Jet comes back to profitability
Mumbai: Jet Airways has managed to return to profitability in the third quarter of 2006-07, mainly due to lower fuel costs and high load factor. Jet posted a third-quarter net profit of Rs40 crore, down 34 per cent from the corresponding previous period, when it registered a net profit of Rs 61 crore.

The company posted losses of Rs45 crore and Rs55 crore in the first and second quarters of the current fiscal.

The airline benefited from a load factor of 50 per cent in the premium classes, which increased the yield per passenger.

Jet's yield for the domestic sector was Rs5,570 per passenger, including surcharges, up 4.2 per cent from the same period last year. Its yield from international operations stood at Rs16,290. Net income from operations was up 31 per cent to Rs1,935.7 crore, while operating expenses rose to Rs1,795.3 crore, recording an increase of 45 per cent.

The domestic sector accounted for 78 per cent of revenues, down from 86 per cent in the same period last year. The load factor for the domestic sector was 70.1 per cent, compared to 72.5 per cent earlier, and up from 64 per cent in the previous quarter.

Mr Prock-Schauer said that the airline was making a profit from its SAARC and Asean routes. The company posted pre-tax loss of Rs11 crore on its international operations, down from Rs34.7 crore over the same period last year and Rs111.4 crore in the previous quarter.
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Pantaloon to enter into jt ventures with European cos
Mumbai: Pantaloon Retail is planning to enter into two new joint ventures with European manufacturers in clothing for men and kids. These would be separate mass premium brands which the retailer would import into India initially and would begin manufacturing them here later.

Pantaloon entered into ventures with Etam and Lee Cooper earlier and is now planning to stretch them into new areas. For instance, the lingerie brand of Etam would get into the ready-to-wear category while Lee Cooper would soon be re-launched in the market and pitted against brands such as Levi's and Pepe in the premium end of the denim market. Pantaloon is already targeting Rs 200-crore turnover from the Lee Cooper brand within the next two years.
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JSW Steel to expand capacity to 31 mt
New Delhi: JSW Steel plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to 31 million tonne over the next ten years with an investment of Rs85,000 crore. Out of the entire capacity one third would be produced from a proposed plant in Jharkhand, to be set up with an investment of Rs35,000 crore. Another 10mt. would come from JSW's plant in Midnapur in West Bengal. The company would invest Rs10,000 crore in the project in the first phase.

Apart from the two greenfield projects, the company would also expand the capacity at its plants in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The total investment in the two existing plants would be Rs16,000 crore.
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ACC to boost cement capacity at Wadi unit
Hyderabad: Associated Cement Company is planning to enhance capacity at its Wadi plant in Gulbarga district of Karnataka. The capacity at the plant would be increased to 5 million up from the existing 4.6 million tonne per year, while the overall installed capacity in the 11 existing units of ACC would be increased to 20 million tonnes in the next few years.

The company feels that given expectations that the GDP (gross domestic product) would grow at 8 per cent and above, the cement industry would grow at least by 10 per cent. There would be a universal modification in the existing cement units of various companies to meet near-time demands.
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ONGC to partner with Petrobras for exploration activities
New Delhi: State-owned ONGC plans to partner with Brazilian company Petrobras in offshore exploration and production activities in India and Brazil.

Both the companies will jointly bid for offshore exploration blocks in the forthcoming New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) rounds in India and Brazil's ninth round of bidding slated to be held in the second half of 2007.

Petrobras produces two million barrels of oil - bulk of which is produced in Brazil - and is a major player in deep and ultra-deepwater exploration segment.

The company has already paved way for ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of ONGC, to acquire a stake in BC-10 a discovered oilfield in Campos Basin of Brazil.

Officials in the Brazilian company said ONGC would be Petrobras's main partner in NELP-VII.
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Satyam Q3 net falls
Hyderabad: Satyam Computer Services has recorded lower net profit by 30.38 per cent at Rs343.30 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006, as against Rs493.08 crore for the corresponding period last year. However the previous year's income included Rs262.83 crore from the Sify stake sale and if only the software service income was taken into account for the third quarter, it was higher by 30.45 per cent at Rs1,594.87 crore as against Rs1,222.63 crore in the same period last year.

Software revenue was up 3.72 per cent and profit after tax was higher 6.50 per cent sequentially. Margins improved 205 basis points sequentially on the back of operational efficiencies and increase in offshore engagement.

The Satyam share was down at Rs489.10 as against the previous close of Rs514 at the NSE.

The Satyam chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju, said "the company's performance was heartening with a revenue growth of 7.7 per cent sequentially in US dollar terms. It translates to 3.7 per cent in rupee terms due to stronger rupee during the quarter. The revenue growth was accentuated by 11 per cent offshore volume increase."

Providing insights into the business, Mr Raju said Q3 witnessed higher contribution from Europe at 19 per cent, and consulting and enterprise business solutions accounted for 42 per cent of revenue.
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Satyam to buy out investors in Nipuna
Hyderabad: Satyam Computer Services plans to buy out the stake of investors in its business process outsourcing subsidiary Nipuna, for a price ranging from $35 million to $45 million by May 2007.

This follows an agreement with the investors in Nipuna for redemption of 50 per cent of the preferential shares held by them and the balance 50 per cent to be converted into equity shares. Intel Capital Corporation and Olympus Capital Holdings had deployed $20 million in Nipuna during 2003-2004.

Nipuna revenues have grown from $20 million last fiscal and are projected to touch $37 million, reflecting a growth of about 85 per cent. Referring to onsite and offshore business, Mr Srinivas said that the offshore component has grown by about 132 basis points and accounts for about 49 per cent revenue. This is significant as onsite billing rates are at $57 as against $27 offsite.
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i-flex reports 130 pc rise in Q3 net
Mumbai: i-flex has reported 130.7 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs111.2 crore for the third quarter ended December 2006, against Rs48.2 crore a year ago.

Revenues stood at Rs557.4 crore, growing by 43.6 per cent from Rs388 crore earlier. On a standalone basis the company's net profit spiralled up 57.1 per cent to Rs91.05 crore (Rs57.94 crore), while net revenues rose by 33 per cent to Rs395.5 crore (Rs297.4 crore). Profit and revenues growth were driven by robust growth in the products business.

The company's flagship product, flexcube, added 11 new relationships that took its customer count to 304.

The net profit for the nine months ended December 2006 stood at Rs239.1 crore (Rs107.4 crore), up 122.6 per cent.
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Taj to renovate, manage Rail Yatri Nivas
New Delhi: The Taj group of hotels will take up the renovation and management of Rail Yatri Niwas, the well-known Delhi budget hotel owned by the railways, on a 15-year lease.

As part of the deal with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which currently runs it, the Taj group will renovate the Yatri Niwas and add food courts within the complex.

The makeover will be done on a redesign-operate-manage-transfer basis. The hotel will be run under the Taj group's budget hotel brand, Ginger, which has hotels in Mysore, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Haridwar and Bhubaneshwar.

Taj group of hotels will upgrade all four Rail Yatri Niwas hotels located in Delhi, Howrah, Ranchi and Puri.

The hotel will be under Taj's budget hotel brand Ginger
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Lupin, Aspen call off JV plan
Mumbai: Lupin has decided to cancel MoU it signed with Aspen Pharmacare Holdings in February 2006 for a 50:50 joint venture for the development, manufacture and global marketing (except US, South Africa & India Trade) of a range of Anti-TB products. Both the parties have mutually agreed not to pursue the MoU.

According to a press release, "The companies will continue to collaborate for TB-related products market in the Republic of South Africa as per the agreement entered in September 2005."
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Foursoft acquires Danish company for $10mn
Mumbai: Four Soft (4S), a software solutions provider for transportation and logistics vertical, has completely acquired the Denmark-based Transaxiom Holding A/S, a global provider of transportation and logistics solutions for approximately $10 million (around Rs45 crore).

The transaction value will be in a cash-and-stock deal with the payouts happening over the next three years based on performance. A definitive agreement has been signed between the two companies.
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Tata's Pak plant to assemble Tata Daewoo trucks
Mumbai: Tata Motors is setting up a 100 per cent subsidiary of South Korean company Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles (TDCV) in Pakistan. A plant for assembling heavy-duty trucks was commissioned in Karachi by Afzal Motors of Pakistan, in technical collaboration with TDCV.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, inaugurated the plant on Friday in the presence of senior management of TDCV and Afzal Motors, according to a Tata Motors release.

The plant with a production capacity of 3,000 vehicles a year, will assemble TDCV trucks and buses from Daewoo Bus Company. The truck range comprises 4x2 and 6x4 tractor-trailers powered by 300 hp diesel engines that would be an industry first in that country.
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