Escorts to begin tractor exports to SE Asia
Escorts Ltd is planning to commence exports of its Powertrac and Farmtrac range of tractors to South-East Asia. The company has identified three key markets in the region for exports - Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. "We will be targeting the plantation companies and small farmers in the region. The three countries have a combined market of about 1,200 tractors per year," Sanjit Padhi, Vice-President, Marketing, Escorts Ltd, said.
The tractors being exported to these countries are mainly in the 35-50 horse power (HP) range. The company has already tied up with Malaysia-based Sin Choo Seng Machineries for distribution of tractors, and is presently scouting for partners in the other two countries. "We expect to commence exports to Indonesia and Thailand in the next six months," Padhi said. The company is targeting to build volumes of about 400 units in three years.
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Gujarat Alkalies to reconstruct Rs 765-cr debt
Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (GACL), which scripted a turnaround in the last fiscal after being continuously in the red for the previous four years, has gone in for a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package for its Rs 765.68-crore debt portfolio. This comes even as the company, with accumulated losses at Rs 160 crore, reduced its overall debt position by Rs141 crore in the last fiscal. GACL posted a net profit of Rs 28.04 crore on net sales of Rs 923.59 crore in 2002-03 as against a net loss of Rs 40.78 crore on sales of Rs 819.56 crore in 2001-02.
P K Taneja, Managing Director, GACL, said that a lion's share of the profit-after-interest but before depreciation and taxation at Rs134 crore and other cash accruals had gone towards reducing the secured loans from Rs 738 crore to Rs 656 crore and the unsecured loans from Rs 290 crore to Rs 232 crore.
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Cox & Kings may sell stake in Good Relations
Travel major Cox & Kings India Pvt Ltd has finalised plans to exit the business of public relation consultancy. It is selling out its 48.56 per cent stake in its public relations subsidiary - Good Relations India Ltd. The stake will be picked up by Good Relations' UK-based Chairman, ABM Good.
As of now, Flagship Group Ltd, based in London, holds the majority 51 per cent stake in Good Relations India while 48.56 per cent stake is held by Cox & Kings India. Two individuals, namely, L R Shah and Vinay P Kerve, hold 0.39 per cent and 0.05 per cent stake, respectively in the company. Good Relations India has filed an application with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) seeking permission for the sale. After the sale, foreign equity in Good Relations India will go up from the present 51 per cent to 99.56 per cent.
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Monnet Ispat plans mega debt recast
The Rs 200-crore Monnet Ispat Ltd has finalised plans to bring down its interest outgo during the current financial year by replacing high cost debts with cheaper debts and, in some cases, by replacing high cost rupee debts with low interest dollar debts. "We are in the process of replacing around Rs 70-crore rupee loan with low interest dollar loans. Of this, around Rs 30 crore is for Monnet Ispat while the other Rs 40 crore will be in Monnet Power. This will bring down the cost from the existing 14.5 per cent to around 6 per cent," said Sandeep Jajodia, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the company.
"If things go as expected, then in the next six months we will be able to bring down our average interest cost from around the present level of 14.5 per cent to around 9.5 per cent," Jajodia said, and added that the savings in interest outgo alone will be approximately around Rs 10 crore.
During the current year, the company is eyeing a quantum jump in turnover from the present level of Rs 200 crore to around Rs 500 crore based on the company's consolidation plans, which include both backward integration as well as capacity expansion.
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MMTC targets Rs 7,120-crore turnover
MMTC has set a business target of Rs 7,120 crore for the current fiscal as against Rs 6,255 crore achieved in fiscal 2002-03, indicating a growth of 14 per cent in 2003-04. According to a company statement, MMTC recorded an export turnover of Rs 2,379 crore in 2002-03 - by far the highest in its four decades of existence. During the last fiscal, profit after tax as per the provisional figure was Rs 20.54 crore, which was 10 per cent higher than Rs 18.54 crore previously. The company has declared an interim dividend at 20 per cent for the year 2002-03 on the basis of the provisional results and a dividend cheque of Rs 9.93 crore has been presented to the Government.
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Usha Ispat case: FIs told to clarify on financing steel projects
The Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has asked financial institutions in the matter of Usha Ispat Ltd to clarify whether there has been a general decision that they would not finance any steel projects. Usha Ispat, at a recent hearing, submitted that the Government of India (GoI), Ministry of Steel, and FIs had decided that all steel projects would not be financed.
On an observation from the board that it was the contention of the FIs that they had not released further finance to the company because of the inability of the promoters to bring in their share of contribution, the company submitted that it was not a part to the meeting between the Government and FIs, but the facts could be ascertained from the institutions.
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Hindalco boosted by value addition
Bolstered by strong metal production and continued focus on value-added products, Hindalco Industries has recorded a good performance for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2003. This was achieved despite a weak global and domestic economic environment and relatively flat prices for aluminium at the London Metal Exchange. For the first time, Hindalco is presenting a consolidated financial picture, after integrating the copper operations of Indo Gulf Corporation with its aluminium operations. Hence, the performance of the fourth quarter as well as the entire fiscal 2002-03 is not comparable with the corresponding periods last year.
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Hero Honda sales decline 1.2%
Hero Honda, the country's largest motorcycle manufacturer, saw its sales decline by 1.2 per cent to 1,34,318 units in April 2003 from 1,35,961 units in the same month last year.
According to industry sources, sales of the company could have been affected by sluggish rural demand combined with the 10-day trucker's strike affecting production as well as distribution of products in April.
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Shoppers' Stop records sharp rise in profit
Shoppers' Stop has posted a profit of Rs 10.64 crore for the year ended March 31, 2003, against the Rs 14 lakh recorded in the corresponding previous period, according to a company statement.
Its turnover increased 21.69 per cent to Rs 303 crore over Rs 249 crore in the corresponding previous period.
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Auto sector upswing revs up 3M India sales
A strong showing in the automotive and specialty materials markets and an impressive performance in the traffic & safety and industrial markets have more than served to offset a decline in the performance of consumer and office markets of diversified major 3M India, formerly known as Birla 3M. The company, which is the domestic arm of the US-based 3M, has a large product portfolio straddling diverse markets. Apart from manufacturing products domestically, it also has access to the product basket of its parent that it imports and sells locally.
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Companies dump new corporate governance
The Indian corporate sector has made it clear that new corporate governance rules are unwelcome and the need is for tightening the existing laws. There is a feeling that new legislation will end up strangulating the business community. Industrialists gathered for the annual general meeting of CII today spoke in one voice against legislation on corporate governance. While the MNCs working in the country had earlier voiced concerns over the measures suggested by the committee, the domestic companies' reaction had been muted.
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CII to open office in Baghdad
CII would soon open an office in Baghdad to promote sub-contracts for Indian firms besides working with international agencies in post-war Iraq. The office, to be opened within two to three months, would aim at promoting sub-contracting for Indian companies in the reconstruction work in post-war Iraq, newly elected president of CII, Anand Mahindra told reporters here. It would have a consortium approach and would work with the UN and international agencies, he said.
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Yash Birla group plans entry into horticulture sector
The Yash Birla group, after its recent lifestyle stores' foray is now looking at an altogether different business for potential entry: horticulture sector.The group, which has a resource bank of about 500-1000 acres of land spread across different parts of the country plans to rope in an Israeli company to provide inputs notably in irrigation.
"Though we have not seriously examined this issue, we believe the lands could be put into productive use by growing horticulture produce for the export market. Some action should be forthcoming over the next year or two," Yash Birla told The Economic Times. He did not, however, comment on the investment proposed to be made.
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