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| Thursday, January 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Zee profit may reflect game show damage
ICICI net may fall
Austech for mini IT university in Punjab
VisualSoft best pick
New Astra, Corsa models unveiled PNB Card
launched Drastic fall in fortune of Indians in Britain |
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Wheat glut forces cut in minimum price
Raymond turns around, ICI net dips
Taiwan starts Year of Snake It gets men hot under collar
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Zee profit may reflect game show damage MUMBAI, Jan 24 (Reuters)— Zee Telefilms may show damage from its failure to cater to India's new craze for game shows when it unveils on Thursday financial results for the October-December quarter, analysts said. The stupendous success of rival Star Television's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," launched in July, stole viewers -- and advertisers -- away from Zee's soaps, forcing it to introduced a game show of its own in October. But that show, "Sawal Dus Crore Ka" (A Question of 100 Million Rupees), flopped and was yanked off the air in December. Few analysts, though, are willing to forecast earnings results that Zee is likely to post for the dismal past quarter, saying its complicated structure makes estimating difficult. "It's difficult to work out the numbers as you never know where the money will come from," said an analyst with a foreign research house who declined to be named. Beside Zee Telefilms, the Zee group includes a cable network and education, broadcasting and Internet service subsidiaries. Zee's stock has lost 45 percent in value over the past five months, reflecting investor dissatisfaction with its efforts to respond to competition. Two analysts who offered estimates for the consolidated results of Zee Network varied widely in their forecasts. One estimated net profit at 505 million rupees ($10.9 million) and revenue of 2.98 billion rupees; the other net profit of 665 million rupees and revenue of 1.58 billion rupees. But analysts were unanimous in expecting advertising revenue growth slowed because of the success of Star's Kaun Banega Crorepati ("Who Wants to Be a 10-Fold Millionaire"), broadcast four nights a week from 9:00 to 10:00. "There will definitely be a slowdown in topline growth because most of Zee's revenues came from advertising for their prime 7-10 p.m. slot," said an analyst with a domestic brokerage. Subhabrata Majumder, an analyst with Inquire Indian Equity Research, said he expected Zee's advertising revenue to rise just seven percent -- and its pay-channel revenue to expand 18-20 percent -- over the year-ago period. Analysts were also divided on whether Zee's international and regional language channels had shown enough growth to boost performance. Credit Lyonnais Securities India last week issued a "Sell" recommendation on Zee, saying the risks outweighed the potential rewards of owning the stock. |
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ICICI net may fall MUMBAI, Jan 24 (Reuters) — ICICI Ltd, the only Indian company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is expected to report flat to lower profit for the October-December quarter, according to most analysts. Shrinking interest margins and slack project financing demand may cause net profit to drop for the second straight quarter from year-earlier levels. Three analysts estimated net profit at 2.5 billion rupees ($53.9 million) barring unexpected extraordinary income, down almost eight percent from 2.71 billion rupees in the year-ago period. Profit in the second quarter fell 8.6 percent from a year earlier to 2.54 billion rupees. ICICI will announce its third-quarter results on Thursday. "There is little demand for ICICI's traditional business, which is project finance. They are more into working capital and corporate finance where the duration and spreads are much lower," a banking sector analyst with a European equity brokerage said. India's industrial growth has been sluggish this year, prompting weak demand for borrowed funds to finance capital investment and capacity expansion. However, Manish Karwa, an analyst at Pranav Securities, forecast third-quarter net profit will rise 10 percent, behind an eight percent increase in lending. And all analysts agreed profit could exceed their forecasts if ICICI booked additional income from the sale of some of the vast property it owns. |
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Austech for mini IT university in Punjab CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Mr Joseph Docherty, founder of the Australian-Indian Information Industries, proposed to set up a mini IT university in the region at a meeting with Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Mr Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, Director, Technical Education, here today. Elaborating, Mr Docherty said that Austech is currently seeking a location, for the establishment of a mini IT university capable of accommodating about 3,500 students. The institution will provide skilled work force, which Punjab will need for the achievement of its potential in the IT area. Students for the university would be sourced from the network of institutions in each district, which Austech is currently establishing across Punjab. The role of these “feeder” institutions would be to provide certificate programmes, which allow students to undertake further studies at the university level they should choose. The meeting was followed by a presentation of IT policies in Punjab by Mr Kalsi. “Mr Badal was very positive about the proposal and we have even been told to convey the viable place for the same in Punjab which can benefit the maximum number of people in the region”, Mr Docherty said. Another meeting regarding the proposal will be held within a week company and state officials, according to press release issued here today. |
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VisualSoft best pick IT was only a matter of time before the Indian IT brigade bounced back into the reckoning. The simple fact is that there is no other segment in the Indian context that offers such a potent growth rate. Again, there are trading gains for the taking and while those with a bearish sentiment will be treading on thin ice here from, compulsive traders could consider taking up short positions at the counters of MTNL at Rs 191 (cover up at Rs 172) and SBI at Rs 238 (cover up at Rs 221). Long positions could be considered at the counters of HCL Tech at Rs 627 (square up at Rs 706) and Polaris Software at Rs 475 (square up at Rs 511). The portfolio pick of the week is Visual Soft and the optimal course of action this week will be to seek trading opportunities.
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New Astra, Corsa models unveiled MUMBAI, Jan 24 (UNI) — General Motors India, today launched improved versions of Astra and Corsa cars at an increased cost. The introduction of Corsa Royale and New Astra Club-2001 will have the international benchmarking quality features in their respective segments, said Mr Aditya Vij, President and Managing Director of General Motors. The price range for four Corsa models and three Astra models are in a range of Rs 6.31 to 7.54 lakh and Rs 8.10 to 10.35 lakh respectively. CNG Ambassador Hindustan Motors today introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) driven Ambassador car to the consumers in
Mumbai. The offer price is around Rs 3.34 lakh in the taxi segment. HM President C.R. Chaturvedi told newspersons here that the company was first in the country to develop the factory-fitted CNG operated car which is almost 50 to 60 per cent cheaper than the petrol driven car. The running cost is around Rs 1.15 per km. Car sales down NEW DELHI (PTI): Car sales fell by 41 per cent in December 2000 at 31,847 units as against 53,760 units sold in the same month a year before mainly on account of sharp fall in sales of Maruti Udyog, Telco and Hyundai. Cumulative car sales (April-December 2000-01) stood at 4.18 lakh units registering a decline of 8.3 per cent against 4.56 lakh units sold an year ago, according to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) here today. Market leader Maruti’s car sales fell by 25 per cent to 23,846 units in the review month from 31,747 units. Santro, Ikon, Qualis MUMBAI: Hyundai Santro, Ford Ikon, Mitsubishi Lancer and Toyota Qualis were judged the “most appealing” cars in their respective segments by JD Power Asia Pacific, an international market research agency. The cars won prizes in the 2000 automotive performance execution and layout study with Santro winning the award for small car, Ikon in the entry mid-size category, Lancer for premium mid-size segment and Qualis as a multi-utility vehicle (muv). As many as 12 automobile makes and 22 models covered the study, the agency said. The prizes were handed over by James D Power IV, Partner Director International Operations, at a function here last night. Honda Siel and Maruti Udyog were joint winners in the 2000 customer satisfaction index study. Both Honda and Maruti performed well on all factors with the former leading on the problems experienced factor while Maruti led on service adviser and service performance. Santro (best small car), Maruti Esteem (best entry mid-size car), Lancer (best premium mid-size car) and Qualis (best muv) were the recipients in the 2000 initial quality study. In the tyre industry segment, Bridgstone ranked the highest in the original tyre customer satisfaction index study. |
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PNB Card launched GURGAON, Jan 24 — PNB International Credit Card has been launched in association with Hongkong Shanghai Bank Corportation. It was launched here today by the General Manager, Northern zone of the bank, Mr A.K. Bhargava, at a customers meet and PNB International Credit Card awareness fortnight camp. The card with two variants — Gold and Classic — has both Master Card and Visa franchises. PNB international card holders would have the privileges like acceptance at over 18 million merchant establishments across the world including one lakh in India, insurance cover 48 days free credit period, extended credit facility, worldwide ATM service and airline travel booking on phone with discount. Gold card and Classic card holders would have accident insurance cover against loss of life from air accidents up to Rs 10 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, respectively and Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh for other accidents.
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Drastic fall in fortune of Indians in Britain LONDON, Jan 24 (PTI) — There has been a drastic fall in the fortunes of London-based Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, the Hinduja Brothers and steel magnate Lord Swraj Paul, during the last one year, according to the latest “rich report 2001” comprising top 300 British millionaires. Mittal was listed as the fourth wealthiest in Britain in The Sunday Times rich list 2000 with a fortune worth £ 2.2 billion. The latest list drawn up by The Sunday Mail shows that Mittal’s fortune had dwindled to 1.2 billion and his position had fallen to 17th. Slump in the steel industry has knocked more than 500 million pounds off his fortune. Early last year Ispat International, the public company of which Mittal owns nearly 80 per cent, was worth more than 1 £ billion. Now it is worth £ 270 million. The total wealth of the Hinduja group chaired by S.P. Hinduja, which was assessed at £ 1.95 billion in 2000, has slumped to £ 800 million in 2001. “Close scrutiny of flagship businesses which were valued by leading management consultants at £ 1.05 billion has revealed they are worth less than £ 150 million on the Bombay Stock Exchange,” the report said. The shares of truck maker Ashok Leyland and Hinduja Finance Corporation, which includes cable TV interests, have plunged. The report quoted a spokesman of the group as saying that the shares were undervalued. “Plans to build power stations in India have been stalled by bureaucracy and funding difficulties, although the family still owns a Swiss bank and other manufacturing interests including pharmaceuticals”. The list of top 300 British millionaires includes 11 Indians. Lord Paul, who was the 111th with a wealth of £ 250 million last year has slipped to the 178 position with a fortune worth £ 170 million. |
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Wheat glut forces cut in minimum price CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — The proposal mooted by the Agricultural Costs and Price Commission to lower the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 60 per quintal appears to have been prompted by the problem of plenty that the country is currently facing and the fall in prices of the Indian wheat at the international market. The government had fixed the MSP of wheat at Rs. 580 a quintal last year. This year the commission has recommended that the MSP should be reduced to around Rs. 520 per quintal. The country is currently overflowing with foodgrains (wheat and rice). The stocks are believed to be around 450 lakh tonnes and about 200 lakh tonnes in excess of the buffer stocks. Other than this, an estimated 25 million tonnes of foodgrains are produced each year. It is estimated that after five years, the stocks would rise to 670 lakh tonnes. The present stocks are estimated to be worth thousands of crores. Even the total area under wheat and paddy production has been increasing with each passing year. Last year, 33.4 lakh hectares in Punjab was under wheat cultivation and 26 lakh hectares under paddy cultivation. Though the agrarian economy is not yet affected by the bumper crop produced each year or the existing stocks, agriculture scientists and economists feel otherwise. The only salvation for streamlining agriculture, they point out, is that the government agencies begin to procure these crops at fixed MSP each year. In absence of effective measures to find a way out, both agro-economists as well as agricultural scientists have warned that this problem of plenty being faced by the state is likely to persist over the coming few years as the area under cultivation for both these crops is increasing each year. Also, the failure of the government to provide better prices for other alternate crops leaves no other option for the farmers for diversification. Other than this, the price of the Indian wheat is less than the prevailing price of wheat in the international market. The scientists feel that the commission has taken into account the price of wheat in the international market while making the recommendation for reducing the MSP. Moreover, it is believed that the Indian wheat is of poor quality and has a poor protein content. Also the Indian wheat is soft, which is not acceptable in the international market where hard wheat is required for making bread. Dr Joginder Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Economics and Sociology, PAU, informed that the price of wheat in the international market had fallen from $ 208 per tonne in 1996 to 128 per tonne at present. “As against this, the Indian wheat sells at $ 108 per ton which is much lower and when compared with the actual cost of procurement, coupled with the transportation charges and storage, is highly uneconomical.’ He suggests that the country needs to explore the other ethnic markets in the region like Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka and Taiwan for exporting the wheat. The growth rate in wheat production in Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat and Rajasthan, being higher than Punjab, has also affected the agrarian economy of the state. Dr G.S. Kalkat, Vice Chancellor, PAU, Ludhiana, told TNS that if the MSP on wheat crop were to be reduced, it would have serious repercussions on the state’s agrarian economy. “On one side, the government has promised to work for improving the economy of the farmers. The proposal to reduce the MSP on wheat will further affect the condition of the farmers. After the fiasco during the rice procurement in September-October 2000, the government cannot afford another such situation. If at all the government has to change the policy of procurement, the farmers need to be prepared for the same over a period of a few years,” he said. |
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Microsoft to pay Sun $ 20 mn Pakistan debt woes loom Silverline ties up with Dharma Systems Japan trade surplus falls
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Q3 reports Raymond turns around, ICI net dips ICI India on Wednesday recorded a 45 per cent dip in the net profit to Rs 28.12 crore in April-December, 2000, against Rs 51.02 crore in the same period a year ago. Net sales of ICI also witnessed 8 per cent fall to Rs 643.33 crore. Raymond Raymond has witnessed a turnaround in the quarter ended December 31, 2000, with the company registering a net profit of Rs 21.91 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 2.83 crore in the third quarter last year. ABB ABB has bagged a Rs 50.8 crore order from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the supply of turnkey electrification package for rail corridor for the Mass Rapid Transit System for the Capital. The package funded by the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation is for supply of electrification package for the rail corridor between Shahdara and Trinagar. Unichem Lab Unichem Laboratories has posted a 47 per cent increase in the net profit at Rs 5.35 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2000, as compared to Rs 3.64 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company’s sales were up by 21 per cent from Rs 47.78 crore in Q3 1999 to Rs 57.98 crore in the reporting quarter, the company said in a release in Mumbai on Wednesday. For the nine-month period, the net profit stood Rs 17.79 crore for the Q3, 2000, increased by 56 per cent from Rs 11.38 crore in the same period last year. Rallis India Rallis India a Tata enterprise, has suffered a setback in the third quarter ending December, 2000, with a net loss of Rs 8.69 crore against a profit of Rs 28 lakh in the corresponding quarter last year. Net sales also fell sharply by 23.07 per cent during this period to Rs 274.71 crore against Rs 357.11 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, the company said in a release here today. Birla Yamaha Birla Yamaha’s net sales for the quarter ended December, 2000, stood at Rs 1711.98 lakh (Rs 1454 lakh), an increase by 17.74 per cent. The profit before tax stood at Rs 199.41 lakh (Rs 182 lakh) while profit after tax was marginally higher at Rs 124.41 lakh (Rs 122 lakh). For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2000, the company has recorded a 10 per cent increase in total sales of Rs 5412.99 lakh (Rs 4902 lakh). The profit before tax stood at Rs 716.77 lakh (Rs 660 lakh) while profit after tax stood at Rs 471.77 lakh (Rs 450 lakh), recording a marginal increase of 5 per cent over the previous year. Kale Consultants Kale Consultants’ total income for the quarter ended December 31, stood at Rs 94.54 million (Rs 71.99 million), an increase of 31 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year. Total expenditure for the quarter increased to Rs 74.39 million (RS 35.39 million). As a result, profit after tax declined to Rs 5.46 million (Rs 31.55 million). For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2000, the company’s revenues stood at Rs 254.48 million (Rs 174.45 million). an increase of 46 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
— TNS and agencies
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Taiwan starts Year of Snake TAIPEI: Thousands of people in Taiwan made an early start to the Year of the Snake on Wednesday when they queued for hours to receive a traditional gift of good luck money from President Chen Shui-bian. People from all over the island lined up outside Chen's home in the rural southern township of Kuantian, where he doled out red envelopes containing T$200 (US$6). Some had come from as far as the frontier island of Quemoy to pick up a red envelope, while others snared a spot in the queue as early as the previous afternoon,
television stations reported. "We all feel very honoured to have a President come from our village, so I got in line at noon yesterday to get some good luck for the year," one local teenager said. Chen, a son of poor tenant farmers, will hand out 15,000 red envelopes in his first Lunar New Year as President since winning power last May. He continues a tradition set by Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan's first
native-born President. Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday in the Chinese-speaking world. Chinese parents traditionally give children red envelopes containing money during the holiday to bring good fortune. Besides setting off firecrackers, trying their hand at a round of Mahjongg and visiting neighbours and relatives to wish them a happy new year, many people also vie to be the first to offer incense when temples open for the first day of the year. Television showed the custodians of Chiayi city's centuries-old Fengtian temple opening the gates and diving for cover as a torrent of worshippers sprinted to be the first to make an offering.
—Reuters It gets men hot under collar SYDNEY: An Australian magazine has apologised after sending out a sex survey to 12,000 men, asking them if they had had sex with prostitutes, animals or even food, without a cover letter explaining why they were being asked. "B" Magazine editor Christina Larmer told Reuters older men in particular had been offended by the unexplained explicit questions and the magazine had even received a few calls from outraged wives. But the Sydney-based women's publication stood by its survey, because those were the sort of things about men that its 18-24-year-old female audience really wanted to know. "Our apologies to those people. We had intended to include a cover letter," Larmer said. "It is a bit of fun but it is also legitimate. We stand by the survey. These are things that my readers are constantly asking us about." The survey, due to be published in "B" Magazine's May issue, asked men whether they had ever had sex with another man, a prostitute, an animal or a food substance. It asked how often they masturbated and the most unusual place they had had sex. Larmer said the question that had aroused the most curiosity was the one about sex with food.
—Reuters |
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Call centre Internet node HP bank Ratan Tata |
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