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To pay 52.2 per cent dividend  Mumbai, April 29Reliance Industries today became the first private sector Indian company to cross over the $ 1billion milestone in the net profit by recording a 29 per cent surge in its 2003-04 consolidated net profit at $ 1.18 billion (Rs 5,169 crore) as compared to the earlier fiscal. Reliance Industries Ltd
vice-chairman and managing director Anil Ambani announces the company’s results
in Mumbai on Thursday. Link with DTH
operators for Net connectivity, suggests TRAI The cost of using high-speed Internet is expected to come down to as low as Rs 300 per hour with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issuing a host of recommendations to the government envisaging an open-sky policy involving the DTH, VSAT and wireless platform for increased broadband penetration. Profit puts oil
price issue on backburner Oil companies may hope to get a clearance from the new government next month to increase price of petroleum products, but the sharp increase in profits of the major oil companies has discouraged them from pushing their case forward. Mr M.B. Lal, Managing Director, HPCL, said, “The net profit of the company has increased to around Rs 1,400 crore in 2003-04 as against Rs 930 crore last year.
Rasna Private Ltd, the Rs 225-crore Ahmedabad-based company has announced its intention to expand soft drink concentrate (SDC) market by promoting its Rasna Cola Cola brand in the market.
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Bajaj to assemble
in Indonesia WB to give $3 b
to India New third party
policy next year Insurance companies will now do the third party insurance of commercial vehicles at the premium of their choice. TCS plans auto
centre in Detroit To make further inroads into the automotive market in North America, India’s largest Information Technology company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to open an “Automotive Centre of Excellence” in the Mecca of automotive industry, Detroit. Common market for
North mooted The PHDCCI has mooted the idea of having a regional common market of the northern states comprising Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, J and K, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh. Israeli firm may invest in India Jerusalem, April 29 Israeli company, Africa-Israel Investments Ltd, is mulling over the possibility of investing millions of dollars in India in real estate and agriculture. A senior executive of the company said the company is examining “all investment options on its merit” and should be able to “decide upon them in the next few weeks.”
Hindustan Lever Ltd today reported a fall of 22.9 per cent in its net profit for the first quarter ending March 31, 2004, at Rs 294.88 crore as compared to Rs 382.92 crore for the Q1 of the previous fiscal.
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Reliance first firm to earn $1b net profit Tribune News Service Mumbai, April 29 “Reliance Industries has become the first company in private sector to cross the billion dollar milestone by recording a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,169 crore ($ 1,182 million),” Reliance Industries Vice-Chairman Anil Ambani said, announcing the results here. The board which met today recommended a 52.2 per cent dividend of Rs 5.25 per equity share of Rs 10 each, involving a payout of Rs 825 crore. Consolidated total income for the year under review increased to Rs 53,183 crore compared to Rs 46,796 crore in the previous fiscal. The company during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2004, reported a 29 per cent rise in its net profit of Rs 1,419 crore as against of Rs 1,101 crore while the total income grew to Rs 14,585 from Rs 13,081 crore posted during the same period previous fiscal. On standalone basis, the company posted a 26 per cent rise in the net profit at Rs 5,160 crore for the year ended March 31, 2004, compared to Rs 4,104 crore in the previous fiscal. The total income in FY’04 rose to Rs 52,940 crore as against Rs 46,899 crore, he said. The Reliance results are way up the market expectations which had predicted about 21-24 per cent rise in its 2003-04 net profit. Reliance Industries recorded a 30 per cent increase in exports during the current fiscal at Rs 14,969 crore over the previous fiscal figures. The production of oil, gas and petrochemicals rose by 4 per cent to 12.4 million tonnes, he said, adding that refinery operated at 109 per cent and processed 29.6 million tonnes. Gross turnover for 2003-04 rose by
14 per cent at Rs 74,418 crore while the earnings per share is Rs 36.8
and cash EPS is Rs 65.7. The total assets of the company stood at Rs
71,157 crore.
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Link with DTH operators for Net connectivity, suggests TRAI New Delhi, April 29 To this effect, it has set a target of attaining an
Internet subscriber base of six million by 2005 and 40 million by 2010.
The broadband subscribers target for 2005 and 2007 are three million and
20 million, respectively. “The objective is to provide Internet usage
with a minimum download speed of 256 kbps within the price range of Rs
300 to Rs 400 per month,” TRAI Chairman Mr Pradip Baijal told
newspersons here. While there is no internationally accepted standard
definition of broadband, the TRAI defined it as “an always-on data
connection with the minimum capability of 256 kbps”. The TRAI said that
the low quality cable TV infrastructure, high costs of DTH and VSAT,
policies preventing wireless solutions from spreading clearances for
right of way were among the main bottlenecks in increasing the Internet
penetration in India. For this purpose, it recommended that DTH
(Direct- to-Home) with ISP License should be allowed to offer Internet
services with no further clearances. Moreover, it recommended the
adoption of an open-sky policy where VSAT can become an important
contributor. It has suggested that the minimum dish size and throughput
restrictions be removed for VSAT and licenses be provided to allow
providing the Internet services to multiple customers. While it has
recommended a two per cent concession in license fee for VSAT operators,
TRAI also said that DTH should be exempted from spectrum royalty fees
when up-linking from within India. “In the long run DTH (Direct to
Home) with a separate uplink path can provide broadband with very fast
rollout as the main advantage”, it said. TRAI has also identified
wireless as a significant future potential for broadband penetration and
has recommended that it should be de-licensed within power parameters —
2.40 to 2.48 GHz bands. “Wi-Fi technologies are widely used in
international standards. Wi-Max has substantial future potential and
their spectrum should be completely delicensed.” It has also made some
fiscal recommendations and called for removing anti-dumping duty for
recycled PCs imported into India. In addition, it has recommended that
duties on inputs and finished products should be reduced to mobile phone
levels and central excise duty should be reduced for parity with
finished goods. “Web hosting services should be partially exempted from
income tax by at least 50 per cent for five years and Internet Service
Providers (ISP’s) should be exempted from service tax for five years,”
TRAI said. Moreover, the Central Government should recommend and
legislate to state governments to waive sales tax on e-commerce
transactions for five years and waive entertainment tax on broadband
subscriptions and services. Mr Baijal said that the loss to the
exchequer due to the fiscal concessions could be between Rs 100 to Rs
200 crore and said that the cost of Internet usage and broadband
penetration should come down. |
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Profit puts oil price issue on backburner New Delhi, April 29 Mr M.B. Lal, Managing Director, HPCL, said, “The net profit of
the company has increased to around Rs 1,400 crore in 2003-04 as against
Rs 930 crore last year. It has happened due to improved refinery
efficiency and market margins, despite the increase in international oil
prices.” A senior official in the ministry said, “the profit of the
major oil companies has increased from around Rs 10,000 crore in 2002-03
to over Rs 23,000 crore during 2003-04. So, instead of asking for a hike
in petroleum and diesel prices by Rs 2 or Rs 3 per litre, these
companies should pass on the increased profits to the consumers.” In
fact, he said, the oil companies were using the profits to invest in the
oil exploration sector and to acquire stakes in oil companies abroad to
sustain supply in the fixed price range. On whether the oil companies
had approached the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to hike the oil
prices, Mr C. Ramulu, Director, Finance, HPCL, said, “Under the new
mechanism, we have the authority to announce prices every fortnight in
parity with the international oil prices. |
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Rasna concentrates on soft drink market New Delhi, April 29 The company is aiming to grab a share in the huge
soft drink market, where Pepsi and Coke are the market leaders. It has
decided, said Mr Piruz Khambatta, CMD of the company, to promote Rasna
Cola Cola brand as a healthy drink without any caffeine and phosphorous
content. Further, he said, “consumers will be assured of hygiene issues,
as they would be required to add their own water to make the
drink.” Addressing a press conference here today, he said the company
had already sold 150 million glasses within 30 days of its launch, and
was now targeting to sell 1 billion glasses by the end of this financial
year. He said: ”Rasna has over 93 per cent share in the SDC market
estimated at Rs 300 crore. The company has also introduced Rasna Cola
Cola in sachets to increase the sales by 50 per cent, and hopes to sell
1 billion glasses of Cola Cola in the current financial year.” He added
that Rasna has also signed up Karishma Kapoor as the brand ambassador,
and she will promote the sales of Rasna Cola Cola as a healthy soft
drink concentrate. |
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Bajaj to assemble in Indonesia
Ghaziabad (UP), April 29 The
Rs-150-crore capital expenditure would be for launching two motor cycles
and two scooters besides doubling capacity at the Chakan (Maharashtra)
plant and setting up an R&D centre, Executive Director Sanjiv Bajaj said
here. The company will set up an assembly plant in Indonesia, followed
by Brazil and Latin America. With its plans of assembly units in South
East Asia and Latin America, the company has conducted a feasibility
study to sell motor cycles in Nigeria. Bajaj Auto, India’s
second-biggest motor cycle maker, will roll out two motorcycles - one an
entry-level and the other in the executive segment, codenamed ‘K-60’.
— PTI |
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WB to give $3 b to India New Delhi, April 29 “We
are ready to give $ two billion for India’s infrastructure. The total
assistance could be in the range of $ 3-4 billion in 2004-05,” World
Bank executive director C.M. Vasudev said on the sidelines of a seminar
on SEZs here today. Mr Vasudev, a former Economic Affairs Secretary at
the Finance Ministry, said India and China have persuaded World Bank to
create a new policy to ensure larger investment in infrastructure rather
than focusing on social sectors. World Bank has identified railways,
power, highways and rural roads, water and urban infrastructure as key
areas. — PTI
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New third party policy next year Chandigarh, April 29 He said the
company, which registered a loss of Rs 94 crore in 2001-2002, made
profit of Rs 135 crore in 2002-2003. By achieving a total premium of Rs
3,417 crore in 2003-2004, the company had secured second position at the
national level among general insurance companies in the public sector.
New India Insurance Company, which achieved a premium of Rs 4,028 crore,
was at the first place. The National Insurance Company, which at present
has a market share of 25.53 per cent, wanted to increase it further.
Mr Wadhwa said the company had set a target of increasing its premium
amount for insurance from Rs 3,417 crore to Rs 10,000 crore in the next
two years. To achieve this target, the vehicles in the rural areas would
also be targeted, which form 40 per cent of the total registered
vehicles in the country. He specified that the company had spent Rs 165
crore on providing IT-related infrastructure.
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TCS plans auto centre in Detroit New Delhi, April 29 The centre will be fully functional within the next
two months and TCS will hire 50 local automotive professionals in the
next 12 to18 months to augment its team of automotive specialists
already in Detroit. The “Centre of Excellence” is an extension of TCS
current presence in Detroit, where it has a development centre dedicated
to servicing several of its local customers. TCS also has plans to scale
up the existing development centre in Detroit in the coming year. —
UNI |
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Common market for North mooted Chandigarh, April
29 Addressing mediapersons here today, Mr Ravi
Wig, National President of the PHDCCI said, the northern region economic
zone should have no restrictions across the states so far as movement of
goods, capital and labour is concerned. In a proposal sent to the Centre
recently, the chamber has suggested that these states could form an
economic block with a uniform sales tax regime, uniform labour laws and
a single tax for the transport sector, he added. |
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Israeli firm may invest in India Jerusalem, April 29 Among several options, the company is also considering buying local construction companies to start its operations, a procedure it has employed in the past in other countries. The
activities in India will be handled by the Africa-Israel’s contracting
company, Danya Cebus, which the group fully owns. The CEO of Danya Cebus,
Udi Savion, said the “prospects look good.” — PTI |
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