The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

SBI profit slides 10%

Mumbai, January 25
The country's largest lender, the State Bank of India, today reported about a 10 per cent decline in the profit at Rs 3,354.94 crore on the consolidated basis for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.

The bank had earned a net profit of Rs 3,713.66 crore in the same period previous fiscal, the State Bank of India (SBI) said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

On the standalone basis, the bank earned a net profit of Rs 2,479.05 crore, nearly the same as in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The total income of the bank was at Rs 21,145.40 crore in the period compared to Rs 20,305.90 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The total income of the group rose to Rs 32,231.45 crore in the October-December quarter from Rs 29,368.14 crore.

Allahabad Bank

Allahabad Bank has recorded a net growth of over 25 per cent during the quarter ending December 31, 2009. Announcing the results of the bank, an official release said the total business of the bank stood at Rs 1,59,843 crore, as against Rs 1,27,847 crore during the previous year, showing a year on year growth of 25.03 per cent.

The release said the deposits of the bank had gone up to Rs 94,164 crore as on December 31, 2009, as against Rs 75,095 crore as on Deceember 31, 2008. The gross credit of the bank went up Rs 65,679.83 crore during the same period, as against Rs 52,752 crore during the same period in last fiscal.

Andhra Bank

Andhra Bank today said its net profit rose by 29.49 per cent to Rs 275 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period last year. The total income rose to Rs 1,826.8 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, from Rs 1,592.2 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Andhra Bank said. — PTI, TNS

Posco project may take off soon: Virbhadra
New Delhi, January 25

The much-delayed South Korean major Posco's Rs 54,000-crore steel project in Orissa can get off the ground in the next 4-5 months with land acquisition and all regulatory approvals in place by then, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said today.

The 12 million tonne per annum project in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, billed as the biggest FDI project in the country, is now delayed by more than three years, pending mining leases and land acquisition

"We are in constant touch with the Orissa government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also intervened. We will see that the things get expedited as the project is of great national importance," Virbhadra Singh told reporters after an 8-member Posco team headed by the company's chairman and global head Joon-Yang Chung called on him.

"Efforts are on to see that the entire matter is seen, signed and delivered in the next 4-5 months. This includes physical transfer of land and all regulatory clearances to Posco," he said.

"It was a very fruitful meeting," Posco chairman and global head Chung said after the meeting.

The 12 million tonne per annum project in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, billed as the biggest FDI project in the country, is now delayed by more than three years, pending mining leases and land acquisition.

Virbhadra Singh's comments coincides with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is this year's chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations, meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this evening.

The minister added that the Posco team had expressed satisfaction over the project and had no plans to exit from Orissa though they were also in talks with some other state governments for steel projects.

"Posco has expressed satisfaction over the progress. It is also in talks with the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments for steel projects which will be over and above the Orissa project," Singh said. — PTI

Jet Airways lands in the black
New Delhi, January 25

Led by a spurt in the domestic air traffic and massive cost cutting, Jet Airways returned to profits in the December quarter with a Rs 105.80-crore net profit against Rs 214.18-crore loss in the year-ago period.

On Cloud Nine

The airline, however, registered a 4.5 per cent fall in its total income at Rs 2,885.59 crore during the reporting quarter, compared to Rs 3,022.83 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The flight occupancy jumped to 80 per cent in the reporting quarter significantly up from 66.2 per cent in the year-ago period.

To grab 26 pc in MAS GMR

The board of directors of Jet Airways has given its in-principle approval to acquire 26 per cent stake in MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Company for an unspecified amount.

The Hyderabad-based MAS GMR Aerospace is a joint venture between Malaysian Airlines' engineering arm and the GMR group engaged in setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility.

The 26 per cent stake in MAS GMR will be acquired partly in cash and partly for consideration other than cash, Jet Airways said in a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, the company said. — PTI

Corporate Results
Weak show by HCL Tech, M&M upbeat
To pay Re 1 dividend
Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi/Mumbai, January 25
HCL Technologies has reported a 35.92 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 255 crore in the October-December quarter. The total income declined to Rs 1,259.20 crore in the quarter ended December 31, from Rs 1,430.4 crore in the same period previous fiscal. During the quarter under review, the company increased the head count to 55,688. Net additions of 1,691 persons was in IT services, HCL said.

The board of the company has proposed an interim dividend of Re 1 per equity share of Rs 2 each of the company.

M&M splits share

Mahindra & Mahindra today reported a net profit of Rs 413.7 crore for the third quarter ended December, 2009, on the back of strong sales in both automotive and farm equipment sectors. It had a net profit of Rs 43.6 crore for the same period the previous fiscal, M&M said .

The board of the company had approved sub-division of shares in the ratio 1:2 which means a share of face value of Rs 10 will be divided into two shares of Rs 5 each, it said.

Hero Honda

Hero Honda today reported a huge 78.34 per cent jump in its third quarter net profit at Rs 535.77 crore on the back of a quarterly sales volume of over a million units, and said it might go in for a new facility soon. It had a net profit of Rs 300.42 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Hero Honda Motors said in a statement here today.

The company also reported an 32.82 per cent jump in its total net operating income during the reporting quarter at Rs 3,827.03 crore, against Rs 2,881.27 crore in the year-ago period.

Voltas

Voltas Ltd today said its consolidated net profit rose by 85.80 per cent to Rs 76.46 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, over the same period corresponding fiscal. The company had a net profit from ordinary activities after tax at Rs 41.15 crore for the same period previous fiscal.

The net sales increased to Rs 990.48 crore for the latest quarter against Rs 953.77 crore for the same period last fiscal, Voltas said.

India Cements

India Cements today said its net profit declined by 43.78 per cent to Rs 34.80 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period previous fiscal. The total income of the company rose to Rs 875.97 crore for the latest quarter against Rs 768.76 crore for the same period last year, India Cements said.

Gujarat NRE Coke

Gujarat NRE today said its net profit jumped two-fold to Rs 26.6 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period last year. The total income declined to Rs 321.6 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, from Rs 439.3 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Gujarat NRE Coke said.

Cadila Healthcare

Cadila Healthcare today reported a two-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 130 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009. The company's net profit stood at Rs 61 crore for the same quarter last fiscal, it said. During the quarter under consideration, the total income of the company rose to Rs 993 crore, registering a growth of 31 per cent compared to Rs 761 crore for the comparable quarter last fiscal.

Cummins

Cummins India today posted net profit of Rs 148.16 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The company had a net profit from ordinary activities after tax of Rs 133.34 crore for the same period last fiscal. The total income stood at Rs 827.86 crore for the latest quarter, while the same was at Rs 770.53 crore for the same period previous fiscal, Cummins India said.

Sterlite

Sterlite Industries today reported a massive 42.35 per cent plunge in its consolidated net profit at Rs 731.33 crore for the third quarter ended December. However, the total income of the country's leading copper producer rose to Rs 6,746.74 crore during the quarter from Rs 4,536.20 crore over the year-ago period, Sterlite said.

High-end mobiles by Videocon soon
Plans pan-Indian presence by February-end

Bangalore, January 25
Videocon, which has forayed into mobile handset space, has said it plans to achieve a pan-Indian presence by the end of February and roll out 15 more models of handsets in two months. "We will be going beyond soft launches and will aim at having a pan-Indian presence. We will expand our footprint this month and fill in the balance by the end of the next month and have pan-Indian presence by the end of February," Videocon Mobile Phones COO Rahul Goel told PTI.

"Videocon has 12 models currently. We are not in the black and white space. We understand there is a huge requirement for dual SIM phones and we are looking at developing more phones in that region," he said, adding that, "We are looking at launching 15 more models in the next two months".

On whether 3G phone was on the company's roadmap, he said, "We are positioning Videocon in the high-end space as well and will be coming up with high-end Qwerty phones and phones with 3G capability".

On the time frame for coming out with the 3G model, he said, currently, it was not possible to ascribe any specific time frame but once the private sector gets access to the 3G spectrum, it would be a matter of a month before the product would be rolled out, he said. — PTI

Telcos cross swords over spectrum fee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 25
Private telecom companies are at loggerheads again over the issue of payment of spectrum fee to the government with with Vodafone claiming that Tata Teleservices and RCom were paying far less than it was paying. Both Tata Teleservices and RCom have denied the charges and said the allegations were baseless and absurd.

As Vodafone has written to the Department of Telecom (DoT) over the issue and seeking removal of the distortions, the companies facing the allegations have retorted by saying that the big GSM operators were hoarding spectrum beyond the contracted amount.

A Tata Teleservices spokesperson said, "The allegation of the Vodafone is illogical, baseless, misleading and a blatant attempt to divert the focus from the real issue, which is that the incumbent and other players are hoarding spectrum beyond the contracted amount of 6.2 MHz and not allowing other players to start services in Delhi".

According to Vodafone, which is one of the largest GSM operators, service providers like itself and Bharti pay the highest spectrum charges per MHz to DoT compared to others.

It has pointed out that the rate per MHz per quarter for Bharti and Vodafone for 7 circles is Rs 1.71 crore and Rs 1.37 crore. However, in comparison Tata and Reliance is only Rs 0.27 crore and Rs 0.22 crore, Vodafone's Resident Director T V Ramachandran has said in a letter to DoT.

The rivals, however, called the allegation absurd and said Vodafone had compared the payment of spectrum usage for seven circles, including metros and it would be very misleading to compare these circles where the incumbents had been operating for many years and had revenues far exceeding players like Tata Teleservices and RCom and other new players in the GSM mobile-platform space.

Spectrum fee had been a bone of contention among the existing and new operators.

"Somewhere, amid all allegations our competitor has made, it has forgotten to mention that we have paid the entry fee of Rs 1,650 crore twice," TTSL said, adding that "We (TTSL and RCom) are paying double the charge for both CDMA and GSM technologies."

RCom said old operators like Vodafone had revenues far exceeding RCom and they were paying fees as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue. In many circles, where RCom had more revenues their spectrum fees to the government was higher than Vodafone.

The London School of Business tops the list
FT: ISB on top 20 B-school list

New Delhi, January 25
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is the only one in the country to find a place on the list of top 20 B-schools in the world, published by the Financial Times. According to a data compiled by FT, ISB has improved its position to bag the 12th spot on the list of top 100 B-Schools across the globe in 2010.

The London School of Business topped the list, followed by the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School.

Stanford University GSB and Insead have been ranked at the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

This is the third successive year that the ISB has featured among the top 20 business schools. It was ranked at the 15th spot in 2009 and at the 20th in 2008.

"We began with the idea of creating a school in India that will rank among the best in the world. Today, I am delighted that the ISB is consolidating its position as a top-ranked global business school," ISB chairman Rajat Gupta said in a statement.

Among others who cornered a place in the top 20 are the Columbia Business School, Yale School of Management and the Duke University. — PTI