Infosys revenue tops $2bn
Bangalore: Infosys Technologies Ltd has crossed $2bn in revenue in its 25th year and has rewarded its shareholders with a 1:1 bonus and a special silver jubilee dividend of Rs30 a share.

The company has also declared a final dividend of Rs8.5 a share, which takes the total payout including the interim dividend and special dividend to Rs45 per share for 2005-06 amounting to Rs1,238 crore.

Net profit for the year was up 30 per cent at Rs2,458 crore on revenues of Rs 9,521 crore, which grew by 33.5 per cent over the previous year.

For the quarter ended March 2006, net profit was up 20.6 per cent at Rs673 crore on revenues of Rs2,624 crore, which grew by 32 per cent. Sequentially, net profit and revenues were up by 3.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively, which analysts felt were below expectations.
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Infosys strikes aggressive guidance stance for current fiscal
Bangalore: Contrary to its usual conservative stance, the Infosys management came out with an aggressive guidance for the current fiscal. For 2006-07, Infosys expects revenues to be in the range of Rs12,254 -12,446 crore, achieving year-on-year growth of 28.7-30.7 per cent. Earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be Rs113.85-115.61, a growth of 26.4 - 28.4 per cent.

Income for the first quarter is expected to be in the range of Rs2,793- 2,816 crore, showing growth of 34.8-35.9 per cent. EPS is expected to be Rs24.76-25.20, up 26.1-28.4 per cent.

Nandan Nilekani, CEO, president, and managing director said, "The global IT services market is poised for good growth as the spend is expected to be robust this year. We are in an excellent position in terms of brand to cash in on that," he added. According to him, the company's cash and cash equivalents exceeded $1bn.
Interestingly, Nilekani said that the guidance does not assume large deals, and that it would be mainly from secular organic growth.
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IOC to set up first commercial coal-to-liquid project
New Delhi: The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning to set up the first ever commercial coal-to-liquid (CTL) project in the country under a technical tie-up with South African firm Sasol. It will produce four million tonnes of synthetic crude oil using 120-130 million tonnes of domestic and imported coal.

IOC officials said the price of crude produced from this project will be around $50 a barrel. This crude will be processed at IOC's refineries to produce premium fuels like the high quality gasoil (diesel), LPG and naphtha (with high paraffinic qualities) that is best suited as a superior feedstock for crackers/naphtha based petrochemical projects.

Considering the huge crude oil imports undertaken by the country every year, with the current crude oil price hovering at over $65 a barrel (for Indian basket), the project is considered economically viable as it can produce crude at $50 a barrel.

However, with domestic coal production hovering around 400 million tonne and increase in future production largely expected to be consumed by the power sector, the proposed liquefaction project would have to depend heavily on imported coal.
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Shree Renuka Sugars plans $40-50mn ECB
Kolkata: Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd is planning an ECB (external commercial borrowing) of $40-50mn to fund its future expansion programme.

The promoters are also contemplating equity dilution, either through a GDR (global depository receipt) or a public issue or private placement, for raising funds.

According to company sources, Shree Renuka Sugars has already mandated Dutch banking major, ABN Amro, for the proposed ECB.

For the quarter ended March 31, the company recorded a total income of Rs236.91 crore, as against Rs210.84 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net profit increased by 207 per cent to Rs45.50 crore from Rs14.81 crore.

For the half-year period ended March 31, total income was Rs442.45 crore against Rs284.07 crore in the corresponding last half year. Net profit was Rs66.30 crore.

The directors have also agreed to increase the FII's holding limit to 49 per cent. As on December 31, 2005, the foreign shareholding in the company was 10.18 per cent.
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Hyundai mulls second engine, transmission plant in India
Hyderabad: Hyundai Motor India Ltd is all set to create new capacity to manufacture 6 lakh cars. This would put it in line to vie for the tag of the largest carmaker in India, a position currently held by Maruti.

Towards this end, the company is investing about $500 million in its second plant in Chennai, while its suppliers are investing another $100 million. The capacity will go up from 3 lakh to 6 lakh cars with these additions.

The company is also working out a multi-pronged approach towards the market with a slew of launches across user segments; increasing its range of diesel cars in the country; and setting up an R&D centre in Hyderabad.

It is also evaluating options for another engine and transmission plant in the country.
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Bearing Point sets up global development centre in Bangalore
Banglaore: Technology and management consulting firm Bearing Point, previously known as KPMG, set up a global development centre in Bangalore on Friday.

A team of 100 have already begun operations at the new facility, which covers an area of 55,000 sq ft and can seat 600. The company's "aggressive and strategic growth" plans include hiring 1,000 in the next two years, officials said. Majority of the company's workforce are senior consultants, with an average experience of 5.3 years vis-à-vis the industry average of 4.8 years.

The centre would offer full service abilities in sectors such as banking, insurance, telecom, retail, oil, manufacturing, hi-tech, life sciences and software product development. Capabilities include software development, ERP implementation, Application Integration and Management and Business Process Outsourcing.
Bearing Point already has a 300 odd team in Chennai, in partnership with Covansys. The team is currently executing 35 projects.
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