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Nalco to pay 40 per cent dividend on strong metal prices
Kolkata: National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has declared a 40-per cent dividend for 2005-06. The pay out is estimated at Rs257.72 crore which includes 20 per cent interim dividend paid during February, 2005.

The public sector company posted a net profit of Rs1,234.84 crore in the year under review which was 67 per cent per cent more than the net profit of Rs737.37 crore in the previous year.

Nalco has performed well partly due to the buoyant international aluminium market as the average LME price of metal remained strong at $1,778.49 per tonne in 2004-05 compared to $1494.85 per tonne in 2003-04.

The company achieved record turnover of Rs4,374.60 crore in 2004-05, surpassing the previous high of Rs3,324.84 crore in 2003-04.

Total foreign exchange earning at Rs2,200.25 crore is also a new record against the previous year's figure of Rs1,717.27 crore.
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McDowell to raise $250 million in international markets
McDowell & Company is planning to raise $250 million (nearly Rs 1,125 crore) by issue of global depository receipts (GDRs) or foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs).

The board has also proposed to increase of authorised share capital of the company from
Rs60 crore to Rs170 crore, which would include preference and equity share capital.

The increase in the authorised capital is to facilitate the issue of both equity shares of around
Rs34 crore and preference shares of around Rs60 crore to the shareholders of the transferor companies, after the proposed amalgamation of various companies with itself, and the balance of around Rs25 crore to meet the fund raising activities.

The present paid-up equity share capital stands at Rs51.72 crore against the authorised capital of Rs60 crore.

The company will convene an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the company on November 07, 2005 to seek approval of the shareholders for raising funds and increase in authorised capital.
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PSL likely to get HPCL project
New Delhi: PSL has emerged as a successful bidder for the coating contract of the Mundra-Delhi pipeline project of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and is expected to receive an order of approximately Rs72 crore for this project.

The company's first project with HPCL has already commenced at Varsana Works.
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Apollo Tyres pulls out of joint venture with Michelin
New Delhi: Apollo Tyres has pulled out of the joint venture it formed with French tyre company Michelin and has sold its 49 per cent equity to the company for an estimated Rs3 crore.

Sources said the payment was based on "fair" book value and Apollo was getting back more or less what it had invested in the venture.

Michelin Apollo Tyres was set up two years ago to manufacture truck and bus radial tyres. Its manufacturing plant, coming up in Ranjangaon near Pune, was scheduled to start production by the end of this financial year.

The joint venture was importing radial tyres from China and selling under both Apollo and Michelin brands. It had almost 30 dealers across the country, each believed to have invested between Rs30 and Rs50 lakh in exclusive state-of-art outlets.

Michelin has again parted with an Indian joint venture partner. In 1995, it had forged a venture with Chennai-based MRF for manufacturing aeronautic tyres. The joint venture failed to take off after the partners failed to agree on Michelin increasing its equity from 5 per cent to 26 per cent.
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Tata Motors hit by strike
Mumbai: Tata Motors' Jamshedpur plant was hit by a strike with 6,000-odd workers staying away from work, demanding a profit-linked bonus.

A spokesperson for Tata Motors said the labour union demanded a change in the existing bonus payment structure.

The company is hopeful of a resolution soon on the issue.

According to him, the company has been paying the annual bonus — a combination of a percentage of monthly wage and a worker's productivity — in line with the Bonus Act.

The union has termed this is a token strike and if the management does not meet its demand, the strike will be extended.

The Tata Motors stock closed at Rs534.45 at the Bombay Stock Exchange today, 0.3 per cent below the previous closing.
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Agro Tech Foods' to help heartsick kids
Hyderabad: Agro Tech Foods, a premium segment edible oils company has joined hands with Narayana Hrudayalaya, a heart care hospital in Bangalore, to assist children suffering from heart problems.

The company has agreed to donate Re1 on every litre of Sundrop Heart it sold for a period of three months beginning September 15. In another health drive the company will conduct 'body mass index' (BMI) checks extensively in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

BMI is a measure to gauge obesity, a major risk factor for heart problems.
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New Tanishq campaign to up growth
Bangalore: Titan has launched a new campaign, backed by a Rs8 crore budget, called 'New Tales of Tradition' during this festive season. Tanishq revenues in 2004-05 touched Rs535 crore.

The company claims that the campaign is the biggest ever in the Indian jewellery market. Tanishq will also expand its outlets, from the present 75 across 55 cities to 85 by the end of the year.
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Philips Semiconductors to make low cost handsets a reality
Bangalore: Philips Semiconductors will soon introduce mobile handsets that cost less than Rs1,000.

The company says that it would work with local players in India to build an "indigenous product" for an MRP of $20, which may be released sometime next year.

According to the company its Nexperia range of integrated chips (IC) for mobiles can be programmed to make this product a reality.

Brought by a Chinese manufacturer, these Nexperia based handsets are available for an MRP of $25 in China.

Many vendors are working on sub-$30 handsets. German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon recently announced a sub-$20 single-chip platform for mobile handsets.
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Sterling, illycaffe tie up for coffee machines
New Delhi: The Sterling which now owns Barista Coffee Company, has entered into a tie up with Italian company's Illycaffe to invest up to $20 million over the next five years for installing 6,000 coffee machines in the country.

Sterling Infotech Group's Fresh & Honest Cafe Ltd (F&H) will be illycaffe's exclusive distributor in India and will be responsible for taking Illy products to consumers.

Chennai-based F&H will install the espresso machines in hotels, cafes and restaurants apart from corporate companies and public places.

F&H will also address the out-of-home and at-home markets.

Sterling Infotech Group acquired 100 per cent stake in coffee chain outlet Barista last year. Currently, Barista has 130 outlets throughout the country and will have over 250 shops by end of 2006.
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