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Ambuja, Holcim join hands to take stake in ACC
Airtel, Hutch slash STD rates
Anil skips IPCL meeting
SC quashes luxury tax on cigarettes
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Carton plant stone laid in Baddi
Corporate briefs
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Ambuja, Holcim join hands to take stake in ACC
New Delhi, January 20 Zurich-based Holcim said the deal was part of $ 800 million investment, which would give it a major presence in the top cement market, behind China. Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd today announced that it had entered into a strategic alliance with Holcim to strengthen their cement trading activities in South Asia, Middle-East and the adjoining regions in Indian ocean. Gujarat Ambuja said Holcim will buy 67 per cent of its Ambuja Cement India Ltd (ACIL) unit, a vehicle that owns 13.8 per cent of ACC. ACIL will make an open offer to increase its shareholding to 50.01 per cent of ACC at Rs 370 a share, it said, adding that the offer is subject to necessary regulatory approvals. Besides the long-term strategic alliance, the two cement majors would also compliment each other by exchanging experiences in product development, human resources and information technology. Holcim intends to use India as a platform for its IT and research and development procurement and also to source talented Indian manpower for its global operations. The $ 9.4 billion Holcim, the world’s second largest cement producer, had been evaluating several options to participate into the growing cement markets of India for some time. Holcim has entered into an agreement with private equity investors — AIG and GIC — of ACIL to acquire their entire 40 per cent shareholding in ACIL. Simultaneously, Holcim has also entered into Share Subscription Agreement with ACIL for its proposed subscription of about $ 600 million towards capital, both of these being subject to necessary regulatory approvals. Ambuja Cements and Holcim have agreed to make ACIL the platform for their strategic alliance. Gujarat Ambuja Executive Director Anil Singhvi clarified that Holcim was not looking to buy a stake in Gujarat Ambuja. “That is not the aim and objective as of today,” he added. ACIL also owns 94 per cent of Ambuja Cement Eastern Ltd (ACEL). Holcim through ACIL is also making an open offer to acquire its entire public shareholding from the minority shareholders at Rs 70 per share, subject to necessary approvals. Holcim has proposed to invest about $ 800 million in India, which will be financed entirely through internal sources and existing credit facilities. This is by far the largest foreign direct investment in the domestic cement industry. ACC, the most experienced and second largest cement producer in India, has 12 cement plants and 3 grinding plants with the current capacity of 18.2 million tonnes per annum and a national market share of about 13 per cent. In 2003-04, ACC recorded net sales of about Rs 356 crore and its net profit after minority interests stood at Rs 220 crore.
GACL net up
Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd has posted 50.4 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 89.55 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2004 as compared to Rs 59.54 crore for the corresponding quarter a year ago. Announcing the results, the company said its total income (net of excise) grew 48.3 per cent to Rs 660.67 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2004 as against Rs 445.21 crore in the same period a year ago. The group has posted 49.9 per cent growth in consolidated net profit to Rs 91.64 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2004 as compared to Rs 61.11 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year. Total income (net of excise) rose 47.8 per cent to Rs 776.70 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2004 as against Rs 525.41 crore in the same period last year, which also includes shares of earnings of associates.
— UNI
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Airtel, Hutch slash STD rates
New Delhi, January 20 The new rates will be applicable from February 1, according to separate company press notes. Meanwhile, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) today challenged the new ADC regime, which it says would lead to a Rs 400-crore annual loss.
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Anil skips IPCL meeting
Mumbai, January 20 The 12-member board did not accept the resignation of Anil Ambani and requested him to reconsider his resignation. Anil resigned from the board, saying that he did not want to be on the same board as Anand Jain, a close associate of Mukesh Ambani. Anil Ambani has blamed Anand Jain for the rift between the two brothers, say sources. The Anil Ambani camp has now put out that he would not reconsider his decision to resign from the board. According to Anil’s supporters, he is unhappy that the board did not address issues of conflict of interest between Jain as Director of Reliance and his family’s business relations with the Reliance group. According to sources, Anil Ambani had written two letters about Anand Jain. The first letter, written to Mukesh Ambani, questioned Jain’s role in IPCL’s dealings with companies owned by his relatives. Ambani also reportedly wrote to government nominees on the IPCL board, saying that Jain’s dealings need to be examined. Jain was one of the directors present at the board meeting. Meanwhile, the IPCL board also considered the third quarter financial results of the company. In a statement here, the company said that IPCL’s profits for the third quarter had increased 133 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The company‘s profit stood at Rs 189 crore, up from Rs 81 crore earlier. However, the company‘s Q3 income registered a decline of 30 per cent, from Rs 2815 crore to Rs 1964 crore.
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SC quashes luxury tax on cigarettes
New Delhi, January 20 A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice R. C. Lahoti held that the states had no power to frame laws for charging luxury tax on any good categorised as a luxurious item unless a component of service was attached to them. The legal experts explained that it would mean that the luxury tax could be imposed on such services as hotels, beauty parlours, massage parlours and hospitality industries for any luxurious service provided by them not on any goods. The states to be affected by the order include Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, which had imposed luxury tax ranging between 4 and 20 per cent on cigarettes and other such products like
gutka, putting them in the category of luxury items. Quashing the laws passed by these states in this regard, the Bench, having Ms Justice Ruma Pal, Mr Justice Arun Kumar, Mr Justice G P Mathur and Mr Justice C K
Thakker, said under “Entry 62 of List-II of the Constitution” which empowers states to enact legislations on certain specified subjects, imposition of luxury tax was excluded. The ruling, which might have adverse impact on the revenue collection by the states, came on the appeals of cigarette majors Indian Tobacco Company (ITC), Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, Vazir Sultan Tobacco Company and Purandas Ranchoddas challenging the imposition of the luxury tax by these states. The luxury tax was being charged by the states from the profit component of the cigarette companies to ensure that the maximum retail price of their product remained the same throughout the country. These companies had challenged the imposition of the luxury tax on the ground that cigarette products were already being taxed under the Central Excise Tax Act by the Centre and the revenue collected by the Union Government on this account was being shared with the states with the condition that the state governments would not impose sales tax on these products. However, the states had come with the idea of imposing the luxury tax to overcome this provision, which was illegal and not permitted under the Constitution, the cigarette companies had argued. Upholding their contention, the Bench said the state governments had no legislative competence to enact a law to impose luxury tax under the Entry 62 of List II.
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Lafarge eyes Shimla to set up cement unit
Shimla, January 20 The government had invited offers for setting up a two-million tonne capacity plant to exploit the limestone deposits in the Gumma-Rohana block. The survey carried out by the geological wing revealed that the area has 900 million tonnes of superior grade limestone deposits, suitable for producing high quality cement. While deposit with calcium oxide content in excess of 44 per cent is considered good for cement, the deposits in Chopal have 49 per cent of it. In all nine offers were received for the project. Besides the majors, Penna Cement, India Cement, Madras Cement, JK Cement, Grasim and Sri Cement had also submitted proposals. The Industries Department has, after evaluating the technical, environmental and financial parameters of the companies, sent the case to the government for a final decision. Lafarge, the French Company, has 132 cement plants across the globe, while the ACC has 14 and the Ambuja Cements seven.
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Carton plant stone laid in Baddi
Kumarhatti, January 20 Mr Singhi Ram said the plant would benefit the Himachal as the state produces 6 lakh tonnes of apple every year. He appreciated the research and development by the Reliance Group in the filed of packing horticulture produce. Wim Plast would produce one crore cartons in its first and second phases and later achieve its maximum production capacity of 3 crore cartons. The company would also manufacture plastic tray in which the hydrogen packing could be done, he said. He said this plant would be the biggest plastic processing unit of state. The state government has taken steps to ensure 70 per cent jobs to Himachali youths in units, pointed out Mr Ram. Mr CRB Lalit, Managing Director of HPMC, was also present on the occasion.
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Corporate briefs
Bangalore, January 20 Addressing a press conference here, company Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said sales had fallen from Rs 189 crore in the second quarter to Rs 178 crore, while the net profit fell to Rs 50 crore from Rs 56 crore. “You are going to see a lot of lumpy growth. Our performance has to be compared on an annual basis to get a true picture,” she said. In the third quarter of 2003-04, Biocon recorded sales of Rs 139 crore and net profit of Rs 35 crore. The biopharmaceuticals segment contributed to the bulk of sales this quarter at Rs 138 crore, followed by enzymes (Rs 22 crore) and contract research (Rs 18 crore). For the nine months of the current fiscal, Biocon recorded sales of Rs 538 crore and net profit of Rs 155 crore. “There was pricing pressure on statins in the European market in the third quarter, while prices were stable in the US market. We believe that the market for statins will show good growth up to 2008, after which it would get commoditised,” she observed. Biocon was expecting improved revenue flows from contract research and immuno-suppressants starting 2006, while monoclonal antibodies would begin to have a positive effect on sales from 2007 onwards, Ms Mazumdar-Shaw said. Indo Rama
Indo Rama Synthetics Ltd has reported a 70.17 per cent decline in net profit for the third quarter to Rs 21.43 crore compared to Rs 71.75 crore in the year ago period. Total income, however, increased by 4.71 per cent at Rs 476.3 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2004, from Rs 454.86 crore in the corresponding period the previous year, Indo Rama Synthetics informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. — UNI
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