Jagran Prakashan - Reports Higher Profits

Jagran Prakashan Q3 Net Profit Up By 143.80%

Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), publishers of ‘Dainik Jagran’, India’s largest read newspaper (Source: IRS), has recorded net revenues of Rs 163.45 crore for Q3 FY07, an increase of 29.79% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The net profit was at Rs 17.70 crore, a sharp increase of 143.80% from Rs 7.26 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. The EPS for the quarter was at Rs 2.94 as against Rs 1.47 in the corresponding quarter of FY 06. The company also announced an interim dividend of Rs 7.50 per share.

Better advertising and circulation revenues from the publishing business have led to the increased revenues in this quarter. The Out of Home (OOH) and Event Management activities of the company too have had contribution of Rs. 8.30 crore in the increased revenues.

In the publishing business, the increase in ad rates and total space particularly color space sold have led to a 28.53 % increase in the advertisement revenue to Rs 103.20 crore and the circulation revenue increased by 3.63% to Rs 42.73 crore in Q3 FY07.

Jagran Prakashan Limited launched I-next, the first bilingual newspaper in the country in this quarter targeting readers in the age group of 18-35 years from SEC A and B1. The paper was launched in Lucknow and Kanpur and the company has plans to launch the brand in 5 more mini metros of North India.

The company also launched City Plus, an English Infotainment newspaper in September 2006, which has shown commendable response in this quarter. Owing to the success of the initial editions in Noida and Gurgaon, the company also launched editions of the paper in Faridabad and Ghaziabad and has plans to launch four more editions in current fiscal.

Commenting on the the performance and developments in the company in this quarter, Mr. Mahendra Mohan Gupta, CMD of Jagran Prakashan Limited said "We have always directed our efforts towards providing quality reading material to our readers and our constant effort is to provide the readers what they want to read. With the launch of I-next and City Plus, we are now in a position to cater to readers across different age groups and categories, both in Hindi and English. The Out-of-Home and Event Management business of the company are also growing, and are well poised to add to the revenues in the coming time."

Jagran Engage, Out of Home (OOH) advertising division of the company, which had already established its presence in leading markets for OOH business like Lucknow, Kanpur, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The division now has about 700 sites in addition to advertising rights at Lucknow railway station and has plans to grow further.

Jagran Prakashan Limited is concentrating on its current markets and strengthening its position as more editions will keep maturing. It aims to increase its market share by launching I-next and City Plus, and seeks to provide 360° marketing solutions under one umbrella through its various business segments.

Ratnamani Metals - Piping Profits

Ratnamani Metals - Robust Exports

Ahmedabad based Ratnamani Metals & Tubes Ltd. an Engineering Company engaged in manufacture of speciality tubes and pipes in Carbon Steel as well as Stainless Steel continues its growth and has once again come out with a very strong and solid performance during the third quarter of 2006-07. Exports are higher by 583%. Net sales from Operations was up 68% from Rs. 1113.93 million to Rs. 1875.17 million. Net Profit are much higher from Rs. 98.69 million to Rs. 216.73 million up 120% as compared to the figures of the third quarter of the previous year. Basic and Diluted EPS for third quarter works out to Rs. 24.08.

It has been reported by the Company that the outlook remains very strong from the major markets namely Refinery, Petrochemicals, LNG, Capital Goods Industry and Power Plants.

At present the Company is carrying an order book position of Rs. 451 Cr. including export orders for SEZ equivalent to Rs. 288 Cr.

Simplex Infra - Simply Superb

Simplex Infra - Net Profit Margin Increases From 2.9% To 4.1%

The third quarter Net Profit of Simplex Infrastructures Ltd. has spurted 57% to Rs. 17.3 Cr. from Rs. 11 Cr. on the back of a 69% jump in the operating profits (EBITDA) Rs. 48.6 Cr. from Rs. 28.7 Cr. during the same quarter last year. the Operating Margins (EBITDA) have improved to 11.4% from 7.7% and the net profit margins to 4.1% from 2.9%.

While the Q3 turnover increased 14% from Rs. 375 Cr. to Rs. 426 Cr., the nine month turnover has grown 21% to Rs. 1145 Cr. from Rs. 949 Cr. and the order backlog as on 31st Dec 2006 is about Rs. 5500 Cr. Considering the present trend of pick up in the momentum of work-execution the company maintain the sales growth target of 35% during the current financial year.

Commenting on the robust financial performance, Mr. BD Mundhra, Chairman and Managing Director, Simplex Infrastructures Ltd. said, “We have begun this quarter, on a positive and a healthy note, and are bullish about the forthcoming quarters as well. The company’s revenue growth is attributed to its healthy order book, which stands at Rs. 5700 Crore.”

“We are buoyant about overseas markets and are targeting 30% of the turnover from project exports. With our vast experience in handling large scale infrastructure projects, we are going to set new benchmarks in the coming quarters as well.” He further added.

The company has presence in diverse Infrastructure sectors and is planning to bid for BOT/Annuity projects in roads & highways, power transmission, ports, hydro, railways and water supply. Simplex infrastructures is also targeting turnkey, EPC, O&M projects in metal, cement, oil and gas pipelines.

Suven Lifescience - Rewards Investors

Suven Life To Split Stock, Issue 1:1 Bonus

The board of directors of Suven Life Sciences, approved issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 i.e one bonus share for every share held.

According to a release issued to the BSE, the board meeting also approved a proposal for sub-division of equity shares with a face value of Rs 2 each to Re 1 each.

An EGM will be held on March 10, 2007 for approval of the sub-division of equity shares and issue of bonus shares, the release added.

Pantaloon - Retail Revolution

Pantaloon Retail Posts 157% Increase In Net Profit

Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, the flagship company of the Future Group, declared its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 wherein the gross turnover (Rs.795.48 crore) for the quarter increased by 57 per cent; net sales/ income from operations (Rs. 752.68 crore) increased by 59.47 per cent; profit before tax (Rs. 65.82 crore) increased by 147 per cent; net profit (Rs. 43.97 crore) increased by 137 per cent; and the diluted earning per share (EPS) increased to Rs. 3.24 (from Rs. 1.46).

The Board of Directors of the company, at the meeting held on January 25, 2007, inter alia, took on record the segmented unaudited financial results for the last quarter ended December 31, 2006, along with the limited review report of NGS & Co, Statutory Auditors of the Company.

The ‘Value Retailing’ segment revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, increased to Rs. 552.75 crore (Rs. 338.84 crore as of the quarter ended December 31, 2005). The ‘Lifestyle Retailing’ segment revenue increased to Rs. 181.72 crore (Rs. 132.73 crore as of December 31, 2005). The profit before tax and interest from the ‘Value Retailing’ segment increased to Rs. 42.65 crore (Rs. 24.66 crore as of December 31, 2005). The profit before tax and interest from the ‘Lifestyle Retailing’ segment increased to Rs. 27.70 crore (Rs. 19.15 crore as of December 31, 2005).

In the quarter ended Dec’06, Big Bazaar Stores were opened in following cities- Nagpur, Mumbai , Haldia, Allahabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai and Hyderabad. Stand alone Food Bazaar stores were opened at Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Secunderabad. Brand Factory stores were opened at Bangalore and Hyderabad. Pantaloon stores were opened at Mumbai Central and Delhi. Stand-alone “aLL” store was opened at Mumbai. Stand-alone Depot stores were opened at Mumbai and Delhi. Big Bazaar Wholesale Club was opened at Ahmedabad. Top 10 store was opened at Mumbai. Stand-alone Health Village was opened at Mumbai.

Earlier, Future Group has unveiled its latest division Future Fashion House, which will roll out several brands in categories like textile, apparel and accessories, for which they have brought together a team of 100 designers.

Designers Rocky S and Priyadarshini Rao have also been roped in an advisory capacity to review the products. The focus is to make available ethnic fashion 'affordable' to the masses. It will be distributed via the Pantaloons Retail outlets across the country. With over 60 brands, Future Fashion House aims for leadership in fashion in India with a projected revenue of over Rs 20 billion in the current year, and a projected revenue of over Rs 40 billion next year, informs an official release.

The initiative promises to offer original Indian fashion incorporating latest global influences reversing the trend of India following western fashions, and opening up a whole new world for the Indian consumer. It will launch a series of initiatives, which will include fashion shows and exhibitions to bring alive new trends. As well as use India's fashion influencers, Bollywood and television, to take the new looks across India and rejuvenate Indian tradition and reinterprete modernity.

The group whose flagship enterprise is Pantaloon Retail, already has six verticals including Future Retail (encompassing all lines of retail business), Future Capital (financial products and services), Future Brands (all brands owned or managed by group companies), Future Space (management of retail real estate), Future Logistics (management of supply chain and distribution) and Future Media (development and management of retail media spaces).

Jyoti Structures - Electrifying Results

Jyoti Structures - To Benefit From Power Sector Reforms

Jyoti Structures has declared its third quarter results. The company's Q3 net profit is up at Rs 17.4 crore (Rs 174 million) from Rs 7.5 crore (Rs 75 million) during the same quarter previous year.

Key takeaways from Jyoti Structures concall hosted by Prabhudas Lilladher:

• The company is into transimission, substation and rural electrification.
• Jyoti Structures' topline has grown by 42% and will maintain around 42-60%; bottomline is better.
• EBITDA margin is hovering around 12% while 10-12% is reasonable in whole industry.
• The company will maintain 12% margin in future and also expect to increase.
• Margin expansion is more in the company but not specifically from which part. Company's sales is growing and fixed cost is not growing; also controlling manpower, interest cost.
• Company has no plans for equity raising; current equity is around 16 crore.
• Debt is around Rs 130-140 crore; company's interest cost is not growing in tandem with the sales growth; Sales is growing by 43% while interest cost by only 15%.
• Working capital cycle: It was around 6 months outstanding, now hovering around 3-4 months and will try to maintain ceiling on 3 months.
• Company's order book has been increasing by 30-35% levels; the chances to get a project is 1 out of 6 projects.
• Order book at Rs 1800-1900 cr, around 60% is for transmission business and 30-40% for distribution and substation; 65% is domestic and balance exports.
• Capacity at transmission lines will go upto 76000MT in this year.
• Current reserves are around Rs 235 crore on 31-12-2006.

Asahi India - Simply Unbreakable

Asahi India Glass (consolidated) Net Zooms 4.8 Times For Dec`06 Qtr

Asahi India Glass announced a consolidated net profit of Rs 139.24 million for the quarter ended Dec. 2006 as compared with Rs 28.88 million for the quarter ended Dec. 2005. Total income increased to Rs 1,902.924 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, from Rs 1,228.86 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005.

On a standalone basis, the company posted a net profit of Rs 133.55 million for the quarter ended Dec. 2006 as compared with Rs 24.84 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005. Sales of the company increased to Rs 1,853.15 million for the current quarter as compared to Rs 1,214.66 million for the year-ago quarter. Total income increased to Rs 1,882.79 million for the quarter ended Dec. 2006 from Rs 1,216.31 million for the quarter ended Dec. 2005. The earnings per share (EPS) of the company was seen at Rs 0.84 for the December quarter in comparison with 0.22 for the year-ago quarter.

Asahi India Safety Glass (now known as Asahi India Glass) was established in 1987 with the objective of providing international quality safety glass to a rapidly expanding and modernising Indian automobile industry. It is promoted by B M Labroo & Associates, Asahi Glass Co, Japan, and Maruti Udyog, India.

It is India`s largest manufacturer of world class automotive safety glass and one of the largest in its field in the Asian region. It has the complete capability to design and develop new glass models in-house.

Greenply - Q3 Net Profit Rise 76.28%

Greenply - An Interior Infrastructure Company

Greenply Industries reported a 76.28 % rise in net profit at Rs 6.54 crore for the third quarter (Q3) ended December 31, 2006, compared to a Rs 3.71 crore net in the corresponding quarter previous year. The profit follows a 47.31 % growth in gross sales revenue during the October-December quarter at Rs 119.21 crore (Rs 80.92 crore).

A company with interests in branded plywood and laminate industry, Greenply Industries attributed the bottom line growth to increase in operating margins. Greenply’s product categories of plywood, laminate, decorative veneer and particleboard’s too clocked growth in sales.

This apart, “our marketing initiatives and introduction of newer products helped achieve a price growth of almost 15% in our decorative veneer category. We also witnessed overall growth across all product categories and good capacity utilisation from Nagaland, Kolkata and Behror (Rajasthan) units resulting in improved margins,” Mr Saurabh Mittal, joint managing director & CEO, Greenply Industries, said in a media statement issued after the board meeting held in Kolkata on Monday.

“Greenply’s range of products has given it the status of a one-stop manufacturer of all products related interior infrastructure from plywood & boards, flush doors, decorative veneers, decorative laminates to pre lam MDF and particleboard,” Mr Mittal added.

Interest outgo in Q3 under review was Rs 3.90 crore against Rs 2.20 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Depreciation costs stood at Rs 2.37 crore in the period under review compared to Rs 1.49 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. Profit before tax in the quarter under review was Rs 8.06 crore (Rs 4.24 crore).

The company’s Pant Nagar plant in Uttaranchal with an installed capacity to produce 6.60 million square metres of plywood and 1.82 million square metres of particleboard commenced production. With the Uttaranchal unit going on stream, the company’s total plywood capacity stands enhanced to 17.10 million square metres.

Greenply Industries is in the process of expanding its existing laminates production capacity of the Rajasthan unit from 39.60 lakh sheets to 53.40 lakh sheets per annum. Total outlay for the proposed expansion is estimated at Rs 40 crore and entails setting up of a fourth production line.

Yes Bank - Net Up At Rs 25 Cr

Yes Bank - Future Is Bright

Yes Bank has declared its third quarter results. The company's net profit was up at Rs 25.1 crore (Rs 251 million) versus Rs 14.5 crore (Rs 145 million). Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO of Yes Bank stated that they are expecting to maintain NIM at 30% and other income at 50% of total income.

Yes bank is looking at USD 75-100 mn of capital raising. The NIM has improved to 3% versus 2.9%, comments Kapoor who feels that timely PLR increases ensured NIM expansion. The number of branches of Yes Bank is to increase to 100. Kapoor stated that the RoE is at 14.1%, while its CAR was at 14.3% and CASA at 7.2% versus 5%.


Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Rana Kapoor:

Q: Walk us through what led to the growth in NII this time around?

A: As you know, our overall net profit over the corresponding quarter has increased by 73%, which represents the single biggest increase we have seen in any quarter over the life of the bank. We have been around for nine quarters now. The total income, which has gone up quite significantly to almost Rs 205 crore, represents an increase of almost 152% and our operating profit has gone up to about Rs 47.9 crore, which represents an increase of almost 83% over the corresponding period as well.

Q: Your interest expenses have gone up a little faster than your interest income; the interest expenses have gone up by about 270% against a fairly decent jump in your interest income as well. Would that mean that your NIMs are slightly pressured?

A: Your observations are right, while interest expenses have gone up during this period, our net interest margin has actually improved to 3% compared to 2.9% in the September quarter and 2.7% in the June 06 quarter. So we have actually had three quarters of steady increase in net interest margin partly because of our re-rating our asset portfolio as in fairly timely PLR increases as well as fairly regular portfolio review of our pricing. So it is mainly to do with the fact that we have been ensuring that as operating expenses as well as interest expenses go up there is a commensurate rise also in our overall realisation.

Q: Your advances have grown by 151% to Rs 4,800 crore, while your deposits have more than doubled. Rs 5461 crore is where Yes Bank’s deposit stands now, which is a 207% growth. What are your plans or targets going forward? In the next 12 months, where do you see your balance-sheet size?

A: As you know, I can comment at best on where we stand today. We are maintaining a nil NPA portfolio and have achieved a return on assets of about 1.4%, an ROE of 14.6% and a capital adequacy rating of 14.3%. In terms of 12 months from now, I can safely predict to you that the number of branches that we are working towards should be somewhere around 100 by March 2008.

We are at about 29 branches at present, going up to 60 by June 07 and with the branches coming in, we should be able to garner many more lower cost current accounts and saving accounts, which is one ratio which has also improved in this quarter to 7.2% versus being at slightly over 5% in the preceding September quarter. So we should be able to double from here within one year give or take 5%.

Q: Just to get back to the point you made about net interest margins - because of the growth that you have seen and interest expended and because of the way interest rates have been moving, do you expect to hold these margins for the next two quarters?

A: Our guidance in the previous sessions with CNBC has been NIMs anywhere between 2.7-3%. We have been actually improving on these NIMs; so I hope we can keep 3% going but as you know in our overall composition, almost 50% of out total income is in terms of non-interest income. This quarter, it was 47.5% but for the nine months ended December, it is bang on 50% the total income. So our model is, while the interest income continues to be very important, equally important is the robustness and the continuity of our non-interest income, which has been very steady.

In fact, in this particular quarter our non-investment banking and non-treasuries is almost 30%, partly because of retail accruing well, as well as the cash management in trade, and third party distribution contributing quite meaningfully and we see that trend of anywhere between 47.5% to 50% non-interest income sustaining for the best part of certainly the next five quarters.

Q: What are you factoring in by way of increases in interest rates and do you expect that to impact the retail demand that you are seeing at this point that at all?

A: In our case, bulk of retail is third party distribution and deposit-driven strategies. We have a very minimal retail asset programme because we recognise that the markets are correcting on pricing and we don’t want to venture at a time when there is far too much pricing risk embedded in retail assets.

In our strategy, we are seeing a lot more depth and traction accruing in our small and medium enterprise end of the business. We are seeing a lot more momentum build up in emerging corporates and in our structured and corporate finance portfolio, which are actually giving us spreads more attractive as well as fees, which is fairly reasonable even compared to retail assets. So we are seeing a lot of robustness in our SME and in our emerging corporate strategy plus the cross sell potential for treasury for trade. These are areas, which are very vital to our overall business model as well.

Q: If you are tripling your number of branches from 29 to 100, you must need lots of capital. Are there any capital raising plans?

A: We do have capital raising plans and have done a couple of tranches as you know in the last quarter with Swiss Re - we did roughly USD 26.5 million. We do believe that in the next three months or so, we should be able to raise around USD 40-50 million of additional capital as in tier-I and we are also progressing our upward tier-II initiatives. In fact we have a transaction underway. So it remains our intent to garner anywhere between USD 75 to possibly USD 100 million over the next few months.

Adlabs - Kaun Banega Crorepati

Adlabs - Acquires Synergy Communications

Adlabs Films Ltd has announced that the Company has completed the process of acquiring a controlling stake in Synergy Communications, the premier television content Company headed by Siddhartha Basu. The new entity will be called Synergy Adlabs Ltd. subject to regulatory approval.

The Company strategy and business operations would be led by Siddhartha Basu, Chairman and Managing Director. The Synergy Adlabs Board consisting of Siddhartha and Anita Kaul Basu, has been strengthened by the addition of: Pooja Shetty, Whotetime Director — Adlabs Films, Anil Arjun, Senior Vice President — Reliance Capital and Venkat Devarajan, CFO, Adlabs Films. The valuation is subject of confidentiality provisions.

Synergy Adlabs is envisaged to contribute sizeable revenues to the overall revenue pie of Adlabs Films by March 2008. The intention is to enhance Synergy's production operations and scale up content to include high-quality popular fiction, youth-based shows, non-fiction content (including reality and lifestyle shows) and international content.

Synergy Communications, headed by Siddhartha Basu, a leading personality in the television and content space for several years, has done over 30 televised series and produced over 2000 hours of content. The Company has produced other several popular shows like Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa, India's Child Genius, Mastermind India, Mum Tum Aur Hum, Kamzor Kadi Kaun, University Challenge, Jaane Kya Tune Kahi and Aao Guess Karen. In addition Synergy has organized live shows like the Channel (V) Awards 97-98 and several quizzes. Currently they also have Bluff Master, a unique gameshow on Star One on air. Kaun Banega Crorepati, the much-awaited popular gameshow being hosted by Shahrukh Khan, premiering on Star Plus on January 22nd will be a Synergy Adlabs’ production.

Zodiac Clothing - Stars Will Shine

Zodiac Clothing Net Profit Jumps 83.5%

Zodiac Clothing has come out with third quarter results. The company's net profit was up 83.5% at Rs. 53.40 million from Rs 29.10 million on yoy basis. Net sales were up 25.77% at Rs. 592.50 million from Rs. 471.10 million. Zodiac reported a jump of 94.5% in Gross Profit which stood at Rs. 100 million from Rs. 51.40 million during the same quarter last year.

Zodiac Clothing Co Ltd is principally engaged in the business of garment products consisting of all types of shirts, ties and handkerchiefs. It manages branches in London (United Kingdom) and Dusseldorf (Germany). The Company retails at approximately 1000 multi-brand outlets, and has over 50 Company-owned stores across India. Its wholly owned subsidiaries include Multiplex Collapsible Tubes Ltd., Zodiac Clothing Company S. A. (Switzerland) and Zodiac Garment Factory L. L. C. (United Arab Emirates).

The Company had raised Rs 300 million by way of a preferential issue of shares to a few financial investors during December 2004. The objects of the issue interalia were to part fund the acquisition of a shirt manufacturing facility in the UAE through stepdown subsidiary, to aggressively grow the Company´s own stores over the next 3 years and for the acquisition of a new corporate office through a wholly owned subsidiary. The fund has been fully utilised.

Entertainment Network - Its Hot

ENIL - Listen To Sweet Sound Of Numbers

ENIL has come out with third quarter results. The company's Q3 net profit was up at Rs 12.4 crore (Rs 124 million) from Rs 4.93 crore (Rs 49.3 million) in the previous quarter.

Its net sales was up at Rs 46.7 crore (Rs 467 million) from Rs 42.4 crore (Rs 424 million). The OPM stood at 27.3% versus 23%. Radio Mirchi’s (brand name under which Entertainment Network operates its radio stations) turnover has increased by 31 per cent for the period.

The new stations, namely Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur, recorded an EBITDA margin of 28.2 per cent for the quarter. The company plans to complete rollout of the remaining 22 stations by July 31, 2007.

Zicom Electronic - Q3 Net Up 33%

Zicom - Security Comes First

Electronic security solutions provider 'Zicom Electronic Security Systems' on Saturday reported a 33 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2.24 crore for the quarter ended December 31 as compared to Rs 1.68 crore in the corresponding period the previuos year.

Net sales rose to Rs 40.64 crore for during the preiod under review, up 91 per cent from Rs 21.28 crore in the year ago period, Zicom said in a release here.

For the nine months period ended December 31, net sales of the company almost doubled to Rs 109.58 crores from Rs 54.83 crores in the same period last year, it said.

Jain Irrigation - Net Jumps 105% For Dec`06 Qtr

Jain Irrigation - On A Growth Path

Jain Irrigation Systems disclosed a 105% jump in net profit at Rs 313.00 million for the quarter ended Dec. 2006, up from Rs 152.50 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales for the quarter rose 37.80% to Rs 3,023.10 million compared with the corresponding quarter, a year ago. Operating margins improved to 15.95% during the quarter, a rise of 392.75 basis points compared with the corresponding quarter.

Net margins, on the other hand, rose from 6.92% to 10.30% during the quarter. The company`s earnings per share on a trailing twelve month basis is Rs 16.83.

Micro Tech - Well On Track

Micro Technologies Introduces E-CAR

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company creates a renaissance in the field of vehicle segment by creating a revolutionary product, Micro VBB-Ecar, which was launched by Director of Automotive Research Association of India, Mr. Srikanth Marathe on January 18, 2007 at the Symposium of International Automotive Technology which was inaugurated by the honorable President Dr. A P J Kalam.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Srikant Marathe said "As emphasized by President Dr. Kalam 'Knowledge is Power' in his inaugural, address and this product brings knowledge of the vehicle to the owner, manufacturer updating them on Vehicle diagnostics and gives power to then over the Vehicle performance". He complemented the Company for bringing this unique product and launching this at the SIAT Expo, Pune. This product, which was displayed to the International audience in the exhibition, attracted very good appreciation with many MNC manufacturers showing interest in this new Technological marvel. The product has gathered tremendous amount of response and was the center of attraction during the first day of the expo. Many corporate and fleet owners were very keen about the revolutionary product and have made enquiries to monitor and manage their fleet of vehicles.

Micro VBB E-CAR comes as all-together a new package in today's world of vehicles domain functionality, thus adding value to ones assets. By deploying this unique innovative technology in vehicle, one can remain updated about his vehicles performance through the web portal. VBB e-car interfaces with the engine computer of a vehicle to provide diagnostics information. This computer oversees numerous sensors and systems within your vehicle to monitor its performance. Vehicle Owners or Fleet Managers receive periodic reports that describe the mechanical status of their vehicles in terms of fuel consumption, fuel efficiency and speeding reports. Both Fleet Managers and individual users also receive e-mail 'alerts' if the system detects a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) or if the vehicle reaches a service milestone based on mileage. E-car keeps owners connected to their cars and helps to increase productivity, simplify vehicle / fleet maintenance or reduce operating costs. E-car provides all the details required to make smarter decisions. E-car will help to save on the most valuable commodity - Time!

The Company, a Leading provider of security and Life-support solutions to its global audience. The Company over the period of years have incepted some of the high-end products, which address areas of concern right from automobile segments to mobile both in terms of security & monitoring.

The high-end move of Micro VBB Ecar has added a significant and new subscribe service to its industry-leading in-vehicle communications portfolio. Ecar through its Vehicle Diagnostics is committed for providing unparalleled peace-of-mind and added confidence to its customers setting their minds to believe that their vehicle is ready and safe on road.

PSL Ltd. - Softening Steel Prices To Benefit

PSL Ltd net profits up by 54.5% to Rs 20.80cr in Q3

PSL Ltd, a key enabler for infrastructure and construction projects, engaged in various types of pipe coating and pipe manufacturing today announced its results for the current fiscal, period ended December 30, 2006. The company has posted a net profit of Rs. 20. 80 crores for the third quarter, up from Rs. 13.46 crores in the same quarter of the last fiscal year, thus registering a robust growth of 54.5% in the net profit. The net sales are up by 22% at Rs. 498.84 crores as against Rs. 408.11 in the same quarter of the last financial year.

The Profit before tax rose to 22%, at Rs. 28.85 crores for the quarter under review, as compared to Rs. 15.98 crores in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. The EPS of this quarter has increased by 11%, from Rs. 4.35 in the same quarter of the last year to Rs. 6.48. PSL’s total income for the quarter ended December 2006 is up from Rs. 364.39 in Q3 of 2005 to Rs. 450.92 crores.

Mr. Ashok Punj, Managing Director, PSL Ltd. says, “We have performed extremely well over the last nine months and are proud to announce a robust order book position that also includes recent contracts received from Bharat Oman Refineries for its Vadinar-Bina Pipeline Project and an overseas order from the Ministry of Housing Electricity & Water (MHEW) in Oman amongst many more. We are hopeful that the upcoming financial year will see a boom in the pipeline sector as the Ministry is likely to include pipelines in the infrastructure sector in the forthcoming budget”.

He further adds, “It gives us great pride to announce our successful completion of the GAIL orders of pipe for the Dahej-Uran and Dabhol-Panvel pipeline project. Our overseas mill in Sharjah, U.A.E is progressing as per schedule and will provide us with a significant footprint in the Middle East and North East African regions.”

Biocon - At Last A Good Quarter

Biocon - Better Times Ahead

Biocon has come out with consolidated third quarter earnings. The company reported net profit of Rs 55.7 crore (Rs 557 million) versus Rs 43 crore (Rs 430 million) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, up by 29%. Kiran Mazumdar, CMD of the company, says that the company has seen good price realisation from Statins and their Research Services business. She says that the Technology & Licensing fee has also started to kick in. Also, the company has double R&D spend YoY. She informs that the company's strategic investments have begun to pay off, and Biocon will be able to sustain OPM and profits hereon.

Excerpts from a CNBC-TV18 interview with Kiran Mazumdar :

Q: Take us through your results. They have done better than what the Street was expecting. What went better this time?

A: We had better price realizations in many of our segments; for instance, Statin, which was introduced to the US market last quarter, delivered good price realisations for us. This year, the services business did exceptionally well and continues to sustain both the top and bottomline contributions. We also had technology and licensing fees kicking in, which again contributed to these growth numbers.

It is important for us to take the growth that we have delivered in Q3 taking in view the fact that we have actually doubled our R&D spend as compared to last year’s. And of course, the carrying cost of the new plant has also increased the depreciation cost significantly compared to the same quarter last year. So if one looks at all that, then we have really delivered robust profits.

Q: Your operating profit margins have gone from 29.5% to about 31.7%. Are these levels sustainable, or do you think in the light of realizations firming up, you would see an up-tick in that?

A: We would be able to sustain decent levels of both margins and the operating profits. I think we have turned a corner and all our strategic investments are paying dividends now and going forward, will see good healthy sustainable performance.

Q3: How has Statin pricing been this particular quarter?

A: The Statin price realisations were largely opened up perhaps because the US market opened up and we were able to realise better margins as well as better pricing. We do realise that it is a matter of time before these margins and pricing levels will come down in the US but for the next few quarters, we see it interesting from a price realization view point.

Q: When will your JV with Neopharma start delivering revenues?

A: That won’t start giving us revenue till the last few quarters of the next fiscal.

Q: At the current juncture can we assume that you will be able to repeat the Q3 performance in Q4 as well?

A: At least that is what we believe.

Q: You have launched a new drug - Biomab - recently. How has that drug’s performance been? How much of a market share are you targeting at this point for Biomab and revenue generations from the same?

A: The drug itself has done exceptionally well; in fact it has done well in terms of our own expectations. It has really started getting good market share in its own segment. But if you look at the overall anti-biotic space, in India it is less than USD 10 million. So you are talking about a small share at this point in time even if we get good market share. We hope to make this into a Rs 100 crore product in three to four years. So you can see that we are very excited with what this product has to offer specially in terms of profitable contribution to the bottomline.

Q: I understand you have granted a marketing license for Biomab in Pakistan. What kind of revenues do you expect from that and by when?

A: Pakistan is another very important market for us because it has the same opportunities that are in India and we have got a good partner in Pakistan and anti-bodies are the fastest growing segment even in that country. The market of the oncology segment in Pakistan is about USD 70 million and anti-bodies at this point in time don’t amount for such a large segment in dollar terms but going forward, all these initiatives, which we are doing in the region and in all our other territories, I think will be able to help us garnish a good market share for all our products.

Chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that the company would tap the vast potential of its new cancer drug, Biomab EGFC. “We want to increase our reach in neighbouring countries. We have granted an exclusive licence to Ferozsons Laboratories to sell the drug in Pakistan where the market is valued at $70 million. Our drug will help pave way for an affordable treatment,” she added. The cancer drug was introduced in the domestic market last September. Biocon has received enquiries from across the world since then.

Mazumdar-Shaw said consolidated revenues for the nine-month period grew 23 per cent at Rs 710 crore from Rs 578 crore in the year-ago period. Profit after tax rose 11 per cent to Rs 140 crore from Rs 126 crore. This quarter’s growth is mostly because of research services and biopharmaceuticals delivering a strong growth supported by statin exports to the US and technology and licensing revenues. The company has signed an MoU for a joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based NMC group for strategic marketing and manufacturing cooperation for the GCC region.

Genus Overseas - Mindblowing Third Quarter Results

Genus Overseas came out with mindblowing third quarter results. Gross Sales jumped 240% from Rs. 262.95 Million to Rs. 895.27 Million. Net Profit jumped 276.75% from Rs. 16.64 Million to Rs. 62.69 Million as compared to the same quarter last year. Third quarter EPS is Rs. 5.78.

The company saw topline growth of 105% and bottomline growth of 88%. Margins expanded to 15.5% on back of control on admin and staff costs, raw material costs were at 69% of sales.

Genus has secured an order of Rs 75 crore from Rajasthan State Electricity Board (SEB) to supply electronic energy meters. The company had previously bagged Rs 120 crore order from WBSEB. So the orders that the company has in hand is worth Rs 510 crore on December 26,'06, which covers the next three-four months.

Going forward, Genus Overseas will gain from the replacement market in Surat, where recent floods damaged meters, she adds. It is also expected that Genus Overseas will benefit from the ongoing Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP), as all existing electro mechanical meters are to be replaced with tamper roof electronic meters.

Further, the government intends to implement 100% metering to cut down losses for SEBs (state electricity boards) and is targeting electrification of 125,000 villages (23 mn new rural connections). All these events will act as growth drivers for the company.

Kishore Biyani - 'International Retailer of the Year'

Pantaloon - Forms Joint Venture With Staples

Pantaloon group has done proud to the Indian retail industry. Kishore Biyani, head of India's largest retail group Pantaloon was honoured with the International Retailer of the Year Award by the US National Retail Federation at its annual convention. American retail industry registers a whooping 4.5 trillion dollars of annual sales. It’s for the first time that an Indian retail group has made to the top.

“I think what we have to learn from the US is how consumption can drive our economic growth,” said Pantaloon Retail MD Kishore Biyani adding that the US market is all about thinking big in terms of technology and consumerism. Though Biyani declined to comment on reports of a tie-up with American coffee chain Starbucks, but said that he expects an Indian store to open by June this year. He ruled out a partnership with fast-food chain Burger King. “Our job is to keep on meeting people. But I don't think so there's anything happening that side,” said Biyani. “Pantaloon is focused on giving the customer exactly what they want. They will sell in whatever format is needed, from food to electronics to high fashion apparel. And they really are a good example to all the other retailers who come here to learn,” said Karen Knobloch Senior VP, National Retail Federation.

Pantaloon Retail India Ltd has also informed BSE that Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) on January 17, 2007 has announced a joint venture with the Company and its new office products business unit, Future Office. The agreement establishes a platform for Staples to enter the $10 billion office products market in India and allows the Company to benefit from the industry expertise and sourcing network of the world’s largest office products Company.

"As Staples expands globally, India represents a great opportunity for the Company," said Ron Sargent, Staples chairman and chief executive officer. "This partnership combines Pantaloon’s local business knowledge and leading brand with Staples’ best practices and global procurement strength. Staples looks forward to working with the Pantaloon team on this joint venture."

"The office products business in India presents tremendous opportunities for growth," said Kishore Biyani, the Company's Managing Director and chief executive officer. "Through our partnership with Staples, the industry leader, we can become the office products provider of choice for businesses throughout India."

Staples Future Office will serve businesses of all sizes through delivery as well as cash-and-carry locations, offering a wide range of office products from core office supplies to printers to computers. Future Office, which recently acquired B-to-B online office products Company Officedge, will expand its delivery operations to include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore and Chandigarh.

Batliboi - Excellent Third Quarter Results

Batliboi Posts A Jump Of 133% In Net Profit

Batliboi has come out with excellent third quarter numbers. Net sales is up 42.8% from Rs. 253.58 million to Rs. 362.34 million. Profit before tax is up 138% from Rs. 25.42 million to Rs. 60.55 million whereas Net Profit jumped 133.25% from Rs. 16.93 million to Rs. 39.49 million. The quarterly EPS works out to be Rs.2.92 on an equity base of Rs. 135 million

Batliboi is a leader in textile humidification systems, which are used to maintain moisture during the spinning process. Since the abolition of the quota regime last year, the textile industry is on a capacity expansion spree with investments pouring into the spinning segment. As spindlage capacity expands in the country, the demand for these systems will continue to rise over the next couple of years.

As the leading player with a market share of over 35 per cent, Batliboi could benefit from the upward capex cycle in the textile industry. The textile machinery division also has a trading division that imports a range of machinery that caters to the entire gamut of user requirements from spinning to garment making.

Pantaloon - Acquires Officedge

Pantaloon - What's Your Future Office

Pantaloon Retail India Ltd has informed BSE that Future Office Products Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, a part of Future Group, has announced the acquisition of the operations and management of Officedge, an online B2B office products Company providing contract delivery services to corporate customers on a pan India basis. Providing a one stop shop on a proprietary e-procurement solution, Officedge currently serves more than 80 large corporate customers across 6 cities offering close to 1200 office products.

Backed with an efficient supply chain infrastructure, it offers ease of ordering, next-day delivery and an ongoing 'Saving Programs, which can be rolled out on a national basis. Officedge was co-founded by two professionals turned entrepreneurs, Shailesh Karwa and Sharad Dalmia (previously consultants with TCS and Accenture respectively), after they felt an imminent need to organize the highly fragmented office products market in India.

This acquisition will give Future Office a headstart in the $10 billion office products market in India. Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Rakesh Biyani, Director of the Company said "this acquisition fits in with our strategy of being present with different business formats to capture increased spend levels by customers. We have over the years pioneered many concepts where we interact with end customers. Officedge is a unique organization and gives us the necessary traction in a growing market".

Elder Pharma - Developing Products For Men

Elder In Fray For Male Grooming Pie

As the nascent male grooming market evolves, a number of companies are launching products to garner a larger share of the over Rs 350 crore market. And the latest company to join this bandwagon is the Mumbai-based Elder group. Anuj Saxena, director, Elder group, said the company was planning to introduce a slew of new products in this category. These include face scrubs, post shaving healers and face washes. He added that the company may also look to tap the higher end of the market with specialised products like under-eye creams for men. These, he said could be developed in house or in partnership with existing international brands.

The company has just launched a men’s variant of its fairness cream, joining others such as Emami and Hindustan Lever who launched their brands last year. Saxena said the company was aiming for a turnover of Rs 15 crore for Fairone Men within the first year of its launch. The overall market for fairness creams in India is pegged at Rs 1,000 crore, with an estimated 25-30 per cent male users.

After being the first to launch a men’s fairness cream, Fair & Handsome, Emami has recently introduced two hair dyes at the lower end of the market, Mr Black and Mrs Black. The rationale: as men and women had different hair, their hair care products would need to have separate attributes. “A number of the new categories which will emerge, will be created by marketers, and not consumer needs,” said a marketing consultant. This then, is just a fraction of what can be expected over the next few years.

New Stock Ideas For Investment

Some new stock ideas for Long Term Investors are listed below. As in the past, I will write more about them in due course. Meanwhile, I think that following stocks should perform well and have potential to become Multibaggers.

For the year 2007, I feel that some sectors such as Media, Retail, Consumer Durables, Companies catering to Masses (such as Entertainment Network India Ltd., Inox, Pantaloon, Bharti etc.) and some Infrastructure plays (such as IVRCL, Punj Lloyd, Simplex Infra) will outperform broader Indices.

1. Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd.
2. Gitanjali Gems
3. Tata Elxsi
4. Northgate Technologies
5. Linc Pen
6. Tata Tea
7. Inox
8. ENIL
9. Micro Technologies India Ltd.

HAPPY INVESTING

Zicom - Reaching To Retail Consumers

Zicom Plans 25 Retail Outlets By December

Zicom Consumer Service Group (ZCSG), the latest venture from Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd, is planning to open 25 new retail outlets across Maharashtra by the end of 2007. The company is also planning to launch CNG leakage alarm system for vehicles, soon. Meanwhile, ZCSG on Tuesday opened its first retail outlet in Nashik. The outlet, located on Sharanpur Road here, displays the complete range of products from the Consumer Service Group. The store showcases the latest products and technologies from Zicom along with a host of complementary products and peripherals. It has been designed in an open display format to give customers a new hands-on shopping experience. Zicom has eight retail outlets in major cities across the country, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Chennai and Kolkata.

Speaking after the launch of the company’s first retail outlet at Nashik, Santonu Choudhury, CEO, Zicom Consumer Service Group, said, “We are planning to launch CNG leakage alarm system for vehicles within the next three months. We are also holding talks with the authorities concerned to install the security system at three major temples at Shirdi, Pandharpur and Banaras. As part of expansion, the company is planning to open 25 new retail stores across Maharashtra by December 2007.” “We see potential for our products and services in the market in Nashik, which is emerging as the next destination for electric, automobile and IT industries. Our priority is to reach the end consumer and mitigate the fear of insecurity from their minds by providing them with peace of mind,” said Choudhury.

The Consumer Service Group has been launched to fulfil the retail needs of the consumers. This division offers complete and packaged security solutions for individual, residential complexes, small and medium establishments, etc. It offers an extensive array of Intrusion Detection and CCTV Systems. To meet the various security and monetary needs of the customers, packages are especially designed and available at leading retail and consumer durables outlets across the country.

Punj Lloyd - Bags Huge Order

Punj Lloyd Bags Single Largest Offshore Platform Project

Punj Lloyd Ltd has announced that the Company, along with its offshore engineering arm - PT Sempec Indonesia, a wholly owned subsidiary, has secured its single largest Offshore Platform Project - the prestigious Heera Redevelopment Project on an EPC basis from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC). The order, valued at around US$ 290 million, was won after meeting ONGC's stringent qualification criteria.

Heera field is located about 80 km West of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea on the continental shelf of Western India. The project scope of work includes surveys (pre-engineering, pre-construction / pre-installation and post-installation), design, engineering procurement, fabrication, layout, tiedown / sea fastening, transportation, installation, hook-up, testing, pre-commissioning and commissioning of 4 unmanned platforms, 70 km of submarine pipeline (rigid & flexible), laying of 25 km of composite cables, modifications of 7 existing platforms and installation of a new SBM in Mumbai High South. The work is scheduled to be completed within 16 months.

The consortium qualified for the project based on the experience of PT Sempec which has executed offshore platform projects. PT Sempec was acquired by the Group as part of Singapore based Sembawang E&C, in June 2006. The strategic acquisition by the Company will make it a significant player in the marine oil & gas production facilities.

Commenting on the order, Mr. Atul Punj, Chairman - of the Company said, "This order is a major milestone for the Company as it catapults Punj Lloyd into the exclusive club of EPC service providers for marine oil & gas production facilities. With this order, the bar has been raised for the Company, as this is its single largest EPC project and a first in the offshore platform business". This order has been won against stiff competition from local and international Companies. With this, the order backlog for the group is Rs 11,201.74 crore. This is the total value of unexecuted orders as of September 30, 2006 and new orders received till date.

Suven Life - Secures Patent

Suven Life Sciences Secures Patent From European Patent Office (EPO)

Suven Life Sciences Ltd on January 09, 2007 has announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) issued the Patent 1517909 titled "Novel Tetracyclic Arylcarbonylindoles having Serotonin Receptor affinity useful as therapeutic agents, process for their preparation and pharmaceutical compositions containing them" to the Company and is valid until June 2023. The granted claims of the patent include the class of selective 5-HT compounds discovered by the Company and are being developed as therapeutic agents and are useful in the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neuro-degenarative disorders like Attention deficient hyperactivity, Alzheimer's, Parkinson, Schizophrenia and Huntington's.

We continue to work on G-Protein coupled receptor (GPCR) targets to discover and develop molecules focusing on CNS disorders with unmet medical need and high market potential, says Venkat Jasti, CEO of the Company.

The Company is a major service provider of Drug Discovery and Development support Services (DDDSS) to global Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences and Biotech Companies in addition to their continued business interest and growth in Contract Research and Manufacturing Services (CRAMS). The Company is a Collaborative Research Partner (CRP) with a Global pharma major since Sept 2006 to Discover NCE's for unmet medical need in CNS.

Spicejet - Spreading Wings

SpiceJet Hoping For Break Even This Year

Low-cost airline, SpiceJet, is hoping to break even this year projecting revenues worth Rs 1,100 crore during the current financial year. Last year, the company’s revenues stood at Rs 481 crore. Sanjay Kumar, vice-president - sales and planning, said the company had already achieved operational break even last year and would be in a position to make profits this year if the ATF and aircraft parking charges remain constant. The increase in fleet size from four aircraft per month to over eight aircraft per month is one of the main factors expected to push up the revenue by more than 100 per cent this year, Kumar said.

A record 3 million passengers have flown with the airline since 18 months of its inception. One more aircraft would be added to its fleet from this April, taking the total number of aircraft to 11. It will be the second aircraft to be based at Hyderabad, further increasing the frequency to 12 flights from the present 9 flights a day from here, he said.

The airline would also be commencing its Jaipur-Ahmedabad flight connecting the city during the same month. In April, Hyderabad would become the company’s second largest base for flight operation after Delhi. Kumar said the company’s fleet size would increase to 17 aircraft by the end of this year, of which two would be again positioned at Hyderabad. The airline is also planning to introduce new services to Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi soon.

The new flight services from other places in the pipeline include the Indore-Nagpur service, he said. According to Kumar, the company has been operating their flights at 86 per cent load factor throughout the year, compared with the industry average of 65 per cent.

Emami - Foraying Into Retail Through Landmark

Emami Buys Landmark And Renames It Starmark

The Kolkata-based Emami Group strengthened its retail segment presence by buying out Chennai-based Landmark's stake in the Landmark Bookstore in Kolkata. Emami earlier held 50 per cent stake in the joint venture. The store has, however, been renamed Starmark, as the Landmark trademark is currently owned by Trent. Emami has plans of rolling out upto 10 stores in the eastern region over the next 18 months, along with express stores, maintaining the product line available at the Starmark store at present.

Christened Emami Retail Private Limited for the time being, the retail wing of Emami Group does not plan to increase the product line or include food or agro products in the basket. It plans to cater to the books and leisure products market as it does at present. "We have three store formats -- the large stores that are upto 20,000 squarefeet in area and sell the entire product line of books, stationery, gifts, toys and music. The big format stores, upto 10,000 square feet in area, have gifts and stationeries merged into one section. And then we have the express stores varying between 1,000 to 3,000 square feet in area and having a boutique feel about it with soft lighting, chairs and wooden furnishings," explained Gautam Jatia, chief executive officer, Starmark Store Limited. Jatia informed that that investment in setting up 10 large and big format stores in the various state capitals and major cities of the east would cost the company an estimated Rs 50 crore and above. This would include lease payment and inventory cost to set up the stores.

With each Starmark store bringing in an additional business of Rs 5 crore, the company hopes to clock a business of Rs 25 crore by March 2008 from Rs 10 crore currently. Analysts said the book retailing segment will become competitive as players like Reliance, Pantaloon (Depot) Crossword Oxford and Odyssey are expanding their network across the country. Books and music retailing constitutes around 7% of the Rs 40,000 crore retail sector today. According to estimates, the books segment is growing at 15% and music at 7% annually.

The company has already identified a 20,000 square feet space at the upcoming South City Mall in Kolkata and has also booked space at the City Centre mall in Salt Lake for setting up an express store. "We want to have a large format store in the residential area of Salt Lake, but haven't identified space yet. However, we have submitted our letter of intent for setting up a store in a mall being developed by the Diamond Group on VIP road," Jatia informed. The Emami Group will retain suppliers who have been supplying products to the Landmark Store in Kolkata so far. The roll-out plan for the rest of the country will follow once the eastern part of the country has Starmark stores in place, said Mohan Goenka of the Emami Group.

Pantaloon - To Spin Off Mall Division

Future Group Doing some Aggressive Stuff

Pantaloon Retail (India), part of the Future group, plans to spin off its 'Central' mall division to create a new company. It also plans to come with an IPO for the new company by the end of 2008. Rakesh Biyani, director, Pantaloon Retail, said: "Currently, Central is a division under the Pantaloon Retail, and there are only four Central malls in the country — Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Vadodara. We will be coming up with a new company for the same and will list it on the stock exchange.” The decision to carve out a subsidiary out of the mall division was taken to unlock the value of the 'Central' mall concept and raise funds through the IPO for future expansion, Biyani said. However, he did not divulge the exact quantum of fund it planned to raise from the IPO. The three operational 'Central' malls fetch Rs 400 crore.

The company has already initiated the process of creating the subsidiary, which was part of its long-term goal, he added. The company plans to have 11 Central malls. Responding to recent media reports suggesting that Pantaloon Retail will divest its 49 per cent stake from Planet Retail Holdings, he said the company believes in buying and not selling. He further hinted at the firm’s plans to acquire a travel portal in the country and that the acquisition would be concluded by the year-end.

Pantaloon is also planning to more than double the Big Bazaar stores to reach the 100-mark from the present 41 stores, while substantially increasing its presence in the South besides tier-II cities. Addressing a press conference in connection with the opening of second Big Bazaar store in Hyderabad, Rohit Malhotra, head of south zone operations of the retail arm of Pantaloon, said the company was planning to increase this number to seven stores, besides adding an equal number of standalone Food Bazaars in the city in the next 6-8 months. The company has invested Rs 15 crore in the second store, which has been set up after a gap of five years, and is expected to gross Rs 100 crore turnover in the first year, Malhotra said. "Locations for the remaining stores in the pipeline for Hyderabad have also been finalised," he said.

He added that the number of Big Bazaar stores would be increased to 30 from 11 in the entire South. Close to Rs 1,000 crore is being invested in the country-wide expansion plans this year, he said. According to him, the Big Bazaar stores currently have combined sales of about Rs 2,000 crore annually. Besides increasing the number of stores in the existing cities, the company is planning to cover 15 more cities, including tier-II cities such as Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

The motto of nobody sells this cheaper and better and everything is available under one roof continues to represent our sales strategy. Besides keeping 1.6 lakh products under one roof, the company is offering huge price discounts of up to 60 per cent on various products," he said. Set up in a 52,000-sq. ft. area, the company's second store in the city is strategically located at the busy RTC crossroads, which houses a number of cinema theatres besides being one of the important junctions in the city.

Future Logistics is close to announcing a domestic acquisition. The company is said to be in talks with Patel Integrated Logistics and is likely to buy a majority stake in the company, say sources. The two companies are likely to sign the term sheet this week, they add. The deal will be funded by Indivision, the PE arm of Pantaloon Retail, say sources. Patel Integrated recently merged Patel Roadways with itself and Patel On-Board Courier. Post merger, the management holds 57% in the company. But sources say the management is likely to offload 30-35% stake for Rs 100 crore. But the management could not be reached for comments on the same.