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| Wednesday, October 11, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Infosys net up 134 pc, to pay 2.50 a share HFCL agreement with
UTStarcom Prices of 800, Omni, Zen
hiked HM to refocus on good old
Ambassador Markfed records
Rs 17.51 cr profit |
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| Badal seeks
Rs 735 as wheat price CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — Taking exception to the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices on the price policy for wheat for the rabi season this year, Mr Parkash Singh Badal,Chief Minister of Punjab, has demanded that the MSP for wheat crop should be fixed at Rs 735 per quintal . Bajaj Tempo unveils
Euro-1 utility vehicles
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Infosys net up 134 pc, to pay 2.50 a share BANGALORE, Oct 10 (PTI) — Infosys Technologies Ltd today reported a net profit of Rs 154.01 crore from “ordinary activities” for the second quarter ended September 30, 2000, a 134.38 per cent increase over the Rs 65.71 crore during the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Infosys announced a total income of Rs 465.67 crore for July-September 2000, a 113.73 per cent increase over the figure of Rs 217.88 crore recorded for the second quarter ended September 30, 1999. The audited financial results according to Indian Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2000 were taken on record at the Board meeting here today. The Board of Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.50 per share (50 per cent par value of Rs five per share). The interim dividend paid in fiscal 1999 was Rs 1.50 per share (restated as 30 per cent on par value of Rs 5 per share), an Infosys release noted. The record date for the payment of interim dividend has been fixed as November 10, 2000. “Fortune 1000 companies continue to focus on e-enabling their businesses, leading to larger market opportunity for it solutions providers”, said Chairman and CEO, N.R. Narayana Murthy. “Our relationship with companies in this segment and our ability to scale-up operations to meet their demands continue to be a key driver of our performance”. The total income for the half-year ended September 30, 2000 was Rs 836.32 crore, an 108.08 per cent increase over Rs 401.94 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year. Net profit from ordinary activities was Rs 275.32 crore, a 117.95 per cent increase over the corresponding amount of Rs 126.32 crore for the half-year ended September 30, 1999. The board coopted Prof Jitendra Vir Singh, Vice-Dean, International Academic Affairs, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania as an Additional Director of the company effective today. Singh will hold office up to the date of the next AGM, when his appointment as a Director will be placed for the approval of the members in the general meeting. Infosys said as on September 30, 2000, it had 240 active clients, of which 27 were new clients added in the quarter. During the half-year ended September 30, 2000, the company made four strategic investments — in Alpha Thinx Mobile Phone Services
AG, Austria, Asia Net Media BVI Ltd., the British Virgin Islands, Cidra Corporation,
USA and M-Commerce Ventures Ltd, Singapore. |
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HFCL agreement with
UTStarcom NEW DELHI, Oct 10 — Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited (HFCL) has entered into a strategic alliance with
Convergence Labs for providing broadband access network in the Punjab basic services circle. “We plan to roll out AN-2000 broadband access network in Punjab in association with the tie-up with
Convergence Labs and UTStarcom, US,” Mr Mahendra Nahata, chairman and managing director of HFCL, told reporters here today. AN-2000 offers analog (pots), digital (ISDN) switched services, leased services and advanced ADSL always-on multi-megabit internet access over optical fibre metropolitan area access networks. HFCL also entered into an alliance with
Convergence Labs and UTStarcom Inc, the provider of wireless and wireline telecommunications access equipments to manufacture personal access system (PAS) a wireless local loop with city-wide mobility, AN-2000 broadband access network and WACOS, a multi-service IP switch, he said. Mr Nahata said the company would acquire stakes in various technology and software companies in the country over a period of three years and has allocated Rs 1000 crore for this purpose. Stating the company would acquire stakes in only those companies that would be synergistic to HFCL’s line of business, Mr Nahata said this year’s acquisition target is about Rs 200 crore which would be used for taking upto 40 per cent stake in various IT and convergence ventures in India. Mr Nahata said that HFCL would not be interested in picking up a mere 10 per cent stake in firms as it did not fall in line with the company’s non-organic growth strategy. |
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Prices of 800, Omni, Zen hiked NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (UNI) — Maruti Udyog Limited today effected a Rs 3,500-4,500 increase in the prices of all variants of its bread-and-butter car Maruti 800 in view of the rising production costs even as the price tags of Wagon-R, Gypsy and Alto were left untouched. The price tag of the company’s top-of-the-line luxury car Baleno witnessed the greatest increase of Rs 22,000 at Rs 7.49 lakh, followed by Zen-diesel, whose prices were raised by Rs 10,000, Maruti dealers told UNI here today. Maruti Udyog Managing Director Jagdish Khattar said a marginal price hike has been effected on most of the models. “We have just passed a small part of the increased costs to the customer.” MUL has increased the price of Maruti 800 standard by Rs 3,500 to Rs 2.15 lakh, while the prices of the M-800 EX and DX versions have been raised by Rs 4,500 to Rs 2.46 lakh and Rs 2.64 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) respectively. The price of Zen LX version has been hiked by Rs 3,500 at Rs 3.43 lakh while the Zen-diesel is now priced at Rs 3.93 lakh. The prices of Zen VX, VXI, at and Classic have been left untouched. The price of Omni 5-seater has been raised by Rs 2,150 and of the 8-seater by Rs 2,060. MUL’s entry-level mid-sizer Esteem LX now costs Rs 5.02 lakh, up Rs 3,000. The price tags of the VX and AX versions of the car have been raised by Rs 5,000 each at Rs 5.51 lakh and Rs 6.07 lakh respectively. Maruti had in July dropped prices of M800, Omni and Wagon-R for three months terming it a step to kick-start a sagging market. Prior to Maruti, General Motors had reportedly increased the prices of all versions of its mid-sized car Opel Astra by Rs 4,465-Rs 7,142, while in the case of Opel Corsa the price hike is in the range of Rs 2,680-6,700 per vehicle. Ford India had hiked the price of only one variant namely 1.3 EXI of its mid-size car Ikon by Rs 13,979 and added ‘’this is only price positioning as the variant was priced lower at the time of launch.’’ Hyundai Motor India has stated that the increasing steel prices is forcing the company to effect a hike in the prices of its models. Daewoo announced yesterday that the company is contemplating a hike in the prices of its small car Matiz. |
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HM to refocus on good old Ambassador NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (PTI) — Loss-making Hindustan Motors (HM) today claimed that it would turn the corner next year largely on the strength of refocussing on time-tested Ambassador car and up to 85 per cent localisation of its premium car Lancer. “We will break even this year in terms of cash generation, although our net losses will come down to about Rs 40 crore from Rs 62 crore in the last fiscal... We will definitely turn the corner and start generating profits by the next fiscal,” HM’s newly appointed Chief Executive B.K. Chaturvedi told PTI. “The increase in the localisation level of Lancer from 56 per cent at present to 70 per cent by the end of the current fiscal would help us in saving about Rs 40,000 per vehicle and in turn bringing down our losses,” he said. Emphasising on renewed sales initiative for old horse Ambassador, Chaturvedi said: “We would like to concentrate in non-metro urban and rural market to promote this as a family car. After all, one Ambassador is equal to two Maruti cars in terms of carrying capacity.” He, however, admitted that the company had of late neglected an aggressive sales drive and dealers network and said that he would soon embark on a major plan to spread the sales network, as part of which, he would strive to have district-level dealers. HM is in talks with Mitshubishi of Japan, the partner in the Lancer project, for seeking its help to hike the localisation level further to 85 per cent by the end of the next financial year, he said. However, the focus for business growth would be largely Ambassador, he indicated saying the manufacturing facilities for ambassador had almost depreciated sans the new investment made in the West Bengal plant two years ago. “This gives us an advantage,” he added. Chaturvedi said there was immense potential for the company to market its Ambassador model in the non-metro and rural areas keeping in view the local road conditions and concept of family in these areas. “The concept of a family in semi-urban and rural areas is different than the nuclear family in metros comprising husband, wife and two children. Ambassador fits very well for the requirement of big families and we want to encash this by adopting an aggressive marketing strategy,” Chaturvedi said. HM, one of the oldest car companies of the country, is also banking heavily on expanding its sales and service networks across the country. It has targeted to increase its dealer network for marketing Ambassador to 125-130 by the end of the current fiscal from about 92 dealers at present. The company has separate dealers for its premium car Lancer mainly because of being an upmarket product. HM has already started identifying new dealers and plans to expand its network to the district headquarters level. He said the company was also conscious about small troubles in Ambassador like jamming of doors, window glasses and tough steering and gearboxes. “These are very minor problems which can be corrected without much effort and investment. We are rectifying these faults and very soon customers will feel a difference,” he said. Admitting that Ambassador was a preferred vehicle for tour operators and government departments and not that popular as a personal vehicle, Chaturvedi said the company would now project this vehicle as a family car also as it is spacious, almost
maintenance-free and economical. |
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Markfed records
Rs 17.51 cr profit CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — Punjab Cooperatives Minister R.S. Brahmpura today lashed out at FCI Chairman Bhurelal’s statement that more than 80 per cent of paddy in the state is of bad quality. Mr Brahmpura, speaking at a press conference here said that the statement by the FCI Chairman was an irresponsible one. Regarding the problem of slow movement of foodgrains, he said that the central government need to find an alternative solution. Mr D.S. Bains, MD, Markfed, said that Markfed has shown a profit of Rs 17.51 crore compared to Rs 17 lakh last year. An increase of Rs 1,175 crore has been recorded in the annual business turnover for this year as compared to last year. He said that the improvement in the performance has been on account of investment of its own funds in the working capital, full utilisation of the storage capacity, distribution of inputs through its own network and control on expenditures. He, however, said that the movement of foodgrains was very slow due to problems in milling and even delivery of paddy and other foodgrains. “About 1.25 lakh million tonnes of paddy worth more than Rs 83 crore is still lying unmilled with us and Rs 27 crore is due from the millers,” said Mr Bains. |
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Badal seeks
Rs 735 as wheat price CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — Taking exception to the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) on the price policy for wheat for the rabi season this year, Mr Parkash Singh Badal,Chief Minister of Punjab, has demanded that the MSP for wheat crop should be fixed at Rs 735 per quintal . In its report, the CACP had noted that the minimum support price of wheat is already very high due to which the commission is not making any recommendations on the MSP. Mr Badal stated that in case MSP for wheat for the next rabi season is fixed at Rs 580 per quintal, without a proper analysis of various indices like cost of cultivation, increase in the wholesale price index and input price index, the elaborate edifice of food security which has been built up with assiduous efforts over the last two decades will fall flat. Mr Badal said that the state government has recommended to the CACP, a MSP of Rs 735 per quintal for wheat for the rabi season 2000-2001. He said that the cost of cultivation of wheat for one quintal after taking into consideration various costs is nearly Rs 665. |
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Bajaj Tempo unveils Euro-1 utility vehicles GURGAON, Oct 10 (TNS) — Bajaj Tempo Limited, launched here today new products in five categories, — Gama-DI, Judo, Judo Deluxe, Gurkha and Trax Pickup. A spokesperson of the firm said Tempo now covered all segments in the utility vehicles market, these being the rural (Gama DI), urban (Judo) and high performance, high comfort utility vehicle (Judo DLX). He said the engines in all Trax variants were based on the renowned Mercedes Benz OM 616 engine, further developed and manufactured in-house. They are all Euro-1 compliant and have been updated for higher efficiency. |
Satyam records 117 cr net profit HYDERABAD,
Oct 10 (PTI) —Satyam Computers recorded a net profit of Rs 117.31 crore in the half year ending September 30, 2000 against Rs 56.58 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. The results of the second quarter were finalised at the Board of Directors meeting here today. The profit before interest, depreciation and tax was Rs 196.29 crore against Rs 112.98 crore on September 30, 1999. The income from software export yielded Rs 492.08 crore while it was Rs 285.08 crore during the previous year. Income from domestic sales had gone up from Rs 5.25 crores to 13.79 crore. While the total income for the second quarter was Rs 524.65 crore the total expenditure was Rs 328.36 crore. The Board recommended an interim dividend of Rs 0.36 per share (working out to 18 per cent on par value of Rs 2 per share) and the record date for payment of dividend will be December 1, 2000, the release said.
VSNL announces festive benefits NEW
DELHI, Oct 10 (PTI) — Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) today announced one free account of Internet for each account subscribed as part of festive package for Indian Internet users. “Under the Festive Fiesta Scheme, the benefit would be available for the same duration as the subscribed account and the scheme will be available for advance renewals,”
VSNL said. The subscribers who have not exhausted their account usage can go in for advance renewal and avail of the free account facility, it said adding that the benefits were available in six cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune. The corporation also announced a free encyclopaedia cd to subscribers of each new account of 250 hours but this facility would not be available for gift accounts. The festive fiesta scheme would available from today till December 15, 2000. Other unique benefits to customers availing festive package include free Internet access at night (11 pm to 8 am) for three years and free Internet access on Sundays for three years.
Tie-up with Yahoo India MUMBAI, Oct 10 (UNI) —Eemecklai.com, the leading financial markets portal, has announced a strategic tie up with Yahoo:India which will help India’s users to access Emecklai’s commentary and analysis on the foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity markets. The alliance will help Emecklai offer Yahoo:India, information, market intelligence and analysis non
Indian markets. According to a news release, Emecklai.com, a B2B portal aimed at companies that carry risk in illiquid markets globally, has already achieved a reasonable critical mass of users. In the four months since the launch of the business, Emecklai already has regular business users from over 85 countries and by August was averaging 500,000 page views a month.
Sony-website for Indian customers NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (UNI) — Sony has launched a group website to provide a comprehensive and united platform to Indian customers. This website, with a domain name www.sony.co.in, is a mother site which links all the individual sites of Sony India, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Music India and Colombia Tristar. Besides providing links to each site, the group site also gives corporate profile of each individual company.
DCM Shriram sets up IT subsidiary NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (UNI) — DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL) has incorporated a new IT subsidiary to mark the company’s foray into the information technology sector, DSCL Vice Chairman and Managing Director Ajay S. Shriram said. The company is likely to commence business in the areas of information technology in a couple of months, Mr Shriram said. “We are studying all the options at present to finalise the business model, we are looking at software development and other IT-related activities,” however, the company is not in favour of becoming an Internet service provider. As a first step in its foray into the IT sector, the company has incorporated DCM Shriram International Limited (DSIL) as its subsidiary, viz. DCM Shriram Credit and Investments Limited (DSCIL).
CII-NIIT unveils ‘Know Internet’ CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 (TNS) — The CII-NIIT IT centre launched a computer literacy campaign “Know Internet” in association with Glidemart today. The main aim of the campaign is to make the people aware about the advantages of the Internet . Small and medium enterprises will also be targeted and told about the emerging business opportunities which Internet can provide them with . As per the programme, two to four hour of free internet training will be provided to the masses in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. Mrs Madhulika Tripathi, Chairperson, CII IT sub-committee said that the campaign aims to reach nearly four-five thousand people within the first few days itself.
J & K Bank records 40 pc rise in net SRINAGAR, Oct 10 (UNI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited recorded a net profit of Rs 77.29 crore for the first half of 2000-2001 registering a 40 per cent increase over the corresponding period in the last fiscal. The total income of the bank for the first half ended September 30 stood at Rs 558.79 crore, compared to Rs 443.63 crore in the corresponding period of last financial year. The capital and reserves increased from Rs 428.62 crore to Rs 605.59 crore. |
co
Indians denied visas TEL AVIV: The Israeli Embassy in New Delhi has denied visas to 20 Indian businessmen seeking participation in the recently held Plasto Ispack Plastics and Packaging Exhibition in Tel Aviv. Visas were given to businessmen from Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, which is still considered to be hostile to the Jewish state, English daily Jerusalem Post reported. Confirming the visa denial, Tel Aviv Trade Fairs and Convention Centres CEO Amir Tamari said he had tried to contact the Interior Ministry, the authority to issue visas, on the issue but to no avail. “I regret the decision not to give visas to Indian businessmen which is so crucial for developing trade ties. Unfortunately, the ministry even did not bother to give any reasons either to us or to Indians,” he said. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Counsellor for Economic Affairs with the Indian Embassy here, said Indian businessmen
consistently faced problems in obtaining visas as there was an opinion in Israel that those seeking to come to the country could abuse their visas.
— PTI Women do
it better CHANDIGARH: Women entrepreneurs are comparatively more capable than their male
counterparts. Most of them are keen to improve their skills by undergoing training in the profession they adopt. According to a recent study conducted by Industrial Services International, a Patiala-based institution, more than 76 per cent of the women entrepreneurs did not want to take the risk of availing loans and paying interest
thereon. They prefer to start with their own savings or assistance from their relatives or friends. “It has been observed that if given a free hand, women can perform even better than men in the industrial
field. They are more committed, but they are also more prone to financial and social risks”, says Mr. M.R. Chaudhary, Executive Director of Industrial Services International. The study found that most of the women opt for activities based on personal skills and a few of them also started big units. However, 91 per cent of the women entrepreneurs were engaged in micro units having an investment up to Rs 50,000. Japanese ‘less fit’ now TOKYO: Japanese youths are under exercised and becoming overweight because they spend too much time playing video games, the Education Ministry has warned. In an annual report on the country’s fitness, it noted that the average 19-year-old male student now takes six minutes and 38 seconds to run 1,500 metres — 34 seconds slower than in 1979 — while the average female equivalent spends an extra 0.36 seconds sprinting 50 metres. Each year, schools throughout Japan carry out extensive tests to measure how fast students can run, how far they can jump and throw a ball. For most of the post-war period, the results suggested that physical health had improved along with growing affluence. But although Japan now has the world’s second-biggest economy, the past decade has marked a steady slide in fitness that the ministry says does not bode well for the future health of the country. It blames the fall on an increasingly reclusive lifestyle. “Children spend more time on video games and other activities that keep them indoors, which has reduced their physical abilities and endurance,” the report said. This is not the only worry for Japan. Earlier this year the health ministry warned that male teenagers were becoming more prone to obesity, while the obsession with dieting had pushed up the number of underweight females.
— The Guardian |
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Royal Philips to hike stake in Punjab Anand NEW DELHI, Oct 10 — Royal Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips) of the Netherlands and Punjab Anand Lamp Industries Ltd have decided to make open offers to the existing shareholders of Philips India Ltd and PAIL. Philips has a 51 per cent equity stake in Philips India Ltd. It proposes to make an open offer for an additional 23 per cent of the total equity which, if subscribed fully, would enhance its holding to 74 per cent in Philips India Ltd. The offer price of Rs 105 per share offers a premium of 46 per cent over the closing price of Philips India Ltd at the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday and a premium of 55.5 per cent over the SEBI mandated price. Philips also has a 51 per cent equity stake in PALI and another 23.5 per cent is held by Philips India Ltd. The open offer is for the balance outstanding equity of 25.5 per cent. Kotak Mahindra to pay 20 pc dividend MUMBAI, Oct 10 (UNI) — Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund (KMMF) has declared a dividend of Rs 2 per unit (20 per cent on a face value of Rs 10 per unit) for its K 30 equity scheme. The record date set for the declaration of the dividend was October 9, 2000. The cum-dividend NAV of the scheme was Rs 17.556. KMMF had announced an exit load of 1.25 per cent for all investors entering the scheme between the 3rd and 9th of the month and exiting the scheme between the 10th and the 31th of the month. Offers a dividend payout and a dividend reinvestment option. Jain Studios net profit soars 136 pc NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (UNI) — Jain Studios Limited (JSL) has recorded a net profit of Rs 2.05 crore in the 1999-2000 fiscal, up from Rs 2.89 lakh a year ago. Disclosing this at the company’s annual general meeting, JSL Chairman Dr Jain said the company’s net worth has increased from Rs 10 crore as on March 31, 1999, to Rs 42.81 crore on March 31, 2000, registering an increase of 136 per cent. A statement issued here today said gross fixed assets increased from Rs 11.37 crore to Rs 21.26 crore. Due to increased profits, the return on capital employed increased from 1.64 per cent during 1998-99 to 11 per cent in 1999-2000. |
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Diesel stir Indian Airlines Tata Infotech Uco Bank Onkar Singh Hindalco |
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