Tata group develops human development index
Bangalore: The Tata group in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has developed an index for sustainable human development. According to the Tata Council of Community Initiatives (TCCI) this index helps enhance the human achievement in a particular initiative.

The council said that ten major Tata group companies have deployed this index. Nearly 20 group companies have spent more than Rs200 crore for various corporate social responsibility initiatives (CSR) during the last six to eight years.

The Tata Council is a nodal agency for Tata group concerning all issues on CSR, social development and environmental activities, bio-diversity restoration and volunteering. There are around 10,400 volunteers across the group companies involved with these activities.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has already stated that the Tata index can be dovetailed into the sustainability reporting process adding value not just to Tata companies and but also provide a model for inclusion in guidelines of the UN global reporting initiatives.

The Tata group is also working with the United Nations Declaration on the Global Compact, an initiative launched and spearheaded personally by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General.

Under the Compact, business corporations are encouraged to directly join the United Nations initiatives to uphold and promulgate a set of core values in the domain of human rights, labour standards, ethical, environmental and anti-corruption practices.

In India, 90 companies have enrolled for the Compact out of a total of over 1,500 corporations in the world. Out of these 27 are Tata companies, which have signed the Compact in the first year. The Tata group's software arm TCS has been working with the South African Government in the country's adult literacy programme, by providing a software that aids tribesmen to become literate.

Titan Industries recently at the request of the South African Government is conducting a six-month training in jewellery manufacturing skills to a batch of rural South African women workers at their Hosur plant. These trained workers will then return to their native land to start independent activities putting into use what they learnt from Titan.
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First indigenous rabies vaccine launched
Mumbai: The Serum Institute of India Ltd has launched the first locally developed Human Diploid Cell (HDC) rabies vaccine "Rabivax".

The new product assumes significance, given that India carries about 40 per cent of the global load of rabies cases. The HDC rabies vaccine is more stable and the quality of the vaccine would not get affected if there were a problem with refrigeration during storage.

HDC vaccines are considered to be better than tissue culture vaccines, and they offer better protection. Company officials vouched for the vaccine's safety standards and added that it had minimum adverse reactions.

Priced at Rs293 per dose, Rabivax is comparable to other products in the market, such as the vaccine from Aventis. The size of the market for rabies vaccines is about Rs150 crore and the Rs 550-crore Institute was looking to export Rabivax to Egypt, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
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BEL pays 100 per cent dividend
Bangalore: Bharat Electronics Ltd has paid the Defence Ministry 100 per cent dividend amounting to Rs60.69 crore for the fiscal year 2003-04.

The highest dividend so far includes a 20 per cent special one-time Golden Jubilee Year dividend, an official release said.
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Pawan Hans pays Rs.17.5 crore dividend
New Delhi: Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL) has paid a total dividend of Rs17.5 crore to the Government and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the financial year 2003-04.
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Hind Sanitaryware to issue bonus shares
Hyderabad: Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd has decided to issue bonus shares in the ratio of two shares for every three existing shares. The board's recommendation, if approved, will take the company's paid-up equity up to Rs9.31 crore from the existing Rs5.61 crore.

For the second quarter of the current fiscal ended September 30, the company posted a growth of 25.47 per cent in net profit from operations at Rs5.32 crore (Rs4.24 crore) and 46.97 per cent growth in profit after current year tax at Rs2.91 crore (Rs1.98 crore) on a turnover of Rs67.02 crore (Rs64.39 crore).

With the company going in for prepayment of high cost loans to the tune of Rs20 crore in the last 18 months, the interest burden has come down substantially. Further, the company plans to prepay the existing Rs29 crore of debt, carrying an average interest rate of 13 per cent, in the next 18 months. Hindustan Sanitaryware is currently firming up both organic and inorganic growth plans.
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Tata Motors Q2 PAT up 49.6 per cent
Mumbai: The Tata Motors Ltd has reported a 49.6 per cent rise in profit after tax for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, to Rs309.21 crore as against the previous corresponding Rs206.68 crore.

The operating margin at 12.5 per cent (13.8 per cent) continued to be under pressure due to high input costs.

Net sales/income from operations was up 30.5 per cent to Rs4,147.05 crore (Rs3,177.73 crore for the year ago period). Total vehicle sales increased by 22.33 per cent to 95,576 units (78,125 units).

Other income moved up to Rs70.59 crore (Rs22.78 crore). It included a profit of Rs28.53 crore on part sale of Tata Motors' equity stake in Haldia Petrochemicals. Net interest was higher at Rs39.78 crore (Rs25.99 crore).

While gross debt is at Rs2,863 crore but net debt (after netting surplus cash) is a negative Rs640 crore. Inventory has reduced to 33 days of sale (36 days) and receivables are at nine days (16 days).

Tata Motors' six subsidiaries together returned a profit before tax of Rs 48.4 crore (Rs10.7 crore) on a total turnover of Rs592.2 crore (Rs238.5 crore). This included its Korean arm, TDWCV, which had a profit before tax of Rs6.7 crore on revenues of Rs300 crore. Over July-September 2004 TDWCV sold 1,198 units (902 units).
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Tata Steel Q2 profit up 130 per cent
Mumbai: Tata Steel has reported a 130 per cent increase in net profit at Rs929.59 crore for the second quarter of 2004-05 as against Rs403.10 crore in the year-ago period. Sales for the first half stood at Rs4,107.31 crore (Rs2,940.98 crore).

Sales of branded products increased to Rs1,499 crore from Rs1,033 crore previously. Branded products offer a premium of 10-15 per cent on prices.

The EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin moved up to 44.59 per cent (30.46 per cent).
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SAIL Q2 net up at Rs.1,513 crore
New Delhi: SAIL has reported a net profit of Rs1,513.15 crore on a total income of Rs6,789.42 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal. The steel major had reported a net profit of Rs505.16 crore on a total income of Rs5,116.25 crore in the same quarter last year.

For the six-month period ended September 30, the company has reported a 245 per cent increase in net profit at Rs2,624.74 crore from Rs759.85 crore earlier.

Total income in the first half stood at Rs12,116.46 crore (Rs9,394.92 crore). Sales turnover in the first half increased by 25 per cent over the same period previous year to Rs13,026 crore.

Domestic sales at 4.38 million tonnes were was about 2.4 per cent higher. The company also reduced debt by about Rs 1,783 crore during the first half. The company may look into the possibility of declaring an interim dividend during the current fiscal.
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HPCL Q2 net down 33.6 per cent
Mumbai: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's second quarter net profit has declined by 33.6 per cent to Rs294 crore in the July-September quarter from Rs443 crore in the same quarter last year.

But HPCL's income has risen by 15.4 per cent to Rs13,500 crore for the September ending quarter from Rs11,700 crore in the Q2 of 2003-04.
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Tata Steel, L&T join hands for Dhamra port project
Mumbai: Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) have announced that they were setting up a 50:50 joint venture for the Dhamra Port project in Orissa.

The project, estimated to cost around Rs1,500 crore-1,700 crore, will comprise an equity component of Rs350 crore; the rest being debt. The port planned over two phases will have a handling capacity of 25 million tonnes per annum. It will become operational by December 2007.

The Dhamra port will be the deepest port in the world at 18-metre depth. It will have a turnaround time of one-and-a-half days and will be the most cost-effective port on the east coast It will be a highly mechanised port.

Tata Steel will be the main cargo provider in the initial stages of the port. Currently, Tata Steel's cargo is around 3 million tonnes; this could go up to 10 million tonnes by the time the project is ready.
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i-flex Q2 net down 28.7 per cent
Mumbai: I-FLEX Solutions Ltd has reported a 28.7 per cent decrease in net profit for the quarter ended September 30 largely on account of a steep increase in cost of revenues.

Net profit amounted to Rs37.27 crore, down from Rs52.2 crore during the corresponding previous period. Revenues rose 19.5 per cent to Rs201.8 crore (Rs168.85 crore), according to the notice sent by the company to the stock exchanges.

As per the consolidated results under Indian GAAP, net profit dipped 16.2 per cent to Rs41.7 crore (Rs49.8 crore). This is despite revenues rising 36.9 per cent to Rs255.8 crore (Rs187 crore). Cost of revenues rose 78.2 per cent to Rs141 crore (Rs79.1 crore). Gross profit showed a 6.4 per cent increase to Rs114.8 crroe (Rs107.9 crore).

Income from operations at Rs 48.9 crore showed a 11.7 per cent dip, down from Rs 55.3 crore.
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