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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