Automobiles
Tata Engg on revival path; sales up 4.1 pc
THE commercial vehicle segment is showing signs of a revival with Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd, the largest manufacturer in the segment, reporting improved sales in September.
Tanishq gold with every Bolero
NEW DELHI: Utility vehicle manufacturer, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, today became the latest manufacturer to offer gold coins with the purchase of vehicles.
Kinetic launches 125-cc mobike
KINETIC Engineering Ltd today launched its first bike in the performance segment of motorcycles, the 125-cc GF 125, and has plans to launch another four in the next one year to take advantage of the boom in the motorcycle market.
Corporate
HLL bonus debentures: Lightening the load
OPTIMAL utilisation of surplus cash has been an issue for Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) for some time now. In 2000, HLL generated a net cash flow of Rs 1,359 crore from operations. The company used up just Rs 242 crore to acquire fresh fixed assets during th
e year. Dividend payouts and interest costs absorbed Rs 821 crore, but the company obviously still had surplus cash to invest, which it did. During the year, the company's investment portfolio swelled from Rs 1,036 crore to Rs 1,769 crore (to put this in
perspective, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund manages net assets of Rs 900 crore).
Debenture dividend -- a cause for worry
THE stock price of HLL shot up by Rs 18.85 after the announcement of the debenture dividend and closed at Rs 230. However, the financial engineering of HLL places in the hands of shareholders only assets worth Rs 6.
BorgWarner to make water pumps
BORGWARNER Cooling Systems India Pvt Ltd, the newly set up subsidiary of the $2.6-billion US BorgWarner group, now proposes to produce water pumps also. The company was set up to manufacture automotive cooling systems -- basically fans for radiators.
DCA to set up corporate excellence centre
THE Department of Company Affairs (DCA) has set in motion steps for setting up of a Centre for Corporate Excellence at an early date. The Centre would take standards of corporate governance in the country to commanding heights to compare favourably with
international practices.
HPF turnover up 8.5%
HINDUSTAN Photo Films Manufacturing Co Ltd (HPF) in Udhagamandalam has managed against all odds to achieve a 8.5 per cent increase in its turnover during the first half of the current fiscal compared to the same period last year.
Nicco Corp all set for turnaround
NICCO Corporation Ltd (NCL) took two big strides towards recovery recently when the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddadeb Bhattacharjee, inaugurated its high-speed twin-screw polymer processing plant and an expanded wire rod mill at Shyamnagar, near he
re.
`More Swedish cos may enter India'
MORE Swedish companies are expected to set up manufacturing base in India and also use it as a base for international exports, taking advantage of the inexpensive and skilled labour available here, according to the Swedish Ambassador to India, Mr Johan N
ordenfelt.
`BPL will go for selective divestment'
THE Rs 3,500 crore BPL group has diversified business interests ranging from consumer durables to new economy initiatives. The group is facing pressure in the depressed market and a SEBI directive restraining it from tapping the primary market for fresh
equity. Even as these constraints restricted BPL's growth in the last two years, the group seems to be shrugging it off with a stoic ``things should improve'' response. But this stoicism should not be interpreted as resignation seems to be what Mr Ajit N
ambiar, Chairman and Managing Director of the group, conveys in his interview to Business Line. Excerpts:
JP Morgan goes live on Wilco platform
JP MORGAN Securities Asia Pte Ltd, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of JP Morgan Chase & Co, has gone live on the `Gloss' securities processing system platform developed by Wilco International Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NYSE-listed ADP Inc.
Financial Performance
Mastek posts lower net
MUMBAI: Mastek Ltd has reported a 76.82 per cent drop in net profit, quarter on previous corresponding quarter, for the three months ended September 30, 2001.
Hotels
Oriental, OHL transfer shares to Taj Asia
CHENNAI: Oriental Hotels Ltd and OHL International (HK) Ltd, have transferred the equity shares in Taj Maldives in favour of Taj Asia Ltd, the newly-formed joint venture company, according to a notification to the Madras Stock Exchange.
Information Technology
Infosys: Positive signs
DESPITE opinion polls by different investment bankers pointing to a dramatic reduction in technology-spending, lengthening sales-cycle, cancellation/deferral of outsourcing projects and a stream of negative news across different vertical domains ranging
from telecom, retail, insurance and financial services, Infosys Technologies has managed to turn in a good performance. Seen in the context of the earnings guidance provided by the Infosys management at the time of the announcement of the first quarter p
eformance, it has exceeded those expectations both on the revenue and earnings front.
PSU
BHEL pays 30%
ENGINEERING major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has paid 30 per cent dividend amounting to Rs 73.43 crore for fiscal 2000-1. With this, BHEL has maintained its track record of paying dividend to its shareholders continuously for 25 years.
Pharmaceuticals
Glaxo SmithKline VRS
MUMBAI: Glaxo SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals Ltd today said that it has the accepted voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) applications for 622 employees of its Worli factory.
Ranbaxy arm in marketing tie-up for Advil tablets
OHM Laboratories Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, has entered into a marketing alliance with the US-based Perrigo, to market Advil cold and sinus tablets.
VHB Pharma in revamp mode
THE Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm VHB Pharmaceuticals is embarking on a major revamp of its operations with an investment of about Rs 10-12 crore in the next six months.
Power
TEC norms for power projects may be relaxed
THE Power Ministry is considering a proposal to relax the requirement for a techno-economic clearance for power projects having a capital cost of less than Rs 2,500 crore. Currently, the cut-off limit stands at Rs 1,000 crore.
