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Tata to
offer SMS on WLL based mobiles
New Delhi:
Tata Teleservices is all set to offer short messaging service (SMS)
on Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) based mobile handsets.
The company has already
tested the software in Andhra Pradesh and will be approaching the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India soon in this regard.
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Pepsi
to launch Twister juice blends
New Delhi:
Pepsi Foods is set to introduce Tropicana Twister fruit juice
blends from parent PepsiCo Incs global platform in India.
The cola major will
introduce these blends under Slice fruit juice brand.
These twister blends -
tropical orange, strawberry apple, strawberry orange and pineapple
orange - will be introduced under Slice brand by June along with
individual Slice variants of Guava, Orange, Lichi and Mango.
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Tyco
to enter networking market
Bangalore:
Tyco Electronics India is making an entry into the Rs 700-crore
networking market. The initial range of products include optical
switches and media converters.
Tycos networking
solutions division will add the new range of networking products
to its portfolio.
The networking business
is expected to fetch a revenue of Rs 30 crore for the company in
the first year. Reliance is currently test-running Tycos
products. Once the broadband infrastructure is in place here, it
will enable the creation of a large number of small local area
networks across the country.
Tyco India will
manufacture the new line of networking products in its Bangalore
unit once the sales volumes pick up.
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UTI
Bank Q4 net jumps 51%
Mumbai:
UTI Bank has reported a 51% increase in net profit to Rs 42.06
crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when compared
with Rs 27.92 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total
Income has increased 34% to Rs 467.83 crore from Rs 348.73 crore.
The bank has posted a 56% rise in net profit to Rs 134.14 crore in
the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 86.12 crore in 2001. Total
income rose 51% to Rs 1595.4 crore from Rs 1052.62 crore.
The board has recommended a dividend of 20% for the year ended 31
March 2002.
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Grasim
Industries Q4 net declines 40%
Mumbai:
Grasim Industries has reported a 40% fall in net profit to Rs
79.23 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when
compared with Rs 133.36 crore for the corresponding period last
fiscal. The total income fell 2% to Rs 1169.86 crore from Rs
1194.38 crore.
The company has posted a 20% decline in net profit to Rs 302.96
crore in the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 377.9 crore for
2001. The total income has decreased 1% to Rs 4501.26 crore from
Rs 4561.19 crore.
The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 9 per share aggregating
to Rs 82.5 crore.
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IOC
bids at Rs 135/share for IPCL
New Delhi:
Indian Oil Corporation is understood to have put in a higher bid
than the Reliance Industries for the Indian Petrochemicals Limited
which is in the range of Rs 130-135 per share.
The Reliance group, in
comparison, is said to have maintained its trend of bidding
cautiously. There is no information about the bid of Nirma, the
third contender for the IPCL shares.
The government would end
up raking in a little under Rs 850 crore if IOC emerges as the
highest bidder for IPCL. The government has offered 26 per cent
stake representing 6.47 crore shares in IPCL. The paid up capital
of the company stands at Rs 249.05 crore.
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Wadias
raise stakes in Bombay Dye, group cos
Mumbai:
The Wadia family has steadily hiked its holding in Bombay Dyeing
and group companies.
While the ongoing buyback
plan has enabled the Wadia Group to marginally increase their
stake in Bombay Dyeing to 42.6 per cent in the last six months
from 40.78 per cent, they have increased holdings in other
companies through creeping acquisitions.
The Wadia Group has
scaled up its stake in Citurgia Biochemicals Ltd to 48.15 per cent
during March 31, 2002 from 44.27 per cent in the same period last
year. This was done in phases.
While its stake went up
to 44.60 per cent in June from 44.2 per cent in March, it reached
the current position after touching 44.6 per cent in September.
The promoters bought the shares at a price in the range of Rs
17-18.
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Exide
Industries Q4 net down 43%
Mumbai:
Exide Industries has reported a 43% decline in net profit to Rs
7.78 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when
compared with Rs 13.62 crore for the corresponding period last
fiscal.
The total income fell 8% to Rs 218.81 crore from Rs 238.21 crore.
The company has posted a 24% decrease in net profit to Rs 31.42
crore in the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 41.55 crore for
2001. The total income rose 2% to Rs 792.49 crore from Rs 771.2
crore.
The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 3.50 per share.
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Fosters
to uncork new brands
New Delhi:
Fosters India is adopting a two pronged strategy to grow in
India by increasing number of beer brands in its portfolio and
improving its distribution network across the country.
The company has recently
added a new beer brand, Amberro in its portfolio to cater to
value-for-money segment.The company will introduce some new beer
brands in the next few years.
While Fosters is a
premium brand, priced at Rs 50 in Mumbai, the new beer brand,
Amberro, is priced at Rs 40 per 650 ml bottle. Amberro will be
available at a lower price range than Kingfisher of the UB group,
which is priced at around Rs 45 in Mumbai.
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Syndicate
Bank Q4 net up 1%
Mumbai:
Syndicate Bank has reported a 1% rise in net profit to Rs 22.42
crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 31, 2002 when compared
with Rs 22.13 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.
The total income has increased 2% to Rs 817.4 crore from Rs 800.48
crore.
The company has posted a 7% increase in net profit to Rs 250.55
crore in the fiscal 2002 when compared with Rs 234.94 crore for
2001.
The total income has increased 2% to Rs 3158.44 crore from Rs
3073.6 crore.
The board has declared a dividend of Rs 1.20 per share.
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Air-India
to lease 2 Boeing aircraft
New Delhi:
Air-India plans to enhance its capacity by leasing two Boeing
B747-400 aircraft.
To be dry leased for a
period of three to five years, these aircraft are to be used to
launch additional flights to the UK and the US. According to the
schedule drawn up by the national carrier, one of the two
B747-400s is to be delivered to it by October 2002.
The other one is required
by November 2002 so that the added capacity can be used to expand
operations this winter.
Air-India has sought
Pratt & Whitney (PW) 4056 engine for the B747s with a
condition that substitute engine support should be provided by the
leasing company.
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Tata
Teleservices to invest $163 mn in Delhi
New Delhi:
Tata Teleservices plans to invest $163 million to roll out
fixed-line telephone services in New Delhi by September.
Tata Teleservices currently provides wireline and limited radius
wireless phone services in Andhra Pradesh.
Besides, the company plans to invest 63.5 billion rupees in the
next five years to expand its fixed-line services.
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Intel
to make chipsets for disposable cellphones
Garden Grove:
Hop-On, based in Garden Grove, California, has struck an agreement
with Intel Corp to provide chipsets for its disposable cell
phones.
Hop-On said Intel will
provide chipsets using the TDMA cell phone standard for use in its
disposable phones worldwide.
Hop-Ons disposable
cell phones, which it says are recyclable, will carry an hours
worth of prepaid calling minutes in the United States.
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Videocon
Q4 net down 24%
Mumbai:
Videocon International has reported a 24% decline in net profit to
Rs 32.4 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 when
compared with Rs 42.48 crore for the corresponding period last
fiscal.
The total income fell 2% to Rs 887.95 crore from Rs 906.67 crore.
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New
HP India to have 4 divisions
New Delhi:
The new HP India to be formed with the merger of Hewlett Packard
and Compaq will have four divisions - three headed by former
Compaq executives and one by a HP executive. The four divisions
are: services, corporates or large accounts, personal computers
and imaging and printing business.
The services business division of the company will be headed by
Kapil Jain, while the PC division will be headed by Ravi
Swaminathan.
The imaging and printing business will be headed by Ravi Agarwal.
The company is yet to decide on the person who would be heading
the corporate and large accounts division.
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Madura
to open more premium stores in metros
Bangalore:
Madura Garments plans to open more premium stores to house
exclusive Louis Philippe and Van Heusen suite and jacket
collections in metros and mini-metros.
Addressing a press
conference here, Prakash Nedungadi, president, Madura Garments,
said the company is seen more as a clothing accessories player
with main focus on ready-made shirts and trousers, but it is
changing the image from accessories to co-products company.
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Intel India
to set up 3 solution labs
Mumbai:
Intel India is to set up three solution laboratories in
collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Satyam Computer
Services and Wipro Infotech, which will work towards developing
high performance solutions for the companies' customers.
While the lab being set up with PwC will be located at Kolkata,
the other two will be based in Bangalore.
The labs will be used for the development, optimisation,
validation and porting of solutions based on Intel architecture
and will be equipped with high-end server hardware, software and
technical information.
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Reliance
hikes polymer, fibre prices
Mumbai:
Reliance Industries has raised the prices of its polyester,
polymer and fibre intermediate products by 6.2 to 16.50 per cent
effective 1 May.
The announcement on its
web site www.ril.com boosted the stock as much as 2.6 per cent to
Rs 286 at the Bombay exchange, before it closed at 284.55, up 2.1
per cent, while the benchmark index rose 1.03 per cent.
The company said prices
of partially oriented yarn were raised to Rs 63.82 a kilogram from
56.55, polyester staple fibre to Rs 52.25 from 47.75 and
polyethylene terephthalate to Rs 60 from 56.50.
It increased the prices
of fibre intermediates purified terephthalic acid to Rs 33.30 from
Rs 28.60 and monoethylene glycol to Rs 30 from 25.75.
Prices of polyvinyl
chloride were hiked to Rs 44.10 from Rs 41.10.
The price of the chemical
polyethylene, polypropylene and linear alkylbenzene were
unchanged.
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HC
quashes I-T demand of Rs 302cr on Tata Chem
Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court order has quashed an income-tax demand of Rs
302 crore on Tata Chemicals. The Court has allowed the company to
deduct payment on loans taken by the company to set up a new unit.
A division bench
comprising Justice H L Gokhale and Justice V C Dagha upheld an
order of Income-tax Appellate Tribunal which ruled in 1999, in
favour of deduction of interest on borrowings by Tata Chemicals.
The Income-tax department
so far refunded the RS 250 crore already paid by the company after
the department raised a demand of Rs 302 crore.
The case arose, when the
company which manufactures chemicals at Mithapur in Gujarat, set
up a new plant at Babrala in UP for manu-facturing fertilizers. To
set up this new plant Tata Chemicals borrowed substantially and
paid interest on this from year to year.
In assessment year
1992-93 it claimed a deduction of interest under section 36 (I)
(iii) of I-T Act.
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BPL
to move cell licence to a trust
Mumbai:
The majority shareholders of BPL Cellular Ltd are planning to
transfer their share holding into a blind trust where
neither promoter will exercise their shareholding rights. BPL
Cellular operates in Maharashtra and Goa.
The transfer of shares
will clear a major hurdle in the merger of the cellular operations
of Birla, Tata, AT&T and BPL, because under the law, no
company can have a monopoly position in any telecom circle.
The ownership of BPLs
Maharashtra licence will be transferred to a professional
management under the trust, where both the shareholders will be
denied any role both in the day-to-day management of the company
and in its business decisions.
According to the draft
agreement signed between Birla, AT&T, Tata and BPL, both BPL
and AT&T had agreed to sell their interest in Maharashtra once
the merger is through.
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Marico
to dissolve ESOP scheme
Mumbai:
Marico Industries Ltd is planning to dissolve their employee
stock option scheme (ESOP). The company has already introduced a
variable pay system within the organisation to reward employees on
the basis of their performance.
Marico had set up an ESOP
trust on a trial basis for the top two managerial levels in the
organisation. The trust will now be dissolved.
The company launched the
ESOP scheme as part of an industry trend three years ago.
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Lever
Johnson to be demerged
Mumbai:
Hindustan Lever and SC Johnson & Son have decided to demerge
disinfectants division of Lever Johnson, a 50-50 joint venture,
into a separate entity with an identical shareholding pattern.
The FMCG major said both
partners carried out a comprehensive review of the JV and proposed
that disinfectants division be spun off into a new entity to be
lead by HLL while the existing Lever Johnson will now be managed
by SC Johnson.
Lever Johnson was set up
in 1999 with an initial capital of Rs 15 crore to cater to the
Indian market in the insect control products supplemented with
aircare and disinfect products.
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Gilbey's
Green Label to make global debut
Mumbai:
Gilbey's Green Label whisky is all set to become a global brand.
UDV India, the local arm
of Guinness UDV, is planning to export the product to Latin
America and Africa. Currently, the company exports Gilbey's Green
Label to the Middle East and Nepal.
Gilbey's Green Label
Whisky is positioned in the regular whisky category. The domestic
whisky market is estimated at 60 million cases.
Exports accounted for
around 8 per cent of the total turnover of UDV India.
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ICICI,
ICICI Bank merger complete
Tirumala:
The technology and human resources integration between ICICI and
ICICI Bank is "complete".
The employees of both
organisations have been informed about their role and duties in
February.
On the technology front
also, since the hardware and software components were identical,
there were no glitches in integrating them.
ICICI Bank has obtained
necessary approvals for starting operations in New York and
London. Work is also on to get into West Asia, Singapore and
Chinese markets.
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Carrier
to retail Toshiba Acs
New Delhi:
Carrier Aircon plans to introduce Toshibas high-end
airconditioners in India.
While the low-priced,
entry level and premium markets will be handled by Carrier ACs,
the Toshiba airconditioners would be positioned as a super premium
product catering to niche consumers.
The firm will set up a
separate exclusive distribution network for the Toshiba products.
Carrier plans to invest
about Rs 50 crore this year as operational expenses, while at the
same time continuing its cost rationalisation exercise.
The company announced the
launch of P-series high-wall split ACs and the Rotary range of
window ACs.
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Apar
buys out Masat operations
Mumbai:
Apar Industries has acquired the operations of Masat Conductors, a
Silvassa-based manufacturer of aluminium conductors, in an
all-cash deal for an undisclosed amount.
The Rs 517.3 crore
company, which had posted losses of Rs 35.24 crore during fiscal
2000-01, informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the acquisition
has been made on a "going concern basis".
Following the
acquisition, Apars capacity of aluminium conductors will go up
to 43,000 tonne per annum from the existing 25,000 tonne per
annum. Earlier, Apar used to source its additional requirements
from Masat.
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Indo
Rama hikes prices
New Delhi:
Indo Rama Synthetics (I) Ltd has increased the basic price of
polyester staple fibre from Rs 48 per kilogram (kg) to Rs 50.50
per kg effective 1 May.
The company has also
increased the basic price of 130/34 partially-oriented yarn (POY)
from Rs 59 per kg to Rs 61.00 per kg. The basic price of 100 per
cent polyester yarn 30/1 and blended PC carded yarn 30/1 have been
increased from Rs 76.50 to Rs 79.00 and from Rs 80.25 to Rs 82 per
kg respectively.
A statement issued by
IRSL said that the basic price of 150 draw texturised yarn (DTY)
has also been increased from Rs 58.20 kg to Rs 60.39 per kg.
All the prices specified
by the company do not include the excise component.
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BP
asked to pay 15% interest to Castrol shareholders
Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court has directed UK-based oil major BP to pay 15
per cent interest to the domestic shareholders of Castrol India,
for their delay in making an open offer.
The ruling assumes
significance since in the case of two other companies, Foseco
India and Albright & Wilson Chemicals India, where Sebi has
directed foreign companies to pay interest to investors for
delaying their open offers.
Both the companies have
gone to court and questioned Sebis powers to direct companies
to pay compensation to investors.
The investors who have
tendered shares in Castrol open offer which closed in October last
year will now be paid interest at the rate of 15 per cent. The
offer by BP Amoco was at Rs 351 per share and interest works out
to Rs 69 per share.
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Greaves
exits JVs with SAME
Mumbai:
Greaves has sold its entire stake in SAME Greaves and SAME Greaves
Tractors to its Italian partner, the SAME Deutz-Fahr group, for an
undisclosed amount.
The loss-making Greaves
held 49 per cent in SAME Greaves, and 50 per cent in SAME Greaves
Tractors. The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the
deal has now been concluded.
During the previous
18-month ending 30 September 2001, Greaves had posted losses of Rs
92.6 crore on a turnover of Rs 894.93 crore, against losses of Rs
35.73 crore for the fiscal ended March 2000 on a turnover of Rs
688.47 crore.
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UDV
to launch Seagram International brands
Mumbai:
United Distillers &Vintners (UDV) India Ltd, the Indian arm of
Guinness-UDV, plans to launch Seagram International's brands in a
phased manner in the country.
This follows the global
acquisition of Seagram's spirits and wine business by the
Diageo-Pernod Ricard SA combine. This will also mark the entry of
the company into the wines segment in the country.
Under the deal, Diageo
obtained brands like Crown Royal, V O Canadian Whiskies, Captain
Morgan rum, 7 Crown American Whiskey and the Sterling Vineyards
wine business from the Seagram portfolio.
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JK
Industries to enter China
New Delhi:
JK Industries Ltd (JKI) is all set to enter China by
launching commercial vehicle tyres under its own brand name, JK
Tyre, within the next two months. Tyres will be manufactured by a
Chinese company.
JKI will initially launch
light and heavy commercial vehicle tyres in eastern China, but
plans to later move into car and two-wheeler tyre segments.
In China, its tyres are
being positioned in the premium segment and will be distributed
and marketed with the help of its Chinese partner.
JKI is also looking at
sourcing tyres from other South-East Asian countries like
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and East European nations like
Romania, Hungary and Poland.
The Chinese venture is
being handled by JKIs subsidiary in Singapore.
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Indal
net flat at Rs 116cr
Mumbai:
Indal, the aluminium major from the Aditya Birla Group posted a 7
per cent rise in sales for the year 2002.
Indal, which was acquired
by the Birlas from the Canadian aluminium giant Alcan in 2000,
posted sales of Rs 1,368 crore versus Rs 1,277 crore last year.
Its net profit was flat at Rs 116 crore versus Rs 117 crore.
In the quarter ended 31
March 2002, Indals sales fell 8.6 per cent to Rs 338 crore from
Rs 370 crore, while profit rose 10 per cent to Rs 31 crore to Rs
28 crore.
The company was slapped
with a 25 per cent increase in power charges by the Kerala
government in the past year, causing an outgo of Rs 1 crore every
day.
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Castrol
to absorb Tata BP losses
Mumbai:
Castrol India will absorb losses of approximately Rs 24 crore
incurred by Tata BP Lubricants India over the past two years. The
losses, incurred mainly on account of the launch of a new brand,
will be absorbed by Castrol India, which has been amalgamated with
Tata BP from January 1, 2001.
Castrol announced
improved results for the first quarter 2002. The net profit for
the lubricant major has increased by 32 per cent to Rs 33 crore,
compared to Rs 25 crore during the same period last year.
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Alliance
Cap, Reliance Cap buy 6% in Adlabs
Mumbai:
Alliance Capital and Reliance Capital have together acquired a
stake of over 6 per cent in Adlabs Films.
The two funds are
understood to have cornered 13 lakh shares through market
purchases. The bulk of the shares around 9.75 lakh were
acquired on April 17 at Rs 52 per share.
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Parke-Davis
shuts Hyderabad plant
Mumbai:
Parke-Davis India has suspended operations at its manufacturing
unit in Hyderabad.
About 188 employees have
accepted a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) offered by the
company, its chairman RA Shah told shareholders at the companys
annual general meeting.
The company has incurred
a cost of Rs 22 crore on the Hyderabad VRS. The unit which
manufactured popular antacid Gelusil is expected to be closed
down.
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ABB
enters China
Mumbai:
Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), has made its maiden foray into the
Chinese market.
The local subsidiary of
the Swiss engineering giant, which has set a target to hike the
share of exports to 20 per cent of its revenues from around 12 per
cent currently, has also commenced exports to new destinations in
south east Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia during
the current calendar year.
The $24-billion ABB has
already identified China and India as key markets which would
drive growth for the group in the coming years.
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Tata Steel
to hive off bearing biz
Jamshedpur:
Tata Steel may sell or hive off its bearings business to global
market leaders - Nachi Fujikoshi Corporation, Japan.
Nachi recently tied up a
strategic marketing alliance with Tata Steels bearings division
which makes "Tata Bearing".
Tata Steel is also keen
on managing or even buying out other steel companies in the
country.
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