ONGC net profit up 9 per cent
New Delhi: The Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (
ONGC ) reported on Sunday a 9 per cent rise in profit
for the year ended march 2006. India's largest oil and
gas producer, ONGC said its profit after tax rose to 141.75
billion rupees ($3.14 billion) between April 2005 and
March 2006, up from 129.83 billion rupees in the previous
year.
"The
profitability is mainly due to higher crude prices and
higher prices of value-added products of which we have
increased production," ONGC chairman Subir Raha told
reporters at the company's annual news conference.
Global
crude prices have risen nearly 40 per cent but domestic
retail prices have increased just 15 percent due to government
price caps that aim to help control inflation.
As
a result, ONGC's subsidy bill nearly trebled to 120 billion
rupees in the year to March 2006, compared with 41 billion
rupees in the previous year.
Raha
said the firm -- through its subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd.--
had acquired 10 blocks in the last fiscal year outside
India, and increased production of oil and gas from its
assets abroad by more than 30 percent. ONGC has interests
in Sudan, Libya, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Russia and
Ivory Coast.
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ONGC
to invest Rs56,000 crore in additional refining capacity
New
Delhi: In sync with its strategy to emerge as a global
player, state-owned oil and gas exploration major, Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), on Sunday
said that it would invest Rs56,000 crore to build up a
refining capacity of 45.5 million tonnes by 2009-10.
"This
massive refinery investment programme includes our proposal
to invest nearly Rs 30,000 crore to set up a 15 million
tonnes per annum green-field refinery cum Integrated Petrochemical
Complex at the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in
Mangalore," the ONGC Chairman and Managing Director
Subir Raha told newspersons here.
"Apart
form this, we are investing Rs8000 crore to enhance the
existing capacity of our subsidiary - Mangalore Refinery
Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) from the existing 9.69 million
tonnes per annum to 15 million tonnes," he said.
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Daimler
Chrysler bullish on domestic market
Hyderabad:
Daimler Chrysler is bullish on India with the success
of its S and M-Class series and is at an advanced stage
of evaluating the option of a commercial vehicle plant.
This
could potentially be a completely built unit, though no
decision has been taken as yet, the managing director
and CEO of Daimler Chrysler India, Wilfried Aulber, said.
The
company is buoyed by sales in India in 2005 and is now
working towards a stronger growth this year not just from
traditional metros and cities, but also tier II centres
such as Coimbatore, Madurai, Mysore, Vizag and Vijayawada.
The
C and S-Class have been a hit with young, successful professionals
particularly in the IT sector, followed by entrepreneurs.
About 25 per cent of the sales come from Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
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Tata
Motors opposes imposition of anti-dumping duty on tyres
Kolkata:
The investigation over the alleged dumping of cross-ply
truck and bus tyres by China and Thailand has led to Tata
Motors' face-off with one of its major original equipment
tyre suppliers, Ceat Ltd.
To
illustrate its problems with tyre suppliers, Tata Motors
has, in its submission before the designated authority
in the Commerce Ministry, drawn attention to its problems
with Ceat. It has alleged that Ceat has throttled supplies
in order to achieve its pricing objectives.
The
auto major was opposing the petition from the Automotive
Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), Apollo Tyres and
Ceat demanding imposition of anti-dumping duty.
In
a communication dated January 30, A.S. Puri, DGM (Government
Affairs and Collaborations) of Tata Motors has said: "It
is increasingly observed that tyre manufacturers are resorting
to tactics such as throttling of supplies to OEMs (auto-makers)
at critical junctures, in order to achieve the pricing
objectives. Even with consistent increase in prices, supplies
have been inconsistent. To illustrate the case, supplies
from Ceat Ltd, have been extremely erratic and varied
from 4,850 to 29,664 per month between April 2004 and
December 2005."
The
communication provides details of monthly supplies from
Ceat during the period.
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Nahar
group to invest Rs1,050-cr in fabric production capacity
Nahar: Textile company Nahar Group plans to invest
Rs1,050 crore at Lalru (Punjab) by 2008 in order to augment
its spinning and weaving capacity. The investment is intended
to double the fabric production capacity of 1 lakh metres
per day by adding 1 lakh spindles and 250 looms to the
existing 1.5 lakh spindles and 426 looms.
To
finance the investment, the NIEL has issued zero-coupon
FCCBs aggregating $45 million. The remaining project cost
would be met through term loans under the TUFS (Technology
Upgradation Fund Scheme) and internal accruals.
NIEL
also plans to launch an initial public offering by September
to generate Rs200 crore, said Oswal.
The
facility at Lalru is spread over 550 acres. The Group
has invested Rs 1,500 crore in the facility.
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Sasken
Tech net marginally up
Bangalore: Telecom software maker Sasken Technologies
Ltd reported a marginal growth in its net profits and
a 27 per cent increase in revenues for the year-ended
March 31, over the previous year. Sasken directors have
recommended a dividend of Rs3 per share (30 per cent on
par value of Rs10 each) for the year.
Sasken
reported a net profit of Rs22.91 crore (after an exceptional
item of Rs6.76 crore) on consolidated revenues of Rs308.12
crore for FY06 as compared to a net of Rs22.78 crores
on revenues of Rs241.77 crore in the previous year.
The
exceptional item relates to the payment made against a
sum awarded in arbitration in a dispute with a customer
with whom a licensing agreement has been made.
For
the fourth quarter ended March 31, the company's net profits
declined sharply to Rs6.28 crore on increased revenues
of Rs78.05 crore as compared to a net of Rs10.94 crore
on revenues of Rs74.55 crore in corresponding quarter
last year.
The
company incorporated a development centre in China during
the fourth quarter, besides its Mexico centre. The recently
announced acquisition of Chennai-based Integrated SoftTech
Solutions does not have any impact on the business performance
for Q4 and FY06.
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