Britannia Q1 net up at Rs.60 crore
Mumbai: Britannia Industries has posted a 109.79 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 60 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2004, up from Rs 28.6 crore reported in Q1 of previous fiscal. Total income (net of excise) increased to Rs 435.8 crore in the period under review from Rs 345.5 crore in Q1 of FY-04, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange today.
Back to News Review index page  

TCS sells BPO stake to HDFC
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services has reached an agreement with HDFC to sell its stake in the BPO joint venture - Intelenet Global Service Ltd (IGSL) - to HDFC for a consideration of Rs 161 crore. According to the company, the decision is in line with TCS's strategy to focus on BPO activities that revolves around transaction and domain processing. For HDFC, the continued growth (witnessed) in Intelenet's business has made it necessary to consolidate ownership of the company, according to a HDFC press release.

Having recorded revenues of Rs 117 crore last year with net profit of Rs 10.8 crore, Intelenet plans to invest Rs 200 crore towards building infrastructure and technology. IGSL currently has six delivery centres, including two facilities in Mumbai, Chennai, the US, Canada and the UK. Intelenet was set up by HDFC and TCS in June 2000 with a 50-50 equity and provides BPO services including voice, back office and accounting processes to 18 clients operating in the banking, insurance, telecom, retail and hospitality industry.
Back to News Review index page  

BOC India to install first gas plant in the south
Kolkata: BOC India Ltd proposes to set up a tonnage merchant plant at Hyderabad. This will be the sixth of its kind in the BOC family and the first in South India. The company said that the 190-tpd plant would be producing liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon and the total investment is estimated at Rs 65 crore.

The Hyderabad plant, to be commissioned in November 2005, would cater to the growing gas requirements of pharmaceuticals, fabrication, biotech and other industries in the South. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, BOC India's net profit amounted to Rs 4.32 crore as compared to Rs 2.16 crore in the same period of the last fiscal. The company's project engineering division has secured a number of orders for erection and commissioning of air separation units (ASU) on turnkey basis. The orders included setting up of a Rs 100 crore 1,260-tpd ASU for steel major in Western India. The orders were also secured from Cochin Refineries Ltd and Hindustan Zinc.
Back to News Review index page  

AirTel and Micro Tech launch vehicle security system
Hyderabad: The mobile telecom services provider AirTel has announced a strategic alliance with Micro Technologies in Andhra Pradesh to launch `Mcops' a vehicle black box security system which according to the company is the first of its kind initiative by any cellular player in the country. The Mcops system helps in intrusion detection, audio, visual alert, immobilisation confirmation and two-way communication. The Intrusion Detection Security system enables the car owner to detect any unauthorised access to his car. The disturbance created enables the 'Mcops' system to send an instant message on the mobile or e-mail the authorised user about the unauthorised access. The immobilisation is based on a simple SMS command that shuts off the engine of the car.
Back to News Review index page  

TCS Q1 net at Rs.519 crore
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Service has recorded a 71 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs.519 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2004 as compared with Rs.303 crore in the corresponding previous period. According to the figures released during the first round of road shows for the IPO, revenues showed a 40 per cent rise at Rs.2, 134 crore for the first quarter of 2004-05, as against Rs.1, 526 crore for the first quarter of 2003-04.
Revenues and net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2004 were Rs.2, 037.5 crore and Rs.469.7 crore, respectively. The company has posted 27 per cent CAGR in revenues over the last four years. For fiscal 2004, the company's revenues stood at Rs.7, 122.73 crore and net profit amounted to Rs.1, 612.45 crore.

Addressing a press conference, Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, said the Rs.2, 300 crore that will be transferred to Tata Sons from the IPO would be used for restructuring its balance sheet, promoting new companies and entering new business areas. The funds would also help in supporting existing businesses and increasing Tata Sons' shareholding in them over a period of time. TCS would also look at listing itself at overseas exchanges at a future date, Mr Tata said. The IPO is opening on July 29 and the price band has been fixed at Rs.775-900.
Back to News Review index page  

TCS plans Rs.600 crore capital expenditure
Mumbai: The Tata Consultancy Services has a capital expenditure plan of Rs.600 crore for the current financial year, up from Rs.250 crore during the last financial year. This would go towards technological expenditure and up gradation of domestic infrastructure. According to the company the capital expenditure will be generated by internal accruals. The company will be hiring over 5,000 employees during the current fiscal. Its employee strength is currently 30,121, of which 29,177 are on the Indian payroll. TCS is expanding its facilities in the country. Its 70-acre campus off Chennai is being expanded. Workspace at its 24-acre campus in Andheri in Mumbai is also undergoing augmentation. A new 10-acre campus is coming up in Thane, sister-city to Mumbai, and another campus is being set up in Kolkata.
Back to News Review index page  

Cadbury is back with new packaging
Pune: The country's largest-selling chocolate manufacturer Cadbury India Ltd has said that it is now back on the track with growth rates going back to the days before it received a setback in the market following large-scale complaints of infestation of its products in the market place last October. It has imported machinery for auto-wrapping and put in place a new packaging system designed to keep infestation at bay and a comprehensive quality control audit that continuously monitors its retail network to ensure proper handling of products.

The company, which recorded loss in sales of an estimated Rs 70 crore immediately after the peak-Diwali season reports of infestations of its products, is now showing healthy growth and said turnover this year will exceed Rs 720 crore it recorded last year. The other players in the market comprise Nestle, which has an estimated 29 per cent share, and the remaining 1 per cent shared by Amul and a host of regional level players. Meanwhile, the company is in the process of setting up a new plant at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh which will initially manufacture 1,000 tonnes/day of its malt-based drink, Bournvita. Cadbury already has three existing manufacturing facilities at Thane, Indur and Malanpur (Gwalior) in additional to third party operations.
Back to News Review index page