Wednesday, July 21, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Wednesday, July 21, 1999 |
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Hero Honda net profit surges 68 pc HERO Honda Motors Limited has recorded a 68 per cent surge in the net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal to touch Rs 38.43 crore from Rs 22.91 crore a year earlier. Sales volume surged 42 per cent while the total turnover jumped up 51 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year, Mr Brijmohan Lall, CMD of Hero Honda said on Tuesday. USA slaps tariffs on steel imports WASHINGTON, July 20 — The US Commerce Department, in a preliminary ruling, has decided to impose punitive tariffs ranging between one and 23 per cent on steel imports from India, France, Indonesia, Italy and South Korea. |
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WTO leadership issue resolved JK
group sets up Kargil fund Polaris
Software to enter market PEDA,
Triveni sign MoU Uco
stoops to conquer Matiz
for Japanese market |
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Hero Honda net profit surges 68 pc HERO Honda Motors Limited has recorded a 68 per cent surge in the net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal to touch Rs 38.43 crore from Rs 22.91 crore a year earlier. Sales volume surged 42 per cent while the total turnover jumped up 51 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year, Mr Brijmohan Lall, CMD of Hero Honda said on Tuesday. The company’s net sales stood at Rs 484.27 crore as against Rs 320 crore while other income was up from Rs 3.59 crore to Rs 4.82 crore. Total turnover during the three-month period was Rs 489.09 crore as over Rs 323.58 crore in the same period last year. Its total expenditure stood at Rs 422.08 crore while gross profit was Rs 65.28 crore, up 69.7 per cent from Rs 32.43 crore a year ago. Hero Honda enjoyed a marketshare of 42 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal as compared to 38 per cent in the 1998-99 fiscal. In the last six months, sales of Hero Honda’s 4-stroke motorcycle CD-100 crossed the one million mark and Splendor became the largest selling model. The company had recently launched a new 156cc motorcycle — CBZ. Siemens Ltd has reported Rs 1.82 crore net profit for the third quarter ended June, 1999, as against Rs 15.26 crore loss in the corresponding quarter last year. The company has reduced its losses for the nine months ended June 30 to Rs 3.82 crore from Rs 56.02 crore in the corresponding period last year, according to the unaudited results released by the company in Mumbai on Tuesday. Gabriel India recorded sales of Rs 56 crore in April-June (Q1) of the fiscal 1999-2000, 23 per cent rise over Q1 sales in 1998-99. The net profits touched Rs 77 lakh a major turnaround over last year’s performance when the company recorded a loss of Rs 1.22 crore in April-June, 1998-99. Shaw Wallace and Company on Tuesday announced repayment of its entire outstanding liability in terms of public fixed deposits aggregating Rs 20 crore to over 16,000 small creditors. The debt has been repaid from internal accruals. Hewlett Packard on Tuesday announced Carleton S Firoina as the new President and Chief Executive Officer succeeding Lew Platt. Aptech has brought down the cost of borrowings substantially by replacing high-cost debt with low-cost one, besides bringing down the total debt outstandings, Managing Director Ganesh Natarajan told PTI. Steelco Gujarat has been declared sick by the BIFR after its Rs 116 crore net worth was eroded by the accumulated losses of Rs 141 crore. The company has a unit working since April 1994 with plant and machinery worth Rs 207.5 crore. Representatives of ICICI, SBI, Central Bank, Indian Bank and Federal Bank of India had no objection to the company being declared sick. Pentafour Communications has recorded an 81 per cent surge in the net profit during the first quarter of 1999-2000 to Rs 4.57 crore as against Rs 2.52 crore a year earlier. Its turnover during the period was Rs 20.13 crore The company’s export turnover stood at Rs 8.27 crore while total expenditure was Rs 13.48 crore. Gross profit was 6.73 crore. Alkyl Amines has registered a 54 per cent rise in the net profits for the first quarter ended June 30, 1999. The profits increased to Rs 1.57 crore during the period from Rs 1.02 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Blue Dart Express Limited announced an increase of 16 per cent in sales for the first quarter ended June 30 as compared to the first quarter of the previous year. ITC hotels limited has recorded a 66.66 per cent surge in the net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal to Rs 1.1 crore as against Rs 66 lakh a year earlier. The company’s income was Rs 26.04 crore as compared with Rs 25.07 crore in the same period last year. Its other income stood
at Rs 32 lakh from Rs 24 crore while total expenditure
was Rs 21.93 crore. Gross profit was Rs 3.43 crore as
against Rs 2.54 crore a year ago. — Agencies |
USA slaps tariffs on steel imports WASHINGTON, July 20 (AP) — The US Commerce Department, in a preliminary ruling, has decided to impose punitive tariffs ranging between one and 23 per cent on steel imports from India, France, Indonesia, Italy and South Korea. The decision taken yesterday follows repeated requests by the domestic players who have been blaming low-priced imports for thousands of layoffs and have charged foreign countries with following unlawful pricing practices. The tariffs announced were in proportion to the subsidies given by these countries to their producers of cut to length plates used in agricultural and construction equipment, bridges, ships, rail cars and buildings, the International Trade Commission said. These subsidies helped the producers to artificially lower their prices, the Commission said. It, however, exempted two producers in Indonesia and one in Italy that it said did not receive subsidies. Subsidies have the effect of artificially lowering steel prices and are prohibited under US and international trade laws. The final ruling is due later this year. In a second ruling, the US International Trade Commission, found evidence of harm to US producers of a higher-grade steel product known as cold-rolled steel. This decision could lead
to tariffs against up to a dozen countries, where
producers are accused of “dumping” cold-rolled
steel in the USA that is, selling the product at prices
below production costs or home-market prices. |
WTO leadership issue resolved GENEVA, July 20 (Reuters) — World Trade Organisation envoys agreed effectively today to three-year consecutive terms by the rival two candidates for the top job, breaking a month-old deadlock in the leadership contest, trade officials said. Under the plan, agreed at an informal meeting of the WTO’s ruling General Council, former New Zealand Prime Minister mike Moore would take up the post of Director-General from September 1, followed by Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi three years later. The plan has to be formally endorsed at a meeting of the General Council to be called later this week, diplomats said. We have consensus on the basic question of a split term with Mr Moore serving first and Supachai second, said Bangladeshi Ambassador Istekhar Chowdhury, who first proposed the compromise plan which was taken up actively by Australia. Other envoys confirmed there was basic agreement on the so-called three-and three-plan but said there would be further discussions on how many Deputies would be appointed before the formal meeting approved the whole plan. U.S. Trade Ambassador Rita Hayes said Mr Moore and Mr Supachai were “two very qualified candidates who will serve a six-year term”. Mr Hayes said the discussion showed the power of the WTO in consensus-building. The post of
Director-General at the WTO has been vacant since Renato
Ruggiero of Italy retired at the end of April. The
long-running leadership crisis had hurt the WTO in
crucial year of decision-making in a world trade. |
Govt may go ahead with telecom policy NEW DELHI, July 20 (PTI) — The government is expected to go ahead with the implementation of the new telecom package with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee having explained the urgency of the matter to President K. R. Narayanan. Sources emphasised that there was no question of any confrontationist attitude with Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Prime Minister’s letter to the President was in the nature of explaining the reasons for the package intended as a bailout for the telecom sector based on the migration of the revenue-sharing formula, the sources said. Vajpayee is also understood to have assured the President that the package would not in any way alter the basic framework of the policy. The Prime
Minister’s communication followed the
President’s letter last week in which he is
understood to have expressed the view that it would be
better if the new telecom package awaits implementation
by a newly-elected government. |
JK group sets up Kargil fund The JK group has contributed Rs 37 lakh towards the rehabilitation of the families and victims of the Kargil conflict by setting up two corpus funds for the purpose. The group on Tuesday announced the setting up of the “Kargil Vijay Fund” with a corpus of Rs 11 lakh to provide scholarships for children’s education, vocational training to widows and rehabilitation of disabled soldiers. The employees have contributed a total of Rs 26 lakh towards the Army Central Welfare Fund. Mr Aditya Puri, Joint Managing Director, and Mr V.K. Sachdeva, President, Saraswati Industrial Syndicate Limited, Yamunanagar, handed over a draft of Rs 18 lakh to Mr Rajiv Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, for the Chief Minister War Heroes Relief Fund. Mr Manjit Singh, President, Car Dealers Association, Chandigarh, has given a draft for Rs 51,000 to Mr M.Ram Shekar, Deputy Commissioner, for the “Army Central Welfare Fund”. Uco Bank’s staff has decided to contribute one day salary to the National Defence Fund. Dharampal Satyapal group of companies handed over a cheque for Rs 25 lakh to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in Delhi on Monday. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and its employees have contributed Rs 3,95,47,000 to the National Defence Fund. The Delhi Petrol Dealers
Association on Tuesday donated Rs 10 lakh to the National
Defence Fund. The contribution was handed over to
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister V K Ramamurthy by DPDA
President BS Suri. —Agencies |
Polaris Software to enter market MUMBAI, July 20 (PTI) — Chennai-based Polaris Software Lab Ltd will enter the capital market next month with an initial public offer of 35,12,500 equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 200 per share to raise Rs 73.76 crore for meeting its expansion plans. Company Chairman and Managing Director Arun Jain told reporters here today that the proceeds of the public issue would be used for three off-shore development centres (Rs 58.27 crore), global development centres at New Jersey and London (Rs 8.19 crore), setting up overseas branch offices (Rs 5 crore) and (IPO) offer expenses (Rs 6 crore). He said Rs 3.7 crore of internal accruals would be ploughed back into the expansion plan costing Rs 77.46 crore. The issue would be open for seven days from August 4. The company, having
wholly-owned subsidiaries in the USA and the UK, has four
software products in its portfolio — Nterprise
(business solution for small and medium firms), insure
(process management system), Super Store xs (retail
automation) and Parsley (web-enabled query resolution
system). |
PEDA, Triveni sign MoU CHANDIGARH, July 20 — Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) today signed an MoU with Delhi-based Triveni Engg. and Industries Ltd for developing five hydro power projects in Punjab. PEDA has allotted 20 hydel sites to private developers for setting up small hydro projects on a “build, operate and own” basis. The MoU for the 15 hydel sites has already been signed between PEDA and Polyplex Corporation Ltd, New Delhi. For the remaining five sites under Phase-I, the MoU was signed today by Mr P.S.Aujla, Chief Executive of PEDA and Mr B.K. Agrawal , Chief of Operations on behalf of Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd. The agency will assist in obtaining statutory clearances from Government departments, availing subsidies, signing of an MoU with the Punjab Irrigation Department and signing of PPA with the Punjab State Electricity Board. Thirty more hydel sites
with an estimated potential of 22 MW have been cleared by
the Punjab Government for allotment to 10 private
developers. |
Uco stoops to conquer CHANDIGARH, July 20 — Uco Bank today launched “special settlement scheme” in Chandigarh for the settlement of chronic loan overdues of borrowers relating to small scale industries, and business, including transport operators, professionals, agriculture, including animal husbandry, and government- sponsored schemes — IRDP, PMRY etc. The scheme is time bound and available only up to September 30, 2000. The scheme also applies to suits filed and decreed accounts. Under the scheme, the bank will consider on merit each case waiving compound interest, penal interest and charging interest on-simple basis not below 10 per cent from the date the account turned sticky. According to Uco Bank officials, the scheme has been launched in pursuant to RBI guidelines for formation of settlement advisory committees and offers a golden opportunity for small NPA borrowers to settle their outstanding overdues without hassles as the terms of the scheme are uniform and will be applied in a non-discriminatory and non-discretionary manner. The scheme also provides an opportunity to the borrowers to put an end to any pending litigation with the bank. The scheme will benefit small borrowers and help the bank reduce its outstanding NPAs in this segment. Already settled cases will not be reopened under the scheme the bank clarified. Protest Meanwhile, the Uco Bank
officers Association has expressed surprise at a
management Press release claiming the bank’s
restructuring has been supported by both employees as
well the officers’ Director. |
Matiz for Japanese market NEW DELHI, July 20 — Daewoo today announced that it will soon begin export of its small car, Matiz to Japan. The Daewoo Motor authorities in Korea are currently working closely with the Japanese officials concerned to obtain necessary approvals and are also setting up an extensive sales network across Japan. Road tests are underway and the company will begin exporting Matiz early next year. In terms of design and
technology there will be no change in the specifications
of the car and the company will initially export 10,000
units in the first year and 50,000 units to 60,000 units
in the subsequent years. |
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