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Hero Honda net up
RBI directs banks to open 25% of new branches in hinterland
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No Iran oil for Indian refineries for August
Survey cautions against ‘cash transfers’
Pepsi proposes soft drink facility in Punjab at
Rs 200 cr
Airtel ties-up with with Ericsson for Africa ops
J&K industry opposes power tariff hike
Nokia records loss on declining sales
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Hero Honda net up
Mumbai, July 21 The company, which has been facing growing competition from rivals such as Bajaj Auto, saw its first rise in profits after four consecutive quarters of declines and helped lift its shares more than 2 per cent. “Our first quarter performance has set the outlook for coming quarters and we are confident of achieving our initial guidance for fiscal 2012 to sell over six million units," MD Pawan Munjal said in a statement. Indian automakers are expected to see pressure on operating margins as commodity prices, including those of steel, rubber and other materials, continue to rise. Hero Honda spent Rs 4,240 crore ($953.8 million) on raw materials in its fiscal first quarter ended June, up from Rs 3,090 crore in the year-ago period. “The thrust is on to maintain operational excellence in light of the volatile costs of commodities such as steel, aluminium and rubber,” Munjal said. The New Delhi-based firm reported net profit of Rs 558 crore for the past quarter, up from Rs 492 crore a year earlier. Net sales rose to Rs 5,638 crore. Hero Honda, which makes range of bikes such as Splendour and Glamour and scooters including Pleasure, sold more than 1.5 million two-wheelers in the quarter. — ReutersEyes 7.5 lakh units a year from Hero Honda Motors said it is looking at a capacity of 7.5 lakh units annually for its proposed fourth plant for which it will invest up to Rs 550 crore. Besides, the company is expanding the capacity of its three existing facilities to up to 65 lakh units per annum within this fiscal from 61.5 lakh units at present. "For this financial year, we had earmarked a capex of Rs 900 crore. The majority of this, say Rs 500 crore to Rs 550 crore, will go for setting up the fourth plant," Hero Honda Motors CFO Ravi Sud told PTI.
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RBI directs banks to open 25% of new branches in hinterland
Chandigarh, July 21 In a notification issued to all scheduled commercial banks, the RBI has said that while preparing annual branch expansion plan, 25 per cent of the new branches should be opened in Tier-5 and Tier-6 centres. These new branches have to be opened in areas which do not have a branch of any scheduled commercial bank for customer-based banking transactions. The directive said that keeping in view the goal of bringing banking services to the identified 72,800 villages, with a population of 2000, by March 2012, there is need to open more branches, besides the use of business correspondents. While making this new branch authorisation policy, RBI has pointed out that domestic scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) are permitted to open branches in Tier 3 to Tier-6 centres (population up to 49, 999 as per Census 2001) without prior permission from the RBI in each case, by just reporting it to the RBI. However, opening of branches in Tier-1 and Tier-2 centres (which have a population of 50,000 and above) would require prior permission of the RBI, except in the case of North Eastern States and Sikkim (where the general permission would also cover semi-urban and urban centres). The new policy says that authorisation given by the Reserve Bank for opening branches in Tier-1 and Tier-2 centres would generally not exceed the total number of branches proposed to be opened in Tier-3 to Tier-6 centres as well as in NE states and Sikkim.
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No Iran oil for Indian refineries for August
New Delhi, July 21 The tough stand by a nation that supplies 12 per cent of India’s oil needs has forced refiners to buy extra crude from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Iraq while sending the government scrambling for a conduit to clear $5 billion in overdue bills. Iran, which has been selling crude oil on credit since late December when Reserve Bank of India halted use of a clearing mechanism under US pressure, had on June 27 written about stopping supplies from August if the dues are not paid. Mangalore Refinery (MRPL), Essar Oil, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), Indian Oil (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) have not received any intimation from National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) on the quantity of crude they will get from Iran in August, officials at the refiners said. MRPL, the largest buyer of Iranian crude at 1,42,000 barrels per day, has sought additional volumes from Saudi Arabia to meet the shortfall, they said adding Essar already has alternate supplies tied-up for two-third of the 110,000 bpd of oil it had contracted from Iran. HPCL is talking to Saudi Arabia and UAE to make up for the shortfall of 2 cargoes per month it gets from Iran under its 68,000 bpd annual supply contract. Officials said BPCL had signed up for import of 1 million tonnes (20,000 bpd) from Iran this year. — PTI
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Survey cautions against ‘cash transfers’
New Delhi, July 21 Their survey found that “ the days when up to half of the PDS grain was diverted to the open market are gone” and pointed to major initiatives in states, with the exception of Bihar, to improve the system. “ We found that the PDS had become a lifeline for millions of rural household”, states the letter. The findings assume significance because of the involvement of the fiercely independent and critical social scientist, Dreze, who this year resigned from the high profile National Advisory Council ( NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi. Approval of the PDS by a survey headed by him would mean a lot to the government. The survey across 100 randomly selected villages was spread over nine states including Himachal Pradesh in the North, Tamil Nadu in the South, Rajasthan in the West and Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa in the East. There is, however, some ‘bad news’ as well. The survey found the BPL list ‘very defective’. In many states, entire communities had been left out and everywhere there were ‘enormous exclusion errors’ which reduced the effectiveness of the PDS. Wherever the PDS is functioning well, villagers showed extreme reluctance to receive ‘cash transfers’. Cash, they felt, could be misused or frittered away. In some cases the reluctance was because the markets were far away. There was also apprehension that traders could raise prices in the market if the PDS is closed. They also found banks too far, overcrowded and difficult to handle. Significantly, in areas where the PDS is not working, notably in Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh, the survey found substantial interest in cash transfers as a possible alternative. PDS Survey 2011: Select Findings
Evidence of a major revival of the PDS across the country (even in states like Orissa and Uttar
Pradesh).
Main exception: Bihar. Where PDS works, people much prefer food to cash transfers. There was also apprehension among beneficiaries that traders could raise prices in the market if the PDS is closed. They also found banks too far, overcrowded and intimidating |
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Pepsi proposes soft drink facility in Punjab at Rs 200 cr
Chandigarh, July 21 The company has put up an investment proposal with the Punjab government under the state's mega project scheme for its approval which would entitle it to enjoy certain incentives, including stamp duty and electricity duty exemption. "We have received a proposal from PepsiCo for investing Rs 200 crore on setting up a soft drink facility at Zahura village in Hoshiarpur district," a senior state official said. To be spread over 30 acres, the state-of-the-art facility would have three production lines for producing beverages, including concentrate. "The proposed investment will be made by the company in three phases," he said without divulging much information about the ambitious project.
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Airtel ties-up with with Ericsson for Africa ops
New Delhi, July 21 Under a separate two-year agreement, Ericsson will modernise and upgrade Airtel’s mobile networks in Africa with the latest technology; including its multi standard RBS 6000 base station. Ericsson will deploy this superior 2G and HSPA 3G technology to ensure that Airtel’s customers have an enhanced voice and data experience. As part of the modernization, Ericsson will also provide technology consulting, network planning & design and network deployment. Ericsson’s first multi-country managed services deal in Africa will enable Airtel focus on its core operations of innovating and launching new products, services and mobile applications for over 44 million customers. Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint MD, Bharti Airtel said, “Ericsson has been our managed services and network technology partner in the Asian operations. Given its expertise and strong track record, we are confident that this partnership will be able to efficiently deliver the best networks and services to our customers in Africa.” Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, said, “Ericsson is the industry leader in managed services, managing networks for operators worldwide that serve more than 800 million subscribers.”
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J&K industry opposes power tariff hike
Jammu, July 21 Chamber president YV Sharma said, if implemented the new power tariff will leave no option for the industrial units but to shut down. Industries in the state, which has been 100% metered, utilises 20% of the total electricity supplied by PDD. It was illogical and unjustified on the part of the PDD to increase the power tariff that, too, by 90% for the industrial sector, he added. “Industrial and tourism have shown growth. Any hike in the power tariff would disturb the whole process of industrial and tourism growth,” he added.
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Nokia records loss on declining sales
Helsinki/New Delhi, July 21 Nokia, which has posted a loss for the first time in more than a year, raked in revenues of 9.28 billion euros in the 2011 second quarter. The world's largest cell phone maker recorded a steep drop in sales volume as well as marginal fall in revenues, amid intense competition from players such as Apple and HTC in the fast-growing smart phone segment. JSW Energy profit slumps 54 pc
JSW Energy today reported a 54 per cent decline in its consolidated June profit at Rs 136.31 crore, bogged down by delays in power procurement by distribution licencees as well as higher fuel costs. The entity, which has an operational capacity of 2,030 MW, had a profit of Rs 298.64 crore in the year-ago period. Biocon net down 8.71% at Rs 70.05 cr
Biotech firm Biocon today said its consolidated net profit declined by 8.71 per cent to Rs 70.05 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, primarily due to lower licencing income during the first quarter. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 76.74 crore for the April-June period in the previous fiscal. Zee Entertainment net down 13.28 pc
Essel Group company, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) today posted 13.28 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 130.16 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2011. In the same quarter of the previous fiscal, the company's net profit was Rs 150.10 crore, ZEEL said. Kotak Bank net up 35 pc to Rs 252 cr
Kotak Mahindra Bank today reported a standalone net profit of Rs 252 crore in the June quarter, a 35% rise over the year-ago period at Rs 187 crore on higher interest income.— Agencies |
Cabinet clears merger of SBICI with SBI L&T Finance IPO to open July 27 RCom Announces Data Plans for iPad 2 Aircel introduces Pocket Internet Aviva’s new product
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Hero Honda Motors, the country’s largest motorcycle maker, on Thursday posted a better-than-expected 13 per cent rise in quarterly net profit to Rs 558 crore, driven by strong demand and volume growth.
The company, which has been facing growing competition from rivals such as Bajaj Auto, saw its first rise in profits after four consecutive quarters of declines and helped lift its shares more than 2 per cent.
New Delhi, July 21
Food and beverages major PepsiCo India has proposed to set up a soft drink making facility in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab with expected investment of Rs 200
crore.
