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RIL gives 75 pc dividend as net shoots up by 47 pc
Reliance Info gets ISO stamp
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Air-India deal hinges on govt decision
Haryana to create 5 lakh jobs
Cotton production to touch 232 lakh bales
Andhra Bank’s net rises by 12 pc
City TiE chapter tie-up
Punjab Tractors declares 55 pc dividend
Shoppers’ Stop gets SC nod
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RIL gives 75 pc dividend as net shoots up by 47 pc
Mumbai, April 27 The company announced a 46.4 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 7,572 crore as compared to Rs 5,160 crore in the year before riding on the back of rising margins in petroleum refining. According to the company, RIL’s short-term performance was even more impressive. Its performance in the January-March quarter indicated that its net was up 61.5 per cent at Rs 2,292 crore. Other income during the same quarter is at Rs.476 crore as against Rs.477 crore last year. RIL’s Q4 EPS stood at Rs.16.40. The company’s earnings per share in 2004-05 stood at Rs 54.24. Rewarding the three million shareholders, RIL announced a whopping 75 per cent dividend. The shareholders would be getting Rs 7.50 per share of Rs 10 each. RIL also announced impressive results of its associate companies. Elaborating on its oil and gas business, RIL said it has received government’s approval for a plan to begin production of natural gas from its gigantic field in Bay of Bengal. “A development plan for producing 40 million standard cubic meters per day of gas initially from Dhirubhai 1 and 3 of KG-D6 block has been approved by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). Mining lease for 20 years effective from March 2, 2005 has been granted,” the company said in a press note here. The note did not give the start date for production. It also did not state the investment the company will make in bringing the gas in the deep-sea block to production. Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited has posted a turnover of Rs 9,386 crore against Rs 9,019 crore for the corresponding previous year, an increase of 4 per cent and net profit after tax of Rs. 789 crore against Rs 273 crore for the corresponding previous year, an increase of 188 per cent for the year ended March 31, 2005. Reliance Energy Limited has reported an increase of 42 per cent in their net profits to Rs 520 crore and an increase of 28 per cent in total income at Rs 4,593 crore. RIL’s telecom arm, Reliance Infocomm, which was marred by controversies over routing of international calls as local ones, reported profits within little over two years of its operations on a turnover of Rs 5,387 crore reflecting a growth over 99 per cent. Reliance Infocomm Limited has posted a turnover of Rs 5,387 crore against Rs 2,707 crore for the corresponding previous year, an increase of 99 per cent and net profit after tax of Rs 51 crore against loss of Rs 390 crore for the corresponding previous year. It is pertinent to mention that Reliance Infocomm had to pay Rs 150 crore penalty to the government for violating the licence condition and also has paid over Rs 550 crore to the two telecom PSU —MTNL and BSNL — as access deficit charge (ADC). The company was the first one to achieve a subscriber base of one crore. Reliance Infocomm has been offering services virtually throughout the country. Feud continues
The feud between the Ambani brothers continued before today’s board meeting. Speaking to reporters ahead of the board meeting, Anil Ambani said he had no communication with the Board of the IPCL and accused it of ignoring his suggestions on dividend payout. He even portrayed himself as a lone ranger against the mighty Reliance empire. “Its a battle between Anil Ambani and the Reliance XI,” Ambani said. “RIL Board has chosen to ignore all my comments. I am in a minority as far as governance is concerned. “It is time to reward shareholders but I am in minority. I owe my responsibility to three million shareholders,” said Anil. He went on to say that he would continue working for Reliance. “I will continue to serve the company contrary to the designs of several people who do not want me in the company,” Anil said. Anil Ambani also spoke out on behalf of small shareholders. “Clearly I am in the minority as far as rewarding shareholders, transparency and governance issues are concerned, Ambani said. “I have put this on record to the board of directors and they have chosen to ignore all my comments and suggestions,” he added. Listing out a series of reasons for termination of the buyback programme, approved by RIL Board at its meeting on December 27 with a provision of Rs 2,990 crore, Anil said despite the three-month old programme, RIL stock underperformed the BSE index by 6 per cent since November. Later in the day Ambani abstained from signing the financial accounts saying relevant information and disclosures were not provided with. During the meeting, Anil Ambani also opposed nomination of Ashok Mishra as Director and extension of the term of H S Kohli, executive director, according to information from the Anil camp. However the RIL Board overruled Anil. All 11 members of the board attended the meeting, sources said.
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Reliance Info gets ISO stamp
Chandigarh, April 27 The company bagged this certification on Saturday, within a period of four months beginning December 2004. Six sigma is an international disciplined, data driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
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Maruti mulls hike from May 1
Gurgaon, April 27 Mr Khattar, who was in the company’s plant here to roll out the five millionth car, announced that this had been necessitated on account of an increase in the cost of inputs. He, however, reserved comments on the quantum of hike. He further said Maruti would launch Swift next month. This would be in the middle car segment falling between Wagon R and Esteem. The five millionth car rolled out was a red Wagon R which, according to Mr Khattar, symbolised the collective efforts and aspirations of Maruti employees, the company’s suppliers, dealers, service workshops, marketing partners and customers. He said Maruti was still the leader in the small car segment. When informed about the challenge thrown by the Hyundai group to MUL, he said his company was still the leader and would continue with the tag. According to him, the five million landmark has come at a time when the Maruti-Suzuki partnership is in the process of increasing its commitment to India. Mr Khattar said the company sold 536,301 vehicle units during 2004-05,the highest- ever annual sale since it started operations.
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Air-India deal hinges on govt decision
Mumbai, April 27 Sources here say Boeing’s rival, Airbus Industrie, may still symie the national flag carrier’s expansion plans by lobbying with the government. “The battle between the two companies has prevented Air- India from upgrading its fleet for the past 15 years,” a senior airline official said. Airbus Industrie has already made a statement that the parameters used by the AI’s Board to evaluate aircraft from both competitors were changed to suit Boeing. The European consortium is also expected to accuse the American Government of swinging AI’s order Boeing’s way. As it is Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has sought to play it safe by saying the airline’s board alone decided in favour of Boeing. AI’s deal with Boeing comes shortly after Indian Airlines placed an order with Airbus Industrie for 43 aircraft. The deal though is much smaller than AI’s deal with Boeing. Aviation circles believe that the US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice played a major role in Boeing bagging the Air- India deal. The deal also reportedly figured during the discussions between the U.S. Transportation Secretary, Norman Mineta, and the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, when they signed the India-U.S. “Open Skies’’ agreement recently. Earlier, Air- India’s attempts to buy 28 aircraft more than a decade ago floundered in the face of lobbying by both manufacturers. Traditionally, both IA and AI have a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft symbolizing successive governments’ attempts to play off US with the Europeans. However, this has affected the maintenance expenditures of both airlines. Sources say it is suitable to have a fleet of airlines based on a “single family” for optimal usage of maintenance and training facilities. Pilots and engineers have to train and obtain licences for each aircraft making it an expensive proposition for the two airlines. Both deals have now to be cleared by the Prime Minister’s Office. PTI adds: State-owned Air-India has decided to tap the capital market through a public offering to partly fund its fleet acquisition. The board today accorded an in-principle approval for an initial public offering (IPO), subject to the approval of the government, A-I said in a press note here. If the government approval comes through, Air-India would be the second national carrier to tap the capital market. On March 30, the Indian Airlines Board gave its nod to float a public offer to raise resources from the capital market. Airbus Industrie cries foul New Delhi: A day after Air-India gave away its entire Rs 30,000 crore deal for 50 aircraft to American company Boeing, European manufacturer Airbus Industrie on Wednesday sought that all documents relating to the tendering process be sent to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and fresh tenders be called for the deal. “We will be writing to the Civil Aviation Ministry and Air-India in the next couple of days that the evaluation be reconsidered and fresh tenders called to ensure fair competition. We would also like them to send all related documents to the CVC for stand-alone evaluation,” Mr Nigel Harwood, Airbus Industrie’s Vice-President (Sales), told reporters here. When contacted A-I spokesman Jitender Bhargava categorically maintained: “There have been no changes made in the tender norms”. — PTI
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Haryana to create 5 lakh jobs
Gurgaon, April 27 Speaking at an “interactive session” with industrialists organised here by the Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Mr Arora urged the industry to help the government achieve the target of providing the jobs in five years. He said the new industrial policy would be announced on May 31 and would be operational from June 30. The founder president of the GCCI and former President of the government on several issues, including delay with regard to VAT refunds, especially to exporting units.
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Cotton production to touch 232 lakh bales
New Delhi, April 27 Informing Parliament, Union Textile Minister Shankersinh Vaghela said today the total domestic availability of cotton was estimated at 253 lakh bales, including the carryover stock of 21 lakh bales, and the domestic consumption was estimated at 198 lakh bales. He said import of cotton during the current cotton year was estimated at 6 lakh bales as compared to 7.21 lakh bales imported during the 2003-04 cotton season. The minister said the government had taken a number of steps to facilitate the export of cotton textiles, including Technology Mission on Cotton (TMC), Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), Apparel Parks for Export and Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme. He also admitted that Indian textile exporters were facing stiff competition from other low -cost suppliers such as China and Bangladesh. He said operationalisation of TUFS from April 1, 1999, to facilitate modernisation of the sector, duty- free imports of 21 trimming and embellishment items had been allowed to garment exporters.
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Bank account
Mumbai, April 27 The board has recommended a final dividend of 15 per cent taking the total dividend declared during the year to 30 per cent. IOB net doubles
Indian Overseas Bank has more than doubled its net profit at Rs 157.21 crore during the fourth quarter of 2004-05 against Rs 77.34 crore in Q4 of the previous fiscal. The public sector bank has declared a final dividend of 10 per cent, amounting to Re 1 per share of face value of Rs 10 for 2004-05, IOB told Bombay Stock Exchange today. It has already paid interim dividend of 14 per cent in November 2004. The bank has recorded a 27 per cent rise in net profit for 2004-05 at Rs 651.35 crore against Rs 512.75 crore in the previous year. The bank also announced that it would raise Rs 250 crore from a GDR issue, probably by June end.
— PTI
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City TiE chapter tie-up
Chandigarh, April 27 Ms Poonam Dhawan, President of TiE, Austin, Texas, presided over a meeting of the regional entrepreneurs with a view to identifying and assisting these companies access markets in the USA. TiE is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals with more than 10,000 members across 42 chapters in nine countries that was founded in 1992 in the Silicon Valley, USA.
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Corporate results
New Delhi, April 27 Total revenues has increased 26.47 per cent to Rs 236.0 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, from Rs 186.6 crore in the year-ago period, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Board of Directors have recommended a dividend of Rs 5.50 per share subject to approval of the shareholders, it said. The company has posted 49.69 per cent net profit of Rs 62.9 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005 as compared to Rs 42.02 crore in the last year. Total revenues has increased to Rs 863 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005 from Rs 603.3 crore in 2003-04. Indo Rama’s dividend
Indo Rama Textiles Ltd today declared 20 per cent dividend to its shareholders. The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the Board of Directors recommended payment of Rs 2 per equity share of Rs 10 each for 2004-05. The company, based in Madhya Pradesh, said that the register of members & share transfer books would remain closed from July 1 to July 15, 2005. The annual general meeting of the company would be held on July 15, 2005.
Patni net up
Patni Computers today announced a 21.9 per cent increase in its net income for the first quarter ending March 31, 2005, at Rs 68.22 crore as compared to Rs 55.96 crore during the same period in the previous fiscal. Revenues during this period grew by 38.69 per cent to Rs 433.74 crore as against Rs 312.73 crore in Q1 of previous fiscal, the company said in a release here today. Chairman and CEO Narendra K Patni said the company continued to make significant investments to enhance the front end capability and delivery infrastructure which should start giving optimal returns in the medium term. Chief Financial Officer Deepak Sogani said the performance was based on volume growth in an essentially stable price environment. During the quarter, margins were influenced by some non-recurring investments and prior period tax of about US dollar one million but the intrinsic business showed some increase in direct contribution, he added.
Hindustan Papers
Public sector Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL), which has posted a net profit of Rs 41 crore in the last fiscal despite suffering huge losses in natural calamities, has embarked on Rs 1160 crore capacity expansion programme to cross the annual business target of Rs 2,000 crore by 2010. Announcing this, HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Raji Phillip today said renowned consultancy firm Jaccubit of the US had been asked to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) outlining the modalities of both capacity expansion and the future marketing programme of all the three units of HPCL — Cachar Paper Mill (CPM) and Nagaon Paper Mill (NPM) in Assam and the Kerala-based wholly owned subsidiary Hindustan Newsprint Lmited (HNL) by next month. “Following the submission of Jaccubit’s DPR which we are expecting shortly, necessary action would be taken to start the programme”, Mr Philip said. Detailing the performance of HPCL, whose turnover during 2004-05 touched the Rs 854 crore mark and the profit before tax to Rs 58.52 crore after suffering a loss of about Rs 15 crore due to recurring flood in Assam last year which resulted in the closure of both CPM and NPM for over 45 days, Mr Philip said as a result the overall production of the company came down to 3,09,000 tonnes in March this year from 3,22,000 tonnes during the same period last year.
STC reports profit
State Trading Corporation (STC) has reported a net profit of Rs 23.5 crore on an all-time high turnover of Rs 9,700 crore during 2004-05. The import turnover of the corporation touched Rs 8,400 crore, an official press note said here. While bullion imports, with sales worth over Rs 5,600 crore were almost at the previous year level, non-bullion import turnover was up by 91 per cent, it said.
— Agencies
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Shoppers’ Stop gets SC nod
New Delhi, April 27 Sounding an omnibus warning to all against passing any interim order on this issue, a Bench comprising Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha said: “In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the interest of justice will be met only by stay of the impugned order.” This relief came on the petition filed by the company challenging yesterday’s order of the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court restraining market regulator SEBI from opening its IPO today. The petition before the high court was filed by an organisation called the North East Investors Forum (NEIF). The apex court, while staying the interim order of the high court, issued notices to the NEIF, SEBI and the Centre.
— PTI
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