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Friday,
January 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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CORPORATE NEWS
Excise mop-up bulges 15 pc
Gold prices shoot up to all-time high
Indal posts 4.54 pc drop in net profit
A mobile ‘touch’ in the offing |
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Hindustan Lever losing charm?
Loan scheme for farm graduates
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CORPORATE NEWS
Kolkata, January 23 The profit before charging for taxation grew by 777.07 per cent to Rs 353.11 crore for the three-month period October to December, 2002, as compared to Rs 40.26 crore in the same period last year. The net sales and income from operations during the period was at Rs 2398.92 crore as against Rs 1902.21 crore in the same period last year, reflecting an increase of 26.11 per cent over the previous year. The earning per share for the period was at Rs 7.62 as against Rs 0.94 in the same period last year. The earning from exports increased to Rs 320.64 crore during the quarter from Rs 147.35 crore in the same period last year. For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2002, the net profit stood at Rs 549.33 crore as compared to Rs 82.43 crore in the corresponding period last year, recording an increase of about 566.41 per cent over the same period last year. The profit before charging for taxation was at Rs 661.12 crore from Rs 92.97 crore while the earnings per share for the nine-month period between April to December, 2002, was at Rs 14.94 from Rs 2.18 in the same period last year. The net sales and income from operations for the nine month period was at Rs 6,433.32 crore from Rs 5446.55 crore in the same period last year. Tata Power
Tata Power today reported a 34 per cent jump in its profit after tax to Rs 146 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2002.
Mascot
Mascot Systems has posted a 66.1 per cent drop in the consolidated net profit at Rs 3.56 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, as against Rs 10.29 crore in the same period last year. The consolidated income for the reporting quarter grew to Rs 100.97 crore as compared to Rs 99.15 crore in the third quarter of FY-02, the company informed the BSE today. On a stand alone basis, the net profit and total income for Q3 stood at Rs 3.47 crore (Rs 10.29 crore in Q3 of FY-02) and Rs 97.71 crore (Rs 98.08 crore).
Torrent Pharma
Torrent Pharmaceuticals has posted a net profit of Rs 14.26 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2002, as compared to the net loss of Rs 27.6 crore in the same period last fiscal.
Britannia
Britannia Industries has posted a net profit of Rs 25.10 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2002, registering an increase of 10.5 per cent as compared to Rs 22.7 crore recorded in the quarter ended December 31, 2001.
Jindal Steel
Jindal Steel and Power today reported a 105 per cent jump in the net profit at Rs 60.21 crore during October-December, 2002, and has approached FIs for restructuring of costly debt.
Maharashtra Seamless
Maharashtra Seamless has posted a net profit of Rs 18.04 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2002, registering a rise of 51 per cent as compared to Rs 11.90 crore a year ago.
Padmalaya Tele
Padmalaya Telefilms has reported a drop in its net profit at Rs 4.02 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2002, as compared to Rs 6.61 crore in the same period last year.
Agencies
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Satyam net inches down 2 pc
Hyderabad, January 23 The total income of the company, however, jumped to Rs 521.50 crore during the quarter as against Rs 446 crore during the corresponding period in the previous year, registering a 16.9 per cent increase while income from other sources came down drastically, according to the audited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2002, which were approved at the company’s board meeting here today. The income from software exports was also on the rise touching Rs 517.33 crore during the quarter as against Rs 431.55 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, while income from domestic sales went up marginally reaching Rs 4.92 crore compared to Rs 4.21 crore in the corresponding period last year, showing a 1.68 per cent increase. Outlook revised
“The forecast for software services revenue for the full year is revised to be between Rs 2010 crore to Rs 2020 crore,” he told a press conference here. Equity per share (EPS) at Rs 3.71 was lower than the guidance of Rs 4.20. The forecast for the annual EPS now stood revised at Rs 14.57 to Rs 14.66.
PTI
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HCL Tech net dips 35 pc New Delhi: HCL Technologies today reported a 35 per cent drop in its net profit to Rs 80.59 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2002, as opposed to a net income of Rs 123.22 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Gross revenue grew 17 per cent to Rs 467.93 crore in October-December, 2002, over Rs 401.26 crore turnover in the same period last year, a company statement said here. The company also announced the appointment of Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystem Ltd, as the Additional Director on the HCL Tech Board. Revenue from Europe continue to grow, contributing 17 per cent to revenue, up from 15 per cent last quarter, the statement said. Twenty-one new customers were added during the quarter, including two Fortune 500 clients, taking the total to 356 while the offshore-centric business held steady contributing 78 per cent to consolidated revenues. During the October-December quarter, software businesses of HCL Infosystems and HCL Tech merged to consolidate practices in the area of end-user applications and widen suite of offerings in the fast growing enterprise solutions space.
PTI
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Excise mop-up bulges 15 pc Chandigarh, January 23 The department expects to maintain that growth till the end of financial year, said Mr S.J. Singh, Additional Commissioner of the Central Excise, here today. Talking to The Tribune, he said though the department was expecting an increase of about 25 per cent in revenue collections, continued recession in the industry, and the closure of some units like JCT Electronics and Telephone Cables had affected the tax collections. Further, the decrease in the excise duty on some textile items from 8 per cent to 4 per cent had also affected the revenue collection. He said, “the tractor industry, which is a major contributor to the Excise Department in the region, is not doing well this year due to drought in most of the states. Consequently, two units of Swaraj Tractors have deposited much lower revenue to the state exchequer though the duty from the International Tractors’ unit in Hoshiarpur has remained almost stable. Further, the collections from Ludhiana and Jalandhar region have shown a significant increase this year”. He said, the Ludhiana Commissionaire had collected Rs 977 crore till November 30, 2002, against Rs 796 crore collected during the corresponding period last year. Similarly, the Jalandhar Commissionaire had collected Rs 884 crore against Rs 772 crore during the same period last year. However, the Chandigarh
Commissionaire had registered only Rs 30 crore increase, to Rs 584 crore till November 30, 2002, against Rs 554 crore collected till November 30, 2001.
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Gold prices shoot up to all-time high
Mumbai, January 23 The persistent steep northward march in the global prices was largely due to a report by Russian military officer that a US-led attack on Iraq would take place in the second half of next month, which prompted heavy safe-heaven buying, analysts said. Another factor which jacked up the prices was a sharp fall in US dollar against major world currencies and a weak equity market, dealers said. Standard gold, after a steady start at Rs 5,800, shot up to close at a new high of Rs 5,850, showing a steep rally of Rs 50 over yesterday’s close of Rs 5,800. Ten-tola gold bar (.999 purity) commenced at a remarkably higher level of Rs 68,000 and continued to rise sharply in line with standard gold and it also closed at an all-time high of Rs 68,600, disclosing a smart rally of Rs 700 over the previous close of Rs 67,900.
PTI
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Indal posts 4.54 pc drop in net profit
Mumbai, January 23 The income from operations for the reporting quarter stood at Rs 315.02 crore as compared to Rs 330.82 crore in FY’02, Indal President and CEO
S.K. Tamotia said in a statement here today. The company said it had faced an extremely challenging third quarter with lower export realisations, a fall in sales of rolled products due to lack of demand growth and impact of higher energy costs. Exports in Q3 improved by 12 per cent at Rs 86.7 crore (Rs 77.2 crore in same period of last year). For the nine months ended December 31, and net profit stood at Rs 84.25 crore (Rs 89.52 crore) while net sales were at Rs 994.78 crore (Rs 997.95 crore), it said.
PTI
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A mobile ‘touch’ in the offing
London, January 23 How will it be done? The firm has adapted the sensory technology used in gamepads and joysticks to send physical sensations via a mobile. "We're thinking in terms of virtual touch," Immersion's Jeffrey Eid told BBC News Online. The system is based on the force feedback technology commonly found in video game controllers. The company has miniaturised the technology so that it fits inside a mobile. The technology works by making the phone vibrate in a number of ways. The vibration in today's mobiles is of a single strength and frequency. With Immersion's system, the strength and pitch of the vibrations can be controlled and varied. Immersion has developed a prototype which it demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show recently in Las Vegas.
ANI
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Hindustan Lever losing charm? Of the three Sensex heavyweights, namely Infosys, HLL and RIL, which is the likeliest to trigger the much-touted stock-market rally. If I had to place my bets, it would be on RIL, which of course, has raised the stakes for itself, with its ambitious infocomm project. This project could well, make or break the company as we know it today. Infy, of course, notwithstanding the arguments of fund managers with vested interests, has already seen its best days. That leaves us with HLL, and of the big three, it seems to be struggling the most. Will the HLL stock sink is a much-debated topic whenever stock-buffs such as yours truly meet at social occasions? A darling of the bourses and a model corporate, not too long ago, its fortunes have been on the downswing and today, it looks to be actually struggling to stay afloat as the harsh winds of change blow across our bourses. Nevertheless, it will be imprudent to so prematurely write-off a company of the pedigree of HLL. Hindustan Lever has witnessed a stagnation in sales in the past few years. Still, it has managed to keep its profits growing through effective cost management. Investors in HLL should, however, note that the future direction of the scrip will be linked to sales growth. Unfortunately, prospects for sales growth in the near term are bleak. However, the company will be the biggest beneficiary when the economy turns around and rural demand picks up. HLL’s “power brand” strategy, however, seems to be working, as shown by the growth of some of the brands that they have focused on. In tune with its intention to consolidate and rationalise operations, Lever is shedding non-core businesses in its portfolio to focus on the core areas. This indicates immense potential for Unilever in India over the longer term. Apart from this, the company is exiting businesses to lend focus to its business plan. These efforts have resulted in margin expansion for the company. Though this trend is well poised to continue in future too, the margin expansion going forward is likely to slow down. Going forward, its foods business is going to be the growth driver. The new strategy that the management is talking about is to become outsourcing centre for the Unilever group companies as well as non-Unilever companies. The margins will not be substantially lower than the domestic businesses, if one takes into account the absence of marketing and distribution expenses as well as export incentives. While there seems to be a limited downside, interest in this stock can be subdued in the short term due to lack of triggers. Overall then, it does seem unlikely that it will be HLL that will lead the bull brigade as and when a stock-market rally materialises.
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