GE targeting eight-fold growth in India: Immelt
Mumbai: General Electric Company is targeting revenues of $8bn for its India operation by 2010.

Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO, GE, in his address to the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday, said that the multinational will focus on sectors such as energy, oil and gas, financial services, water, and R&D in order to achieve this eight-fold rise in revenues.

The company's India revenues touched $1.1bn last year.

Immelt said that the multinational would intensify its focus on infrastructure, adding an additional $100mn to the GE India Development Fund. The fund has already received $145mn, from the proceeds received from the settlement of the Dabhol power project.

Immelt also detailed the company's new financial services goals. "GE is bullish about the financial services sector in India and will invest as appropriate to grow its commercial and consumer financial services businesses," he said. "We remain interested in entering the banking sector in India, in line with Reserve Bank of India guidelines."

The next ten years will be critically important for India with respect to infrastructure and general economic development, he said.
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Cairn gets management nod for field development plans
New Delhi: Cairn Energy has said that the management committee comprising the Directorate General - Hydrocarbons, ONGC and Cairn, has given its nod to the field development plans (FDPs) for the Mangala, Aishwariya, Saraswati and Raageshwari fields in Rajasthan.

In an official communique, the company said, "The FDPs for the four fields in Block RJ-ON-90/1, Rajasthan, have now been approved by the management committee. This final approval follows the earlier agreement on the FDPs reached at the joint venture operating committee between Cairn and ONGC."

In order to finance its share of the northern fields development project, the company is in the process of finalising a $1bn bank facility, which it intends signing before the end of the next month, Cairn said.

Cairn holds material exploration and production positions in western and eastern parts of the country and Bangladesh, along with new exploration rights in both India and Nepal.

Cairn has now made 18 discoveries in Rajasthan.

India currently imports approximately 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). It produces approximately 650,000 bopd itself of which 50,000 bopd comes from the Cairn operated Ravva field on the east coast.
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L&T & Toyo win IOCL's naphtha cracker plant contract
Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has said that the consortium it has formed with Toyo Engineering Corporation (Toyo), Japan, has succeeded in winning a large scale turnkey contract valued at over Rs26,000 million from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL).

This contract is for project management, engineering, procurement and construction of a naphtha cracker and associated units at IOCLs Panipat petrochemical complex in Haryana.

Toyo, the leader of the consortium, would undertake work for the cracker plant section on EPC basis and overall project management, while L&T would undertake work for the cracker heaters and associated units, namely C4 hydrogenation, pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation, and benzene extraction units, also on EPC basis.

The share of L&T's Petrochemical Business Unit in the contract is Rs9000 million.

Once operational, this naphtha cracker would be one of the largest plants in India. IOCL would process naphtha from its Panipat, Mathura and Gujarat refineries to produce ethylene, propylene and benzene at this naphtha cracker.

The technology for the cracker is licensed by IOCL from ABB Lummus of USA.
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Vizag Steel to generate 12 MW of renewable energy
Vizag: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) has earmarked about Rs100 crore for generating 12 MW power through renewable energy sources. The steel plant has drawn up a renewable energy policy to fulfil its vision of becoming a world-class energy efficient unit.

VSP would substitute 5 pc of its total electrical energy and petro-fuel requirements through renewable energy sources. Towards this end, the company proposes to generate about 12 MW of electricity from non-conventional energy sources, regardless of cost, to realise its goal of achieving energy independence.

VSP proposes to generate about 0.4 MW from solar energy sources, 0.9 MW from bio diesel plants, 0.4 MW from urban waste and about 10 MW of wind energy.

As part of its initiative to generate power from bio-diesel plants, VSP has launched plantation of 'jatropha' and 'pongamia' varieties and aims at raising the two varieties of plants in 1,140 acres by 2008.

By 2011-12, the steel plant expects to produce 2,550 tonnes of bio-diesel plants. Apart from this, it proposes to install solar lighting system to illuminate parks, steel plant and township.
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Samsung targets sale of one lakh flat panel TVs in '06
Mumbai: Samsung India is expanding in the organised retail market and in talks with various retail players. Meanwhile it has launched it's Bordeaux series of LCD Panels. With the new range, the company claims to have the widest range of LCD televisions in the country.

The company expects to sell one lakh sets of flat panel televisions by the end of December this year.

As part of its $20 million investment, the company will begin manufacturing LCD televisions in its Noida facility from the third quarter this year. Initially about 5,000 sets per month will be manufactured. At present, the company has a 28% share of the Indian colour television market and expects to increase this to 32%.

It produces two million CTV sets per year.
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BBC World to become a pay channel from June 15
New Delhi: BBC World will become a pay channel from 15 June this year for all viewers in South Asia, including India.
In a statement the channel has said that Integrated Receiver Decoders (IRDs) will be made available to key Multi System Operators (MSO's), cable operators and hoteliers in South Asia to facilitate the move.

"The transition from a free-to-air, to a subscription model is a natural progression for the channel in South Asia. This change is in response to the dynamic and rapidly expanding cable TV and DTH satellite market across the region," said the channels director of distribution and business development, Jef Hazel.

Officials claimed that the latest move would not affect the existing viewership of about 15 million households and 60,000 hotel rooms that the channel has at present in India.
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Hughes to roll out 1,000 broadband kiosks this year
New Delhi: US-based communication firm Hughes Communication will roll out 1,000 broadband kiosks across the country this year. The broadband kiosks will be linked using satellite technology and will offer high speed Internet at the rate of 25 paise a minute.

Apart from Internet, the kiosks will also offer telephony services using the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.

The company said that the kiosks will offer data and voice solutions at tariffs that will be among the lowest in the market.

The company already has 250 such kiosks, across 95 towns, in the country.

The company has also changed its name from Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd (HECL) to Hughes Communications India Ltd.
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NIIT & Sun Microsystems join hands
NIIT Ltd has announced that along with Sun Microsystems India Pvt Ltd it has launched an initiative to expand the technology horizons of India's large student population by introducing specialised education and training programmes on Sun technologies.

Students emerging from these programmes will further grow the Java and Solaris developer communities in the country.

Through this alliance, the company will have access to the latest Sun technologies, tools, technical resources and curricula on the Java and Solaris platforms.

The initial launch will focus on the Sun Java platform while Solaris will be addressed later this year.
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Blue Dart introduces first Boeing 757s in India
Mumbai: Blue Dart Express Ltd has announced the induction of two Boeing 757-200 freighters into its air express fleet. The aircraft were acquired on lease by Blue Dart Aviation which has an agreement with the Company to utilise its aircraft for dedicated domestic air services.

The addition of the 757s will augment Blue Darts freighter fleet of five aircraft, and will increase capacity from 166 to 250 tonnes per night to service growing demand.

Blue Darts charter capabilities within the county will also be fortified. The route network will be extended to 60 with the addition of 21 route connections to the existing 39.
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Corporate results: DLF Universal, Rajesh Exports Ltd , Ipca Laboratories Ltd, Tata Chemicals, Hero Honda, Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Ltd

DLF Universal net up at Rs199.4 cr
DLF Universal has announced a net profit of Rs199.4 crore for the year ended March 2006, as against Rs83.7 crore in the previous year, and said that its proposed mega public offer was "on track".

The company's turnover during the period in reference stood at Rs1259.1 crore compared to Rs630.2 crore in the previous fiscal.

According to the percentage completion method for the year 2005-06, the company's net profit stands at Rs411 crore against Rs85.91 crore in the previous fiscal. "However, as per the stipulated norms, this method has to be restated into the previous years and hence the net profit comes to Rs199.4 crore," Ramesh Sanka, Group CFO of DLF Universal, said.

Rajesh Exports enters billion $ club
Rajesh Exports Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has entered the billion dollar club by posting revenues for the year ended 2006 in excess of US $ 1bn. The total revenue of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2006 were Rs54836.60 million.

The Company said that its consistent performance in registering a sizeable growth rate year after year can be attributed to its fully integrated operations, as well as its cost effective technologies.

Rajesh Exports Ltd has also informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on May 30, 2006 has recommended a dividend of 100% to all the shareholders for the financial year ended March 31, 2006, subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing annual general meeting of the company.

This is second consecutive year, company has announced a dividend of 100%.

Ipca Laboratories announces Q4 & FY 06 results
Ipca Laboratories Ltd has announced the following results for the quarter & year ended March 31, 2006:

The unaudited results are as follows

The Company has posted a net profit (after exceptional items) of Rs179.60 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 (Q4 FY 05-06) as compared to Rs145.90 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 (Q4 FY 04-05). Total Income (net of Excise Duty & Sales Tax) has increased from Rs1643.90 million in Q4 FY 04-05 to Rs1806.90 million for Q4 FY 05-06.

The audited results are as follows

The Company has posted a net profit (after exceptional items) of Rs639.80 million for the year ended March 31, 2006 (FY 05-06) as compared to Rs807.10 million for the year ended March 31, 2005 (FY 04-05). Total Income (net of Excise Duty & Sales Tax) has increased from Rs6854.50 million in FY 04-05 to Rs7533.00 million for FY 05-06.

The audited Consolidated results are as follows

The Group has posted a net profit (after exceptional items) of Rs615.00 million for the year ended March 31, 2006 (FY 05-06) as compared to Rs740.80 million for the year ended March 31, 2005 (FY 04-05). Total Income (net of Excise Duty & Sales Tax) has increased from Rs6884.30 million in FY 04-05 to Rs7600.20 million for FY 05-06.

The Board has recommended a final dividend of Rs3/- per share (30%) for the financial year 2005-06. Together with the interim dividend of Rs2.50 per share (25%) already declared and paid, the total dividend for the financial year amounts to Rs5.50 per share (55%).

Tata Chemicals Q4 net profit declines 42 pc
In results declared on Tuesday Tata Chemicals Ltd (TCL) for 2005-06 has posted 3.66 per cent growth in profit after tax at Rs353.03 crore (Rs340.55 crore) and 16.93 per cent rise in net sales/income from operations at Rs3,517.48 crore (Rs3,008.14 crore).

The board has recommended a dividend of Rs7 per share.

Capacity expansion at Magadi in Kenya, the low-cost soda ash facility came aboard with Brunner Mond's acquisition, is nearing completion.

TCL has shown a 42.03 per cent decline in profit after tax for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, at Rs64.42 crore from the previous corresponding quarter at Rs111.13 crore.
P.K. Ghose, Chief Financial Officer, maintained the quarters were not comparable owing to factors on the tax front and one-time expenses.

Q4 net sales/income from operations was up 4.66 per cent at Rs753.09 crore (Rs719.56 crore). For 2005-06, the company posted 3.66 per cent growth in PAT at Rs353.03 crore (Rs340.55 crore) on 16.93 per cent rise in net sales/income from operations to Rs3,517.48 crore (Rs3,008.14 crore).

The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 7 (Rs 6.50) per share.

Hero Honda net up 29%
Hero Honda Motors on Tuesday reported a 29-per-cent jump in its net profit for the fourth quarter and has also announced its plans to set up a new plant in Jaipur at an initial investment of Rs320 crore.

The company's net profit in the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2006, stood at Rs267.19 crore, as compared to Rs207.11 crore for the same period last year. Total income rose 16 per cent to Rs2,299 crore. The company said that it expected a double-digit volume growth this year, but operating margins, which rose to 14.92 per cent in the fiscal fourth-quarter (13.78 per cent), would be under pressure.

Bombay Dyeing posts net loss for Q4 2005-06
Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Ltd has announced the following audited results for the quarter & year ended March 31, 2006:

The company has posted a net loss of Rs74.00 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 (Q4 FY 05-06) as compared to net loss of Rs34.40 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 (Q4 FY 04-05). Total income (net of excise) has decreased from Rs2907.30 million in Q4 FY 04-05 to Rs2188.50 million for Q4 FY 05-06.

The company has posted a net profit of Rs613.40 million for the year ended March 31, 2006 (FY 05-06) as compared to Rs265.60 million for the year ended March 31, 2005 (FY 04-05). Total income (net of excise) has decreased from Rs10493.90 million in FY 04-05 to Rs10341.40 million for FY 05-06.

Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 30, 2006, inter alia, has recommended a dividend of Rs5/- per equity share of Rs10/- each for the year ended March 31, 2006.
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