Murugappa group to invest Rs.650 crore towards capacity expansion
Chennai: The Murugappa group proposes to invest Rs650 crore for expanding capacity at its various companies in the current financial year.

Among the larger investments proposed are Rs75-crore for Carborundum Universal to manufacture coated abrasives at Sriperumbudur and Rs60-crore for the Parryware division of EID Parry, to make sanitarywares near Erode.

The group also proposes to convert the three sugar units at Pudukottai, Pettavaithalia and Pugalur into fully integrated plants by putting up cogeneration and distillery units. The group will also spend around Rs50 crore on the acquisition of the sugar plant of New Horizon Mills, Pondicherry.

In 2004-05, the Murugappa Group's turnover crossed Rs6,250 crore, or about $1.44 billion. The group's profit before tax was Rs550 crore, 49 per cent more than the previous year. Total exports at Rs450 crore represented five per cent of turnover. In 2003-04, exports amounted to Rs250 crore.

All the major businesses of the group had a good year. Fertiliser production crossed two million tonnes and the group sold three lakh tonnes of sugar, including import of 92,000 tonnes raw sugar for processing.

Cholamandalam Insurance earned a premium income of Rs169 crore, compared with Rs97 crore in the previous year and it expected to break even this year.

To the Murugappa Group, its fertiliser and sugar businesses, apart from sanitaryware, would be the core areas and it has decided that there would be "no more increase in business clutter," company officials said.
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RIL reduces prices of products
Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd has lowered the prices of seven of its products for May, while leaving untouched the price of linear alkyl benzene (LAB).

Mono ethylene glycol saw the biggest price reduction, from Rs56.50 a kg in April to Rs48.60. The price of partially oriented yarn was reduced from Rs75.90 to Rs73 a kg, while that of polyester staple fibre was lowered from Rs70.50 to Rs67.50. The company also slashed the price purified terephthalic acid from Rs45.90 to Rs42.30.

Among the polymers, the company has reduced the price of polypropylene from Rs59.40 to Rs57.40; polyethylene from Rs57 to Rs54.50 and polyvinyl chloride from Rs46.50 to Rs44 a kg.
The price of LAB remained unchanged at Rs64.30 a kg for the month. The new prices are effective from May 1.
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Unilever exits tea plantation business as well
Mumbai: Unilever has also decided to exit the tea plantation business in India.

Unilever Overseas Holdings BV, the Netherlands-based wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever PLC and Lipton India Exports Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of HLL, have sold their stake in Rossell Industries to M.K.Shah Exports Ltd, an exporter and tea plantation company.

The two entities' combined holding in Rossell was 97.5 per cent. Local shareholders hold the remaining 2.5 per cent.

Unilever Overseas Holdings has divested 37 lakh shares while Lipton India Exports Ltd sold 61.85 lakh shares of Rossell to M.K.Shah Exports. "The interests of the employees will be fully protected as they continue to remain employees of Rossell Industries on the existing terms and conditions," a press release said.

Rossell Industries had come into Unilever fold in November 1999 as a result of acquisition of non-resident interests of Jokai Tea Holdings Ltd and Lipton India Exports Ltd taking over the shareholding from Y.K.Modi Group.

With the conclusion of this transaction, M.K.Shah Exports Ltd will now assume control of Rossell Industries Ltd, and Rossell Industries Ltd will cease to be subsidiary of Lipton India Exports Ltd and consequently of HLL, the company said.

The company said the transfer consideration is nominal and therefore not material in the context of HLL because of the significant losses built up in the businesses of Rossell over the years.
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Nagarjuna Const bags orders for Rs.150 crore
Hyderabad: Nagarjuna Construction Co Ltd has secured three orders worth Rs150 crore. These include widening and improving Karnataka State Highways for the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd; project work at HDPE unit for GAIL India, New Delhi and construction of residential quarters for Army College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, according to a company press release on Monday.
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Apollo Health sets industry landmark
New Delhi: Apollo Health Street Limited has inked a pact with Maxwell Mauritius and One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase in order to invest $7.5 million in the company. Maxwell Mauritius is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-headquartered Temasek Holdings.

With this new investment, Apollo Health Street is expected to expand and strengthen its operations in India, invest in customer-facing capabilities in North America and strive for inorganic growth opportunities.
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Maruti hikes prices of select models
New Delhi: Faced with rising input costs, the Maruti Udyog Ltd has effected a price hike on select models but has made no changes in the prices of its entry-level car 'M800' and the multi-utility 'Gypsy'.

The 'Alto LX' has become dearer by Rs1,906 to Rs2,77,908 while the mid-size 'Baleno' has seen the maximum price increase at 0.72 per cent. The 'Baleno LXi' price will now be up by Rs4,138 to Rs5,79,073. The price of the WagonR model has moved up by 0.15 per cent or Rs563. The WagonR LXi model will now come for Rs3,64,492.

The percentage hike on Zen model will be similar at 0.15 per cent, the company said. The LXi variant of the model will now cost Rs3,70,519. The hike on the mid-size Esteem will be 0.19 per cent or Rs900. The LXi variant of the model will now come for Rs4,70,323.

The increase on Versa will be 0.20 per cent, translating into a rise of Rs900. The Versa DX2 will cost Rs4,57,679.
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IT Dept asks for another Rs.50 crore from Infosys
Bangalore: Infosys Technologies Ltd has been asked to pay an additional Rs50 crore as tax for the year ended March 2002 by the Income-Tax authorities after the company was denied some exemptions under the I-T Act.

The I-T authorities on April 15 demanded Rs50 crore as additional tax, including interest of some Rs15 crore, after completing their tax review for the year, Infosys said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently.

"We intend to contest the demand and the management and its tax advisors believe that the company's position will likely be upheld in the appellate process," Infosys has said in the filing. The I-T department denied tax exemptions to Infosys under Section 10A of the I-T Act on some expenses incurred by the company in foreign currency.

"The management believes that the ultimate outcome of this proceeding will not have a material adverse effect on the company's financial position and results of operations," the company said.

Recently, Wipro was also asked to pay an additional Rs262 crore as income-tax for the year ended March 2002.

Meanwhile, Infosys has marginally raised its guidance under US GAAP for the year ending 2006. In an SEC filing, it said that its earnings per ADS have been revised to $1.95-$1.98, compared with $1.92-$1.95 announced on April 14, due to a change in the accounting requirements relating to stock options under US rules.

While issuing the guidance for the year, Infosys had made a provision of $8 million towards expenses relating to the grant of employee stock options. However, with the adoption of accounting standards SFAS 123 R being postponed to April 1, 2006 by the SEC, compared to the earlier deadline of July 1, 2005, the company feels that the charge may not be there.

Hence this upward revision of three cents in guidance, the sources said, adding that there will not be any change in the guidance issued under the Indian accounting standards.
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Corporate Results: Hero Honda, Maruti, Monnet Ispat, Goodlass Nerolac, Hyundai, Sterling Biotech, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Surana, Pentamedia

Hero Honda April sales up twenty per cent
New Delhi: Motorcycle major Hero Honda Motors has reported a 20 per cent rise in April sales at 2,35,422 units compared with 1,96,024 units sold in the corresponding month a year ago.

Hero Honda, which is the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in India, had posted a 27 per cent jump in its sales - 26,21,400 units - in the fiscal ended March 31, 2005.

The company, which boasts of almost 50 per cent share in the Indian bike market, had launched a new variant of 100-cc model 'CD Deluxe' in the month under review.

Munjals and Japan's Honda Motor hold 26 per cent stake each in Hero Honda Motors.

Maruti sales drop in April
New Delhi: Pulled down by falling export numbers as well as declining M800 sales, the country's biggest carmaker Maruti Udyog has reported a four per cent drop in sales in April 2005 at 38,190 units against 39,838 units in the same month last year.

The company, in which Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp holds 54.2 per cent, said exports fell by as much as 58 per cent this April to 1,218 units from 2,910 units in April last year.

Sales of the M800 model were down 38 per cent to 6,910 units from 11,097 units in the corresponding month last year.

Monnet Ispat net soars 337 per cent
New Delhi: Monnet Ispat has reported a whopping jump of 337 per cent in net profit at Rs123.83 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2005. The board has approved a dividend of 35 per cent, taking the total dividend for the fiscal to 60 per cent.

The company's turnover jumped by 152 per cent to Rs777.77 crore in 2004-05 from Rs309.59 crore in 2003-04.

Monnet recorded a 372 per cent increase in net profit at Rs36.12 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2005 on a turnover of Rs234.64 crore, which surged by 60 per cent.

Goodlass Nerolac FY05 net jumps by 59 percent
Mumbai: Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd has registered a 59 per cent increase in its net profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2005 at Rs91.96 crore compared to Rs57.96 crore for the last fiscal. The company has recommended a dividend of 115 per cent on the enhanced capital compared to 125 per cent of the previous year, the company has said.

Riding on the back of a strong performance by its automobile coating business, the company's total revenues for the year ended March 31, 2005 were up by 15.6 per cent to Rs1,069.02 crore as against Rs924.97 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2004.

The company's profit for the reporting quarter was up by 41.9 per cent to Rs18.89 crore compared to Rs13.31 crore while its total revenue rose by 10.7 per cent to Rs244.65 crore against Rs221.06 crore for the corresponding period last year.

Hyundai April sales rise 121 per cent
New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India has recorded an impressive 121 per cent growth in sales in April this year at 19,853 units. The company saw exports grow 97 per cent to 6,533 units. Growth in the domestic market was a whopping 134 per cent on sale of 13,300 units.

The company said the sales included 14,552 units of its flagship hatchback Santro, 1,026 units of Getz and 3,791 units of mid-size Accent.

It also sold 138 units of the 'Tucson', a SUV model it launched recently.

Sterling Biotech Q1 net jumps
New Delhi: Sterling Biotech Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs24.54 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 compared to Rs15.03 crore in the corresponding quarter in 2003-04.

Total income has increased to Rs80.22 crore against Rs110.65 crore in the year-ago period, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company has acquired the gelatin business from Rallis India Ltd effective April 1, 2004. The current quarter figures include operations of the same and therefore, previous quarter figures are not comparable, it said.

Bajaj Auto registers 36 per cent rise in sales
Mumbai: Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) has reported a 36 per cent rise in total sale of 2 and 3-wheelers to 1,65,045 units for April 2005, from the previous corresponding 1,21,399 units.

Sale of 2-wheelers increased by 40 per cent to 1,47,592 units (1,05,247 units), including a 52 per cent gain in motorcycle volumes to 1,37,858 units (90,532 units).

Three wheeler sales moved up by eight per cent to 17,453 units (16,152 units).

Exports were up 13 per cent to 19,007 units (16,838 units), an official statement said.

TVS Motor sales up 13 per cent in April
Chennai: TVS Motor Company's total two wheeler sales in April 2005 stood at 92,400 units compared with 81,032 units, during the same period last year, recording a growth of 14 per cent.

Motorcycle sales registered a 13 per cent growth. The company sold 52,825 units in April 2005 compared with 46,881 units recorded during the same period last year.

The company's latest product offering, TVS StaR, crossed the one-lakh mark since its launch. The Scooterette sales achieved a growth of 27 per cent at 19,279 units in April 2005 compared with 15,172 units recorded last year.

Moped sales stood at 20,296 units in April 2005 compared with 18,979 units in the same period last year, recording a growth of 7 per cent. TVS exported 6,291 two wheelers in April 2005 recording a growth of 108 per cent over the same month last year.

Surana Tele Q4 net at Rs3.02 crore
Hyderabad: The board of directors of Surana Telecom Ltd (STL) has resolved to restructure the company's business and to demerge its infrastructure business by transferring it to a new company. The move was to position itself as a telecom company and create strong market capitalisation, the company informed stock exchanges on Monday.

For the quarter and fiscal ended March 2005, the company has recorded a significant growth in both turnover and post-tax profit. While approving the audited financial results, the board has recommended a dividend of 20 per cent for the year.

For the quarter, the company posted a turnover of Rs30.53 crore as compared with Rs29.34 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. It reported a net profit of Rs3.02 crore (Rs2.43 crore).

For the fiscal ended March 2005, the company posted a net profit of Rs12.46 crore on a turnover of Rs119.17 crore as against a net profit of Rs4.27 crore on a turnover of Rs45 crore in the previous fiscal.

The STL board has also approved a proposal to issue partly convertible securities and/or preferential issue of shares.

Pentamedia Graphics Q4 net down to Rs.50 lakh
Chennai: Pentamedia Graphics Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs50 lakh on revenues of Rs16.04 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 compared to a net profit of Rs4.75 crore on revenues of Rs44.99 crore for the corresponding quarter last year.
Total expenditure was Rs8.03 crore (Rs34.77 crore) and interest Rs3.41 crore (Rs2.89 crore). For the year ended March 31, 2005, the company reported a net profit of Rs6.87 crore on revenues of Rs150.82 crore.
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