B U S I N E S S

SEBI bars Gammon Infra’s ex-chairman from market
Mumbai, July 17
Market regulator SEBI today barred Gammon Infrastructure Projects’ former CMD Abhijit Rajan from securities market after prima-facie finding him to have violated insider trading regulations in the company shares. This would be one of the few cases where CMD of a company has come under the scanner in an insider trading case.

Microsoft to axe 18,000 jobs; impact on India minimal
New York, July 17
In the first major realignment of workforce since India-born Satya Nadella took over as CEO, Microsoft has announced slashing of up to 18,000 jobs worldwide by next year as the software giant attempts to sharpen focus on cloud and mobile offerings. The move, however, will have "minimal" impact in India, which is an important geography for the US-based giant.

Honda loses market share to Hero MotoCorp
New Delhi, July 17
When Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI), a subsidiary of the Japanese automobile giant Honda, broke away from its partnership with the indigenous Hero Group more than three years ago, it was expected to leapfrog its more than two decades old partner with its range of motorcycles and scooters.

IEEMA airs concern over import of sub-standard electrical equipment
Chandigarh, July 17
Expressing concern over “disproportionate reliance on imported power equipment in country,” the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) today said India has already lost over 35% market share due to import of “sub-standard Chinese electrical equipment”.

TCS Q1 profit up 45% at Rs 5,568 cr
Mumbai, July 17
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today reported a 45% jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,568 crore for the first quarter ended June 2014, driven by broad-based growth across verticals and geographies.

SEBI bars Gammon Infra’s ex-chairman from market

Mumbai, July 17
Market regulator SEBI today barred Gammon Infrastructure Projects’ former CMD Abhijit Rajan from securities market after prima-facie finding him to have violated insider trading regulations in the company shares. This would be one of the few cases where CMD of a company has come under the scanner in an insider trading case.

The prohibitory orders would continue till further orders, as SEBI is still continuing its investigations into the matter involving trading in Gammon Infra shares on the basis of access to ‘unpublished price sensitive information’ during August-September 2013 period.

Rajan served as chairman and managing director of Gammon Infra till September 20, 2013, and continues to be on the company’s Board thereafter. Besides, Rajan remains CMD of another listed group firm Gammon India Ltd, where he also holds 5.99% direct and another 29% indirect stake.

In its ad-interim ex-parte order, SEBI also sought a reply, if any, within 21 days from Rajan, who was earlier in December 2006 also barred from capital markets for a period of one year for his alleged role in the rights issue of Gammon India Ltd.

In that case, the Securities Appellate Tribunal had also dismissed his plea against the then SEBI order.

In the present case, the SEBI found that Rajan, being an ‘insider’, had access to the 'unpublished price sensitive information' and was in possession of the same and he dealt in the shares of GIPL on the basis of that.

"I find that it is imperative for SEBI to deal firmly with such instances of violation by persons in charge of affairs of listed companies in order to send a stern message to deter indulgence in such activities by others as such activities apart from being detrimental to the interests of investors endanger the integrity of the whole securities market," SEBI’s whole-time member Rajeev Agarwal said in his order.

SEBI had begun its probe based on inputs from the National Stock Exchange that "there is a possibility that certain clients might have traded on the basis of unpublished price sensitive information" in shares of Gammon Infra Projects Ltd (GIPL).

In its preliminary probe, SEBI observed that GIPL was an infrastructure project development company promoted by Gammon India Limited (holding 71.93% stake).

Another promoter of GIPL is Gactel Turnkey Projects Limited holding 3.05% stake which is also the subsidiary of Gammon India Limited. — PTI

Insider trading case

• Gammon Infrastructure Projects’ former CMD Abhijit Rajan violated insider trading regulations in the company shares
• Rajan was also barred from capital markets for a period of one year for his alleged role in the rights issue of Gammon India
• Rajan served as CMD of Gammon Infra till Sept 20, 2013, and continues to be on the company’s Board thereafter
• Rajan remains CMD of another listed group firm Gammon India Ltd, where he holds 5.99% direct and 29% indirect stake.

Microsoft to axe 18,000 jobs; impact on India minimal

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at an event in San Francisco, California, in this file photo. Microsoft said on Thursday it would cut around 14% of its workforce, as it halves the size of its recent Nokia acquisition and trims down other operations. Reuters

New York, July 17
In the first major realignment of workforce since India-born Satya Nadella took over as CEO, Microsoft has announced slashing of up to 18,000 jobs worldwide by next year as the software giant attempts to sharpen focus on cloud and mobile offerings. The move, however, will have "minimal" impact in India, which is an important geography for the US-based giant.

One of the largest job cuts in the Redmond-headquartered firm's almost four decade-history, the move will see about 12,500 jobs being reduced from Nokia Devices and Services, comprising both professional and factory workers.

As of June 30, 2013, Microsoft had about 99,000 people on a full-time basis, 58,000 in the US and 41,000 worldwide. This, however, does not include the employees moving in post the Nokia-deal.

In a letter to employees, Nadella said: "The first step to building the right organisation for our ambitions is to realign our workforce. With this in mind, we will begin to reduce the size of our overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs in the next year."

"We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months," he added. — PTI

Honda loses market share to Hero MotoCorp
Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17
When Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI), a subsidiary of the Japanese automobile giant Honda, broke away from its partnership with the indigenous Hero Group more than three years ago, it was expected to leapfrog its more than two decades old partner with its range of motorcycles and scooters.

But more than three years down the line, the story seems to be quite different.

HMSI, quite contrary to the expectations, has not been able to catch up with its former joint venture partner and has in fact lost the market share despite launching the ‘Dream’ series of motorcycles on which it was banking on heavily to challenge market leader Hero MotoCorp.

The Dream series – currently comprising the Dream Yuga and Dream Neo – has been witnessing a sharp decline in numbers in the past three quarters, coming down to average monthly sales of just about 30,000-35,000 from a one-time high of 69,582 in October last year.

According to data available with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the sales of Dream Series has been consistently declining in the past three quarters, clocking 179,328 (Q3’14), 149,717 (Q4’14) and 110,493 (Q1’15) units, respectively.

Particularly in the first quarter of this fiscal, the Dream Series has witnessed the sharpest decline, selling just 32,125, 38,027 and 40,341 units in the months of April, May and June, respectively, after the relative high of 49,747 unit sales in March.

This is far from Honda’s original target of selling about 85,000 to 100,000 units of the Dream series, hoping it would take it close to market leader Hero. In fact, sometime last year, the company had boasted of overtaking Hero in the Indian market by as early as 2015-16.

That seems to have remained a pipe dream only, with Hero going from strength to strength even as Honda seems to be now only banking on the success of its best-selling scooter Activa.

According to some analysts, the launch earlier this month of a third variant in the Dream series – the CD110 – a motorcycle with the same engine as the Neo but with just stripe changes and priced lower – is also a ‘desperate act to anyhow arrest the slide in sales of the Dream series”.

In reverse gear

• Despite launching ‘Dream Series’, the company’s average monthly sales have declined to 30,000-35,000 units from 69,582 units in October last year
• This is far from Honda’s original target of selling around 85,000 to 100,000 units of the Dream series

IEEMA airs concern over import of sub-standard electrical equipment
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 17
Expressing concern over “disproportionate reliance on imported power equipment in country,” the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) today said India has already lost over 35% market share due to import of “sub-standard Chinese electrical equipment”.

“This has led to under-utilisation of qualified Indian engineers, technicians and workers,” said Raj Eswaran, president, IEEMA.

“Disproportionate relia-nce on imported power equipment with uncertain quality and lifecycle and with no domestic manufacturing facility to provide emergency repairs, spares, replacements especially for heavy equipment, is fraught with long-term risks,” he said.

IEEMA also reiterated the need for a consistent dialogue between transmission and distribution service providers and the Punjab Utilities.

TCS Q1 profit up 45% at Rs 5,568 cr

Mumbai, July 17
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today reported a 45% jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,568 crore for the first quarter ended June 2014, driven by broad-based growth across verticals and geographies.

The Mumbai-based firm had posted a net profit of Rs 3,840 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing. Consolidated revenue rose 22.9% to Rs 22,111 crore for the April-June quarter this fiscal from Rs 17,987 crore for the same quarter in the 2013-14 fiscal. The figures are in Indian GAAP.

The company announced a special dividend of Rs 40 per share on the 10th anniversary of its IPO. TCS’s operating margin stood at Rs 5,935 crore in the first quarter, a growth of 22.5% y-o-y. — PTI