Indian Oil dividend payout at Rs1,460-cr
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation has paid out a total dividend of 125 per cent amounting to Rs1,460 crore for the financial year 2005-06 on the total share capital of Rs1,168 crore. The company presented a cheque for Rs1,197.60 crore, representing the dividend payable to the Government of India as 82 per cent equity holder in the company, to Murli Deora, minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Indian Oil has so far paid a cumulative dividend of Rs11,602 crore to its shareholders, the company said in a statement. IOC's net profit during the year 2005-06 was Rs4,915 crore.
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REL, Tata Power to pay higher tariffs
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has increased the power tariff for Reliance Energy and Tata Power by five to seven per cent with effect from October 1. The new tariff structure will remain in force till March 31, 2007. While consumers of Reliance power will have to shell out 7.5 per cent more, those of Tata Power will have to pay 5.6 per cent more.

Consumers of Reliance Power will also have to bear an average increase of 24 per cent. This is due to the commission's decision to recover the revenue gap of Rs350 crore through an additional energy charge of Rs0.97 per kWh, which will be payable by all consumer categories, except below poverty line (BPL) category, for the six month period. The commission has also decided that in case of any inter-utility power exchange within the State other than the `contracted' power procurement, the rate applicable would be marginal cost of the supplying utility.

The tariffs have been so determined so that the cross-subsidy is reduced without subjecting consumers to a `tariff shock' and also to consolidate the movement towards uniform tariffs throughout Mumbai.

The commission has also introduced a new category for BPL consumers, who consume less than 30 units per month - the tariff for these consumers has been specified as 40 paise per unit.
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United Spirits to restructure operations
Bangalore: United Spirits which is part of the UB Group has began restructuring its entire operations based on recommendations from management consultants, Accenture.

As part of the medium-term growth plan, Accenture has drawn up several growth initiatives for United Spirits. There would be increased focus on topline and profits.

The company has introduced a balanced score card to assess performance of the employees. The company was also in the process of revising incentive system to include a long-term component in addition to short-term incentive scheme. In addition to annual performance, accountability for three-year strategic plan has also been included.

Accenture had also said that total savings from synergies in operations would be around Rs100 crore on a sustainable basis at 50 paise per bottle. The company, in its presentation to analysts last month, had said the performance metrics would be aligned with that of the strategic plan. For example, value growth would lead to volume growth while EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) percentage should be increased by a minimum of 100 basis points on a year on year basis.
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NPIL acquires Boots' stake in JV co
Mumbai: Indian drug-maker Nicholas Piramal India has acquired the balance 51 per cent equity held by The Boots Company Plc in the joint venture company Boots Piramal Healthcare a 49:51 joint venture between NPIL and Alliance Boots and The Boots Company a subsidiary of Alliance Boots.

Nicholas has been paid a one-time amount of Rs17.8 crore for this transaction.

Boots Piramal markets the over-the-counter (OTC) brands of Alliance Boots and Nicholas Piramal in the Indian market.

Following the global acquisition of the OTC healthcare business of Alliance Boots by UK's Reckitt Benckiser Plc, the former decided to exit the venture in India, an NPIL release said. The company will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nicholas Piramal and the name of the company will be changed to remove the words "Boots" from its name, the release added.

NPIL shares were marginally down at Rs236.40 on the BSE.
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Wockhardt acquires Irish drug co
Mumbai: Wockhardt has acquired Pinewood Laboratories, an Irish generic-drugs company in an all-cash deal worth $150 million (about Rs 686 crore). The Irish company reported sales of over $70 million for the year ended June 2006. The latest deal gives Wockhardt a larger footprint in Europe spread over the UK, Ireland and Germany, Wockhardt's chairman, Habil Khorakiwala, said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company's European business will now exceed $200 million, accounting for almost half of Wockhardt's total sales, he added.
Wockhardt has acquired a total of four European companies till now the others being Wallis, CP Pharmaceuticals (both in UK) and Esparma in Germany. UK and Germany are Europe's leading generic markets.

Pinewood's sales mostly come from the UK and the acquisition will reinforce Wockhardt's position in the UK where it is already the largest generic company from India and the second largest player in hospital sales, the company said.

The acquisition has a strategic fit with Wockhardt, as Pinewood's liquids and creams business complements Wockhardt UK's strengths in injectable and solid dosages. Wockhardt UK can also leverage Pinewood's marketing and distribution system and its customer base in Ireland for its vast range of hospital products, the announcement said.

Wockhardt shares closed marginally up at Rs405.95 on the BSE.
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Tata retail arm ties up with Woolworths
Mumbai: The Tata Group plans to set up a chain of retail stores Croma that will mainly operate in the electronics and consumer durables segment.

Tata Sons has set up a wholly owned subsidiary, Infiniti Retail, to run Croma - its national, multi-brand retail chain. Infiniti on its part has entered into a sourcing agreement with Australian retail company, Woolworths Ltd which will be a technical association with no equity or financial investment. Woolworths will provide strategic sourcing from its global network, giving Croma the benefit of the economies of scale.

With a pan-India footprint, the Tatas are claiming the retail chain to be the first of its kind in the country offering "seamless" branding, pricing and after-sales services. Tata Sons will initially invest Rs400 crore in the venture. The first Croma store will be launched in Juhu, a Mumbai suburb, on October 9. In the first 18 months, Infiniti plans to launch 30 such stores across the country. The stores will have 6,000 products across eight categories.

From home-entertainment products and white goods, to computers and peripherals, communication products, music, imaging products and gaming software, there would be everything for the palate of a gadget-freak. Several brands, including Whirlpool, Voltas, EMI, Casio and others, would be available under one roof. Tata Sons would set up 60 outlets by 2009, and 100 by 2010.
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Pantaloon's joint venture approved
Mumbai: Pantaloon Retail's board of directors has approved a proposal to form a joint venture with the UK-based Alpha Airports Group Plc for developing travel retail and catering business at leading airports in India. The company has not disclosed investment details. Alpha Airports Group runs over 150 shops in 15 countries with an annual turnover of over $880 million and is currently operating duty-free shops at the Cochin International Airport.
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HT Media, TOI group to start newspaper in Capital
Mumbai: HT Media and the Times of India Group have signed an agreement to establish a 50:50 joint venture to start a newspaper in Delhi. The joint venture will function as a standalone business, according to a statement posted on the BSE.
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TVS sales grow 42 pc in Sept
Chennai: TVS Motor Company sold 1.06 lakh motorcycles, in the month of September 42 per cent higher than in September 2006. This is the first time the company monthly motorcycle sales of more than one lakh units. Sales of all two wheelers of the company grew 34 per cent to 1.62 lakh units.

Two of TVS' models, TVS StaR City in the economy segment and TVS Apache in the premium segment, registered sales of 75,000 and 16,000 respectively. The electric start version of TVS StaR City has received a very good response, especially in the North and this is the first time an electric start is being given on an entry-level model. TVS Scooty sales stood at 24,890 units in September 2006 compared to 22,697 units in the same period last year, recording a growth of 10 per cent. The company will soon launch a 2-stroke variant of the Scooty brand.
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Tata Motors Sept sales rise by 24 pc
Mumbai: Tata Motors has reported a 23.8 per cent rise in vehicle sales to 49,157 units (including exports) in September 2006, over 39,707 vehicles sold in September last year. Sales of passenger vehicles rose by 15.7 per cent to 18,609 vehicles.

The Tata Safari sold 1,543 units in September while the Sumo and Safari together accounted for 4,347 units, a growth of 42.3 per cent. Indica sold 10,694 units, a growth of 10.6 per cent. The Indigo brand registered a 6.4 per cent rise in sales to 3,568 units. The company sold 26,627 commercial vehicles in the domestic market — an increase of 39.5 per cent. Exports were down 14 per cent to 3,921 vehicles.
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ICICI OneSource starts ops in South America
Mumbai: ICICI OneSource has started operations at its 422-seat facility in Buenos Aires, Argentina at its fourth global delivery centre outside India. ICICI OneSource will provide one of its US-based telecom clients with a variety of back office transaction processing functions such as order taking, provisioning, testing and installation of telecom equipment from this centre. In the first quarter of next year, the centre will be expanded with voice capabilities in Spanish.
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Indian Hotels to acquire Ritz-Carlton
Mumbai: Indian Hotels Company is acquiring Boston-based luxury hotel the Ritz-Carlton, for around $170 million (around Rs765 crore).

The due diligence for the process is likely to be completed soon...The hotel would be acquired through the company's New York-based subsidiary.

Ritz-Carlton, with a capacity of 400 rooms, is owned by Millennium Partners and is the longest continuously operated Ritz-Carlton hotel in the United States. The luxury hotel, a fixture in Boston's elegant Back Bay section, was bought by Millennium Partners in 1999 for $122 million. The Boston hotel's name could undergo a change now. Millennium owns a second Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston, the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common, which was built in 2001.

IHCL had acquired The Pierre in New York, through a lease agreement in FY06 and had also bought out a 100-room hotel in Sydney.
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Tata Tea may exit Sri Lankan plantation
Colombo: Tata Tea may sell its stake in a plantation venture in Sri Lanka. Tatas had invested in Sri Lanka through a joint venture with Watawala Plantations, which sells Ceylon tea under the brand names of Zesta and Watawala.

The due diligence for the sale has begun.

Tea industry players are speculating that the buyer could be either Richard Pieris and Company or James Finlays. The former has recently emerged as the biggest plantation owner.

Last year, Tata Tea sold its Indian plantations by transferring tea estates to an employee-owned private company.

Sri Lanka produces around 300 million kilos of tea each year of which around 10 million kilos comes from Watawala's estates comprising 12,442 hectares of estate land growing tea (41%), rubber (18 pc) and palm oil (8 pc).
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Infosys gets contract from a Saudi bank
Dubai: Infosys has won its first contract from a Saudi Bank for its Islamic banking solution.

Merwin Fernandes, vice president and business head for the solution, Finacle, said, "Saudi Arabia's Arab National Bank is our first customer for the Islamic banking solution that is currently under development. We are seeing a favourable response from several banks in the Gulf and Middle East and expect more customers," Fernandes told Gulf News.

The full-fledged Islamic Banking solution is part of the Finacle core banking solution which will be ready in early 2008.
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