of Rs 5 each.
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Nocil posts loss of Rs 71cr
Mumbai: National Organic Chemical Industries (Nocil) slipped into a net loss of Rs 70.5 crore for the year ended 31 March 2002, as compared to a net profit of Rs 10.8 crore the previous year.

The total income has declined to Rs 672.3 crore as compared to Rs 889.9 crore the previous year. The company posted a net loss of Rs 25.4 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2002, compared to a net profit of Rs 4.3 crore for the corresponding previous period.

During the quarter, the petrochem complex was shut down due to maintenance for 10 weeks, resulting in lower volumes as compared to the previous period, the company said.
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Exim Bank net up 11%
Mumbai: The Export-Import Bank of India has recorded a 11 per cent growth in its net profit for the fiscal 2001-02. Profit after tax amounted to Rs 171 crore during 2001-02 as compared to Rs 154 crore in the previous year.

The bank would pay a higher dividend of Rs 42 crore to the central government as compared to Rs 38 crore it paid in the previous year.

This works out to a payout of 24.6 per cent of the post tax profit of the bank for the year 2001-02.

Loans sanctions went up 95 per cent to Rs 4241crore as compared to Rs 2174 crore in the previous year. Disbursements went up 82 per cent to Rs 3453 crore as compared to Rs 1896 crore in the previous year.
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