Hindalco Q4 profit up 15 per cent
Mumbai: Hindalco has reported a 15 per cent rise in net profit in the fourth quarter of 2007 on the back of strong aluminium prices and increased value added product sales, which brought in better realisations.

Net profit amounted to Rs721 crore, up from Rs626 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.

The net profit rose on a 30 per cent increase in net sales, which stood at Rs4,748 crore (Rs3,657 crore).

Other income rose 66 per cent to Rs123 crore (Rs74 crore). The company said the gap between net profit growth and revenue growth was due to one-time costs of around Rs80-85 crore, which included transaction costs for processing the acquisition of US-based Novelis.

EBITDA for the quarter was up 17 per cent at Rs1,173 crore (Rs1,004 crore).

Revenue from the aluminium business rose 18 per cent to Rs2,042 crore; and profit before income and tax by 10 per cent to Rs790 crore during the quarter. The copper business reported a revenue rise of 40 per cent and a PBIT rise of 13.6 per cent.

For the fiscal ended March 2007, the company reported a net profit increase of 55 per cent. The company said the growth was due to higher capacity utilisation, increased realisation, and strengthening of operational efficiencies. Net profit stood at Rs2,564 crore, up from Rs1,652 crore in the previous fiscal.
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Ashok Leyland Q4 net up 28 per cent to Rs171.5-cr
Chennai: Ashok Leyland's net profit for the fourth quarter of 2007 stood at 171.5 crore, 28 per cent higher than Rs133.45 crore achieved in the corresponding quarter last year. Of this Rs38-crore increase in net profit, Rs5.5 crore came from saving in interest costs. Turnover for the quarter increased 32 per cent to Rs2,290 crore. The turnover of Rs8,304 crore for the year 2006-07 has turned Ashok Leyland into a $2-billion company dollar due to the rupee appreciation.

The company had earlier declared an interim dividend of Rs1.5 for each Re1 share; no final dividend has been recommended.

Officials said that the company's production capacity, which stands at 84,000 vehicles at present, would double over the next three years.
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Vodafone deal cleared: gets approval from FM
New Delhi: Vodafone has cleared the last block in acquiring a controlling stake in Hutch Essar with finance minister P Chidambaram giving his go-ahead on Friday. Vodafone can now secure management control of Hutch Essar Ltd. The company is now likely to be renamed Vodafone Essar. Vodafone will now be able to constitute a new 12-member board to oversee the operations of the company. Essar vice-chairman Ravi Ruia will be the chairman of Vodafone Essar and Vodafone chairman Arun Sarin will be the vice-chairman. Max India chairman Analjit Singh and HEL MD Asim Ghosh will also be on the board.
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US hospitality group acquires 26 per cent in JV with Unitech
New Delhi: US hospitality group Carlson will acquire a 26 per cent stake in a fresh venture with the Unitech group for introducing the Regent hospitality brand in India. Carlson will acquire the stake with a nominal investment of Rs2.6 crore in the paid-up capital of the joint venture company - Elbrus Builders. This amount will be used for the working capital of the project. Currently, the Unitech group companies hold 100 per cent stake, including 34 per cent equity holding through Unitech Hospitality, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group's listed arm, Unitech Ltd.

Elbrus had in the past got an approval from the Noida Authority to develop a five-star hotel project in the city. The joint venture would develop the luxury hotel property located at Greater Noida with an estimated investment of Rs450 crore.

Carlson has global operations under brands like Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites apart from Regent, this would be the first such equity venture in the country.

Carlson would receive a one-time total initial fee of $100,000, a base management fee of 2.2 per cent of the hotel's turnover, incentive management fee of 7 per cent of the hotel's gross operating profit, marketing contribution of 1.5 per cent of hotel's total revenue. This apart, it would get 1 per cent of hotel's gross room revenue as reservation charge and $8,000 per month plus reimbursement expenses for hotel development services fee in addition to third-party reservation charges.
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Tech Mahindra ranked among top 5 BSS cos in Gartner survey
New Delhi: Tech Mahindra has been ranked as one of the top five leaders in the overall business support systems (BSS) market worldwide as per the latest Gartner report — 'Market Share: Business Support Systems for the year 2006'. Tech Mahindra, which has major development facilities in India and the United Kingdom, has also been ranked third in Gartner's Global BSS SIs (Software and Services) list.

Tech Mahindra entered into the list ahead of global majors like Capgemini, CSG Systems and Comverse and has moved up three places from last year to feature at the fifth position and is the only Indian firm to make it to the top 10.

Amdocs, Accenture, Convergys and IBM Global Services rank ahead of Tech Mahindra in the overall BSS worldwide rankings released by Gartner, which provides a statistical picture of more than 35 major IT and telecom markets.
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Fiat Linea to be manufactured at Ranjanga
Istanbul: Fiat of Italy has decided to turn India into a manufacturing hub for the right-hand drive versions of its Linea sedan. The Tata-Fiat combine, which made the announcement at the global launch of the car here, will start manufacturing and retailing of the car in India by mid-2008 from its Ranjangaon facility in Maharashtra.

The plant with a capacity to make one-lakh vehicles went on stream earlier last month, when it began producing the Fiat Palio Stile. The Linea model manufactured in the facility will be exported to right-hand drive markets such as South Africa and Australia.

Linea was globally launched with two petrol and two diesel engine versions. The petrol versions will come with a 1.4-litre, 100 bhp, and a 1.4-litre 120 bhp turbocharged mill, while the diesel versions include 1.3 multijet VGT diesel engine in 90 bhp tune, and an automatic gearbox variant. A variant of the multijet diesel engine currently powers the Maruti Suzuki Swift, with the engines being assembled at Maruti's facility at Manesar. The car will compete with Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Skoda Octavia, Linea will be positioned between the upper C-segment and the entry D-segment sedans.
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Hindalco Almex JV to invest Rs150-cr for specialty plant
Mumbai: Hindalco's joint venture with US-based Almex will invest Rs150 crore in a specialty plant in Aurangabad. This plant will start production in 2008, and is expected to report revenues of between Rs450 crore and Rs500 crore. The joint venture will be called Hindalco Almex Aerospace Ltd. Hindalco has 70 per cent stake in the joint venture.

The project, which will manufacture specialty aluminium for the aerospace sector, is likely to get Special Economic Zone status from the State Government.
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