Stock Picking - Art Or Science

Suven Life Sciences - Patent Granted

2007-12-27T19:56:00.000+05:30

Suven Life Sciences Ltd on December 27, 2007 has announced that the US Patent office has granted Product Patent # US 7,297,711 to Suven. This is Suven's first product patent granted in USA. The granted claims of the patent include the class of selective Serotonin receptor affinity compounds discovered by Suven and are being developed as therapeutic agents. According to the invention '711 patent disclosure, the compounds are useful in the treatment of neuro-degenarative disorders like Alzheimer's Parkinson, Schizophrenia and Huntington's.

Suven has so far filed 29 product patent applications through PCT covering more than 145 countries, out of which 5 patents are granted in various countries. There are several other patent applications from Suven Discovery Research are in the pipeline that have completed the administrative and technical diligence from the patent offices from major countries and would be granted shortly.

Suven has filed its first Investigational New Drug (IND) application with DCGI to conduct the clinical Phase-I study on their developmental candidate SUVN-502 and several candidates are in discovery pipeline undergoing GLP pre-clinical studies.

"We are very pleased by the issuance of this patent to Suven by US Patent office for our drug candidates that are being developed for CNS disorders which targets a $18 billion potential market opportunity" says Venkat Jasti, CEO of Suven.

New Stock Ideas - Strong Buy

2007-12-25T11:33:00.000+05:30

Buy following stocks for decent gains. Although, I don't think that they can be multibaggers but I recommend Strong Buy.

PNB Gilts
Greaves Cotton
Novartis
Ankur Drugs
Asian Granito

Jagran & Network18 Comes Together

2007-12-19T22:01:00.000+05:30

Jagran & TV18 To Launch Hindi Business Daily

Jagran Prakashan Ltd has informed BSE that Netwotk18, India's leading media conglomerate and the Company, one of India's most acclaimed print majors & publisher of India's largest read daily 'Dainik Jagran' have announced a 50:50 joint venture initiative in the business print space. The primary mandate of this JV will be to launch a Hindi business daily for the Indian market in 2008. Subsequently, this will be followed by other Indian language dailies focused on financial and economic news.

This JV will in effect create a new category of local language business dailies within the India print space, as this will be the first Hindi business paper to hit the market nationally. This venture also marks an expansion of print offerings from Network 18 into the dailies space, post the recent announcement of its magazine publishing arrangement with Forbes media and ownership control of Infomedia, India’s leading publishers in the B2B media space. This venture is also a reiteration of the Company's intent and commitment to provide its readers news and information in all genres.

The venture has been positioned to benefit from the respective competencies of TV 18 & the Company. Television Eighteen (TV18) is a recognized leader in the business media space, with a roster of brands across television, online and information terminal platforms such as CNBC-TV 18 & CNBC AWAAZ which are India's leading business channels, Moneycontrol.com which is India's No 1 financial news & information portal and Newswirel8, India's leading real time news & data platform. The Company publishes "Dainik Jagran", India’s largest read daily besides recently launched youth oriented compacts "I-Next" and "City Plus". TV 18 shall bring forth its expertise in business content to the JV, while the Company shall bring forth its print competencies including operational expertise, print and related infrastructure and distribution to the venture. Both TV18 & the Company have agreed to co-promote the offerings under the venture and exploit cross platform synergy opportunities present from both sides. It is noteworthy that 3 years ago, TV18 had launched CNBC AWAAZ, a consumer focused business channel, to cater to the needs of the Hindi business viewer. It soon emerged as a Leader in the Hindi business news segment & a major contributor to the expansion of business audiences in the country.

Mahendra Mohan Gupta, CMD, of the Company said "Our leadership in the Indian print space will further be strengthened with the launch of business dailies. This venture is based on a commonness of vision we share with TVI8 on a strong need for a high quality business print offering in Hindi and other languages. Our experience in the language media space has revealed a growing interest in specialized business news & information, which, this vehicle will enable us to cater. I am confident that we will live upto the expectations of our readers as hitherto and expand the financial market, in the geographies that are going to play a crucial role in the economic growth of the country in times to come".

Commenting on this announcement, Raghav Bahl, MD, Network18 added "The fact that "Bharat" is rapidly emerging as the key driver of the Indian economic opportunity is fairly evident. In recent years, business audiences have grown immensely in the Hindi heartland and regional markets, reflecting a democratization of enterprise & wealth creation across the nation. The leadership of CNBC AWAAZ is a strong affirmation of this new reality as well as indicative of a great need for language products across the business media spectrum. We are delighted to partner Jagran Prakashan as it will allow us to fulfill this need powerfully in the print space, by combining TV18’s strengths in business content with Jagran's intimate understanding of print markets"

The JV will be governed by a board, comprising of representatives from TV18 & the Company, which will oversee management plans and execution. The operational specifics in terms of brand name for the business daily, selection of the editorial and business team and so on is in the process of being formalized. The JV will be funded through an initial equity infusion from both sides followed by internal accruals & debt financing in the later stage.

Gitanjali Gems - Ties Up With Italian Company

2007-12-19T21:50:00.000+05:30

Gitanjali Gems - MoU With Mariella Bitrani Fashion Group, Italy

Gitanjali Gems Ltd has informed BSE that the Gitanjali Lifestyle Ltd (GLL), a wholly subsidiary of the Company is signing a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mariella Burani Fashion Group (MBFG) of Italy to form a Joint Venture in India by way of incorporation of a new Company. The proposed new Company will be jointly controlled by GLL and MBFG.

The Objective of the proposed joint venture is to significantly drive growth of MBFG's brands in emerging markets, particularly the Mariella Burani, Baldinini, Rosato, Calgaro and Facco collection in the Far East by capitalising on the expertise contributed by the respective partners. GLL will develop an extensive distribution network which is expected to include 32 monobrand and boutiques and 132 shop in exclusive multi-brands retailers. The Company will provide production, marketing, logistics and distribution expertise based on its extensive know-how of the Indian Market and its existing retail network. MBFG will contribute its consolidated experience in the design, development and international distribution of Italian lifestyle appered, leather goods and Jewellery collections.

MBFG designs, produces and distributes world wide a diversified and complementary range of Luxury apparel, footwear, leather accessory and jewellery collections under its own brands and under license for prestigious international designers. MBFG founded in 1960 by Walter Burani, Chairman & CEO of the Group and listed in the STAR segment of the Italian stock exchange since July 2000, is today international recognized public Company with an established position in the accessible luxury goods market. MBFG manager to provide top quality luxury goods at accessible prices by capitalising on the strength and flexibility provided by Italy's industrial districts, world renown for their excellence in the development of luxury products.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Ramco Systems - Gaining Ground

2007-12-17T18:56:00.000+05:30

Ramco Systems - To Expand Aggressively Into The Retail Segment

Ramco Systems Ltd has announced that the Company has strengthened its position in retail segment by providing comprehensive applications and IT solutions with key orders from leading US based handcrafted Chocolatier Bissinger's, Subhiksha - India's largest supermarket pharmacy & telecom chain & Dutyfree Distribution Services Pvt Ltd - the supply chain Company based at SEZ Cochin.

Commenting on the success, Mr. Chetan Pathak, VP Enterprise Solutions, Ramco Systems, said, "Ramco is delighted to expand aggressively into the retail segment. In today's competitive scenario we provide retailers with a solution that further enhances their operational efficiency & reduces costs."

Ramco offers development, delivery and implementation of Web Services to the technology backbone of Subhiksha's proposed e-commerce portal merchandise management solutions to Dutyfree Distribution Services Pvt Ltd and a complete package of Ramco's Enterprise Solutions including Ramco's Food end Beverage ERP Software, Ecommerce, Retail Business Software, and Business Analytics solution to Bissinger's.

Ramco Enterprise Series - Merchandise Management System along with other components of Ramco's retail software solution provide retail Industry with a proven, agile and extendible option to meet their technology needs. Ramco has proven experience of more than a decade in the retail sector.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Micro Technologies - Too Fast Too Furious

2007-12-13T19:08:00.001+05:30

Micro Tech Awarded "Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific, 2007"

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company has been chosen as one of the "Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific, 2007" by the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and was awarded as one amongst the fastest growing Companies for its technology and revenue growth in field of Security and Life support solutions. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is an organization of member firms around the world devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice, focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 140 countries.

The Company has also been profiled as one of the top IT innovators - 2007 by NASSCOM. The Company made innovation an important part of their growth strategies and the Company have managed to stand out and differentiate themselves in highly competitive, often adverse market conditions and carved a niche for themselves using breakthrough technological products and novel market initiatives in Security and Life support systems. NASSCOM is India's National Association of Software and Service Companies, the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT software and services industry in India.

Offering a wide range of Micro products that are both innovative and highly competitive, the Company provides its growing customer base with security solutions that are technologically advanced on one hand yet simple on the other and these awards and recognition are the testimonies to the unconditional hard work, concerted commitment and focused dedication of the Company who have vowed to cater the security needs of various organizations globally on a consistent basis.

The Company, a prominent name amongst techno-savvy Companies and IT research units in the entire country and is well positioned to be a significant force in the global economy of the 21st Century in the much-needed security devices, life support systems and web-based software. The contributions of the Company to the state, country and society at large have been recognized in various forums and it has received many prestigious awards for its excellence and innovative work including the Deloitte Technology fast 50 India, 2007.

This is an unprecedented achievement of the Company, which signifies the role of the Company, in maintaining the highest levels of performance in Security and Life Support Domain.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Jagran Prakashan - Joins Hands With Yahoo

2007-12-05T19:59:00.000+05:30

Jagran & Yahoo Come Together To Launch Hindi Portal

Jagran Prakashan Ltd has informed BSE that Yahoo! India and the Jagran Group jointly announced the launch of a new co-branded Hindi news and current affairs Internet property. The new property will seamlessly integrate the largest Hindi content of Jagran with Yahoo! India's formidable online presence.

This pioneering agreement brings together India's number one Internet brand and a leading Indian newspaper conglomerate to provide the best of both online services and print media content for users and advertisers.

The partnership will create a richer online Hindi user experience, with Jagran's original content across news, current affairs, sports, entertainment and other features. It will be complemented with Yahoo!s innovative, user-focused internet products and services offered in seven Indian languages, including Yahoo! Search, Mail and Messenger.

Under the terms of the agreement, Jagran and Yahoo! India will share graphical and keyword advertising revenue generated by the property with Yahoo! India managing the advertising sales and ad-serving for the new co-branded property. Both Companies will also partner in distributing Yahoo! India's search and small and medium business offerings.

"This exciting and strategic partnership between these two powerful media entities will redefine the Hindi Online User experience and take this to the next level" said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, CEO, JPL.

"This platform will help rebrand and rescale the Hindi online space and leverage the strengths of both the organizations in creating a very powerful online property. We looked for a partner that stood for leadership and credibility in the online media space, which understood the pulse of internet audiences and had a customer-centric focus as central to their business approach. Yahoo! India definitely represents all these and more" said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, CEO, JPL.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Apologies For Not Updating The Blog

2007-12-01T13:51:00.000+05:30

Dear Readers,

I sincerely apologise for not updating my blog in recent past. I was very busy because of three back to back marriages in the family and I was travelling a lot for the last two months. I, still, have a little busy schedule ahead but I promise to resume frequent blogging and will come up with some good & interesting stock ideas.

Regards

Tweak Your Portfolio

2007-11-02T08:48:00.001+05:30

Nifty crossed 6000 and this blog has completed two years. If you follow Stock picking - Art Or Science and buy stocks recommended here, I suggest to raise 15-20% cash and also book loss in some of the non-performers. Also, the size of portfolio is too large for some of the investors, so in an attempt to reduce the size I am ditching some of the stocks but it is my nature to invest in maximum number of stocks. Hence, you will have to choose from the list and make your own decision.

R S Software
Rajshree Sugar
Federal-Mogul Goetze
Encore Software
Batliboi

I advise to book Loss/Profit in above mentioned stocks by exiting.

Greenply - Bumper Q2 Performance

2007-11-01T18:51:00.001+05:30

Greenply Industries Q2 Net Soars

Greenply Industries, a Rs 4.7 billion-worth manufacturer of plywood and laminates, on standalone basis, posted a 2.35 times jump in net profit to Rs 111.86 million, for the quarter ended September 2007, as compared with Rs 47.54 million for the same quarter, last fiscal.

Net sales for the quarter increased 27.41% to Rs 1,356.32 million, compared with Rs 1,064.47 million during the corresponding quarter, previous year.

Total income for the quarter also rose 29.08% to Rs 1,379.28 million, compared with Rs 1,068.50 million during the same quarter, a year ago. The diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the September 2007 quarter stood at Rs 6.58.

``We are in sync with our annual target and based on our current growth performance I am confident that we are in the right direction in garnering a larger chunk of the market share,`` as per the company`s spokesperson.

Amara Raja - King Of Batteries

2007-11-01T18:43:00.000+05:30

Amara Raja - Net Profit Up 94%

Industrial and Automotive Battery major Amara Raja Batteries Limited has recorded revenues of Rs. 2597 million (Net Sales: Rs. 2562 million + other income: Rs. 35 million), PBT of Rs. 315 million and PAT of Rs. 206 million for the second quarter of FY 2007-08. For the quarter ended Sep 07 the topline has grown by 94% while PAT rose 62% as compared to the corresponding quarter of last year.

Announcing the results, Mr. Jayadev Galla, Managing Director remarked that growth has been fed by good demand from the telecom, UPS and after market segments. “We have shown consistent growth over the last 10 quarters with equal contribution from both Industrial and Automotive divisions. Our expansion plans announced during the last one year are progressing as per schedule and will help to sustain this pace of growth,” he said.

“Our performance on profitability demonstrates the resilience of our business model. Improved realizations and superior management of key operating parameters has helped us to partially mitigate the adverse impact on account of steep increase in lead. While we continue to watch the lead price scenario very closely, we will work to reduce the impact on our margins as much as is possible,” he added.

“The financial position of the company continues to be comfortable. The stock split from Rs.10 to Rs. 2 announced during June has taken effect from 26th September 07,” observed Mr. K. Suresh, Financial Controller.

For the full year period ending March 2007, ARBL had recorded 67 % growth in revenues at Rs 7.45 billion (Rs. 4.46 billion in FY 2005-06). The PBT shot up by 91% to Rs. 712 million and PAT 97% to Rs. 470.4 million during the same period.

Amara Raja Batteries Limited, an Amara Raja-Johnson Controls Company with 26% equity from Johnson Controls, is the technology leader and is one of the largest manufacturers of Lead Acid batteries for both Industrial and Automotive applications in the Indian storage battery industry.

In India, Amara Raja is the preferred supplier to major telecom service providers, telecom equipment manufacturers, UPS segment (OEM & Replacement), Indian Railways and to Power, Oil & Gas among other industry segments. Amara Raja manufactures and sells automotive batteries under the brand name AMARON ® which is distributed through a large pan-India sale-service retail network.

The company supplies automotive batteries under OE relationships to Ashok Leyland, Fiat, General Motors, Hindustan Motors, Honda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Hyundai & Tata Motors. The company is an exclusive supplier to Daimler Chrysler, Ford and Swaraj Mazda. The Company’s Industrial and Automotive batteries are exported to APAC, Africa and the Middle East.

Johnson Controls is a global leader in interior experience, building efficiency and power solutions. The company provides innovative automotive interiors that help make driving more comfortable, safe and enjoyable. For buildings, it offers products and services that optimize energy use and improve comfort and security. Johnson Controls also provides batteries for automobiles and hybrid electric vehicles, along with systems engineering and service expertise. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), founded in 1885, is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its sales for 2006 totalled US$ 32.24 billion.

India Cements - Solid Foundation

2007-11-01T18:31:00.001+05:30

India Cements - Q2 Net Up Rs. 222.654 Cr.

India Cements Ltd. (ICL) has reported a record profit after tax of Rs. 406.05 crore on a gross turnover of Rs. 1,737.42 crore for the half-year ended September 2007, up from Rs. 229.91 crore on a gross turnover of Rs. 1,158.75 crore during the corresponding period last year.

The figures for the period under review include the financial performance of erstwhile Visaka Cement Industry, which was merged with ICL effective July 2006. The operating margin has improved to 39.7 per cent for the first half of 2007-08, up from 34 per cent in the same period last year.

The record profit comes even after providing Rs. 9.37 crore towards the estimated cost of employee stock option scheme. Further, an additional Rs. 15.02 crore has been provided on account of AS (Accounting Standard) 15 issued by ICAI towards leave salary cost. The profit after tax for the quarter ended September 2007 has improved to Rs. 222.65 crore on gross sales Rs. 896.09 crore, up from Rs. 117.32 crore on gross sales of Rs. 591.50 crore in the same period last year.

Addressing a press conference, N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, said the company controlled the cost better, improved the blending and reaped higher realisation. The average realisation for the second quarter was Rs. 3,900 a tonne, up from Rs. 3,600 in the first quarter. The average realisation for the first half was Rs. 3,751 per tonne, he added.

Mr. Srinivasan said the prices could go up from December. The firmness could persist during the entire last quarter, he added. Answering a range of questions, he said ICL had repaid debt to the tune of Rs. 250 crore during the first half.

Ramco Systems - Joins Hands With Corbus

2007-10-10T08:42:00.000+05:30

Ramco Systems - Corbus & Ramco Establish Global Partnership That Enhances Business Value

Ramco Systems Ltd has announced that Corbus and the Company on October 09, 2007 has announced a global partnership that significantly enhances business value delivered to its customer through improvement in their supply chain management.

The two companies are committed to provide a completely integrated, world-class solution that combines technology and outsourcing expertise and offered at extremely competitive price points. The partnership places Corbus amongst few companies world-wide to offer procurement outsourcing solutions on a SOA based technology platform.

"Our proven technology expertise combined with procurement outsourcing experience of Corbus promises a powerful value proposition for customers seeking flexible, reliable yet cost-effective solutions" says Guru Prasad, President, Global Consulting at the Company.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Micro Tech - Providing Security To Shops

2007-10-07T11:25:00.000+05:30

Micro Technologies Launches An Innovative Shop Security System

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company has unveiled their new and innovative product; Micro SSS (Shop Security System) by the hands of Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai, Mr. Ramrao Wagh (IPS). Micro Shop Security System provides security solution to retailers and shop owners. Micro SSS can be used to secure shops and provides a beneficial solution to the rising incidence of theft and vandalism on retail premises.

Micro SSS is an advanced shop security system that also uses GSM/ CDMA technology to warn its customers of various safety concerns on their premises such as unauthorized access, intrusions, power failure etc. Upon receiving information from the sensors, this system alerts the registered user of any unwanted access to their premises by sending a SMS Alert Message to their mobile phone anywhere in the world. With highest number of retail outlets in the world, India's growing retail sector is also facing a huge challenge in the form of rising security and safety concerns. Micro SSS is a much needed security solution to mitigate the growing incidences of crime in shops and retail stores, This solution has complete answer to thwart any crime on retail premises.

The expanding retail markets have increased the need for security and with this product retailers will be at ease when they are away from their premises. In addition, Micro SSS will reduce the need for security guards and security checks in retail stores, allowing for a better shopping experience for the customers.

In addition, Micro SSS offers a variety of key features and benefits for retailers, which also includes fire sensors, motions Sensors, with dynamic features like wireless door sensor, wireless shutter sensor, panic switch, Siren, battery backup, remote key chain etc. Also, some of the upcoming features of this technology include event recording, web interface and live viewing system.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Jain Irrigation - Spreading Reach

2007-10-07T11:20:00.000+05:30

Jain Irrigation To Set Up New Plants

Jain Irrigation would invest around Rs 40-50 crore to set up a pipes and drip irrigation manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and another in North India in the next six months.

The facility in TN would entail an investment of around Rs 20 crore and will come up shortly while the one to be set up in North India would take shape in about six months’ time, Jain Irrigation’s Managing Director Anil Jain told PTI here. “This will help us to not only increase our capacity but also extend our footprint nationally,” Jain said.

The Maharashtra-based Jain Irrigation had recently set up one such facility in Hyderabad at an investment of Rs 30 crore. The Rs 1,300-crore Jain group, which is also engaged in food and fruits processing, plans to set up a processing plant in North India within the next 6-9 months.

“We plan to set up a plant in the agri-belt of North India. We will be identifying the location soon,” Jain said.

The company already has two processing plants in Jalgaon in Maharashtra and in Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The processing unit is estimated to entail an investment of around Rs 30-40 crore and is likely to be set up in either Punjab, Haryana or Uttaranchal.

Jain Irrigation’s future strategy will be to continue its focus on its core businesses of drip irrigation and food and fruits processing.

Source : Business Standard

Performance Of Stocks Recommended

2007-10-01T13:54:00.000+05:30

Report Card For September 2007

A New Comprehensive List

What a joyful ride it has been since I started this blog. Well! I know that I am a Richer and Happier man but did YOU follow my blog? It has been a relatively good year for Midcaps & Smallcaps and most of my recommendations are from Mid & Small Caps basket. I am a firm believer that Midcaps with good management and fundamentally strong Balance Sheet give maximum return over a longer period of time. My faith in Peter Lynch has been reinstated again and again.

It’s almost two years since I started this Blog and High Time to tweak the portfolio. Hence, The Comprehensive List has been edited with some Addition and Deletion. It also includes stocks recommended by me during the year.

3i Infotech 95.50 (Ex Bonus)
ABC India 47.75
Aditya Birla Nuvo 868.30
Adlabs 340.65
Aftek Infosys 115.65
Agro Tech Foods 125.10
Alps Industries 82.00 (Ex Bonus)
Amara Raja Batteries 38.60 (Ex Split)
Asahi India 120.00
Ashapura Minechem 220.00
Aztec Software 185.20
Balaji Amines 113.65 (Ex Bonus)
Batliboi 52.35 (Ex Split)
Bilcare 640.05
Biocon 493.75
VIP Industries 120.00
Centurion Bank 21.55
Clutch Auto 125.00
Crest Animation 141.10
Crew B.O.S. 172.30
Deep Industries 30.00
Elder Pharma 262.80
Emami 127.25
Encore Software 30.15
Entertainment Network India Ltd. 256.95
FCI OEN Connectors 407.55
Federal-Mogul Goetze (India) Ltd. 315.55 (Ex Right)
Flex Industries 101.90
Gateway Distripark 220.75 (Ex Bonus)
Genus Power 156.85
GHCL 140.00
Gillete 871.55
Gitanjali Gems 229.70
Greenply 94.75
Hikal Ltd. 351.40
Hind Org Chemicals 40.85
Hind Sanitary 105.00
Hitachi Home 87.00
Honeywell Automation 1,088.45
Hotel Leela 66.90
Hyderabad Industries 260.00
India Cements 221.60
India Infoline 162.00
Infomedia India 178.55
Inox 144.45
International Combustion 335.00
ITC Ltd. 142.00
IVRCL Infra 146.80 (Ex Split)
Jagran Prakashan 210.80 (Ex Bonus)
Jain Irrigation 243.00
Jindal Stainless 97.40
JK Cement 197.70
JK Paper 62.00
Jyoti Structures 67.15 (Ex Split)
Kajaria Ceramics 45.70
Linc Pen 40.05
Macmillan 368.95
Madhucon Projects 300.00
Magma Leasing 165.00
Man Industries 192.00
Medicaps 92.00
Micro Technologies India Ltd. 261.70
Mirc Electronics 21.90
Navneet Publication 58.00
NIIT Tech 125.10 (Ex Bonus)
Northgate Technologies 505.55 (Ex Bonus)
NRB Bearings 91.80 (Ex Split)
Orchid Chemicals 210.00
ORG Informatics 172.55
Pantaloon Retail 299.35 (Ex Right & Ex Split)
Patel Engineering 347.95
Pokarna Ltd. 166.75
PSL Limited 277.85
Punj Lloyd 210.00
R S Software 116.45
Rajshree Sugar 140.00
Ramco Industries 1,400.00
Ramco Systems 317.25
Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd. 142.50
Ranbaxy Labs 362.35
Ratnamani Metal 270.60
Raymond 403.95
Reliance Energy 483.55
Reliance Infra 293.80
Sangam India 67.10
Saregama India 226.60
Savita Chemicals 226.80 (Ex Bonus)
Shashun Chemicals 84.35
Shipping Corp. 162.85
Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd. 136.75
Simplex Infrastructure 300.20 (Ex Split)
SKF India 304.95
South East Asia Marine 175.00
SPEL Semiconductor 21.05
Spicejet 82.45
SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. 63.25
Sterling Holiday 70.52
Suashish Diamonds 104.60
Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd. 230.00
Surya Pharma 140.65
Surya Roshni 64.15
Suven Life Sciences 19.75 (Ex Split & Ex Bonus)
Tata Elxsi 262.00
Tata Steel 380.30
Tata Tea 723.90
Transport Corporation of India 55.80 (Ex Split)
TTK Prestige 127.45
TV 18 389.30 (You also got Network 18 after my Recommendation.. keep it)
UB Holdings 262.40 (Ex Bonus)
United Spirits 496.75 (You also got McDowell Holdings after my Recommendation.. keep it)
Usha International 290.55
Vadilal Industries 27.00
Viceroy Hotels 112.00
Voltas 103.50
Wockhardt 445.00
WS Industries 60.10
Yes Bank 68.55
Zicom 145.00
Zodiac Clothing 294.95

Besides, I am also tracking Aegis Logistics, LIC Housing, Marico, Southern Iron & Steel, Tayo Rolls, BL Kashyap, Sobha Developers, Parsvnath & Dolphin Offshore. These stocks can also be considered as my favourites, I am not recommending them at this point of time because I am not comfortable with the price at which they are trading. I sincerely urge all the visitors to do their homework thoroughly before buying any stock and if you feel comfortable then buy it. As I said earlier, I am not a good timer of market. Everybody knows that a correction is eminent, but when it will happen, nobody knows. I lost several opportunities in above mentioned stocks because I was waiting for a correction. All I can say is that the stocks mentioned above are good companies in good businesses with good fundamentals. Its the entry price I am not sure about.

Those who want a complete assessment of my recommendations may download this MS Excel File. Report Card.

HAPPY INVESTING

Micro Technologies - A Multibagger In The Making

2007-09-24T18:06:00.000+05:30

Micro Technologies Forays Into The Middle East

Micro Technologies India Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has come with an Understanding with Lazer Technology Solutions granting rights for the distribution of its selected security products in the Middle East and Egypt. It has been observed that there are fluctuations in the exchange rates but these fluctuations would not lay an impact in the net revenue of the Company and on the contrary this arrangement is expected to bring added benefit to the Company even during the current scenario.

Micro Products are already growing rapidly across India. The Company has started up with the distribution in Egypt and has received an overwhelming response in the Middle East. The Company being ranked No 2 in the recently concluded GITEX Technology Week where roughly 3,300 exhibitors from 82 countries spread out over 64,000 square meters of floorspace participate In itself speaks the success story of the Company in the Middle-East. Gitex 2007 is held in Dubai from the 8th to 12th, of September every year and is the Middle East's largest and most popular technology exhibition.

The safety and security products industry In Egypt is growing steadily and is governed by the Ministry of Interior, Government of Egypt. The Egyptian Government is looking for specialized Companies working in the field of security and other related business to become acquainted with the most up-to-date security technology available and the Company is well positioned to get into the market with its high-end technology.

The Company is a Leading provider of the much-needed range of security devices, life support systems and web-based software solutions to the global audience. The Company over the period of years have incepted some of the high-end security products, which address areas of concern right from mobile security to automobile security & Monitoring Systems. The Company got into the domain of security much before security was considered to be a major market and need was perceived. The Company products are globally recognized through its innovation, perfection and quality.

Lazer Technology Solutions has been a leading provider of IT solutions and services in several key domains. Its state-of-the-art software, technology and dedicated development team enable users to accomplish complex-tasks in web centric environment with relative ease with the aim of maximizing their business performance by providing seamless access to data. The focus is to provide an in-depth coverage of the customer's business requirements. They possess a strong world-class Infrastructural background with development centers in USA, India, UAE and sales offices around the world. Lazer Technology Solutions focused, strategic agenda crafts an environment where creative ideas flow and conversations generated informed and intelligent decisions.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Suven Life Sciences - Keep Heart

2007-09-23T11:11:00.000+05:30

Suven, US Firm To Develop Cardiovascular Drugs

Hyderabad-based drug developer Suven Life Sciences will soon sign a formal agreement with a top US-based pharma company to jointly develop new drugs for cardiovascular diseases. As part of this, Suven will soon expand its drug development centre to accommodate about 500 scientists.

The company already has a drug discovery alliance with another US-based drug company, Eli Lilly.

“We are in talks with an MNC for drug development in the area of cardiovascular diseases and hope to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) within a few months. We are, now, not in a position to disclose the identity of the partner,” said Venkat Jasti, chairman and managing director.

The two firms would develop drugs from the pre-clinical stage, including drug discovery, screening, identification and optimisation of potential clinical candidates.

Suven will expand its drugs discovery centre in Hyderabad with an investment of $25 million. Currently, the centre employs about 150 scientists. With the new drug discovery deal in place, the total strength will be increased to 500. The infrastructure would be in place within two years, he said.

Apart from this, Suven is likely to expand its drug discovery alliance with Ei Lilly for target discovery of more molecules in various therapeutic areas. Currently, Suven and Eli Lilly are working to develop drugs targeted for central nervous disorder (CNS) drugs.

Suven is one among the few drug discovery companies in India to rope in alliances with big pharma companies for joint drug research.

Suven has a rich pipeline of drugs under development for CNS disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and depression and other neourological disorders.

The other major deals in this space include Ranabaxy-GSK alliance to develop drugs for infections, metabolic and respiratory diseases and cancer, Biocon’s tie up with Bristol-Myers Squibb for various disease areas, Advinus and Merck’s collaboration to develop drugs for metabolic disorders, Nicholas Piramal-Eli Lilly programme to develop drugs for metabolic disorders and GVK Biosciences alliance with Eli Lilly to provide basic drug research services.

Its first Investigational New Drug (IND), SUVN-502 for Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia, is currently undergoing the first phase of clinical trials in India.

Source : Business Standard

Simplex Infra - Plans To Foray Into Power Sector

2007-09-14T17:56:00.000+05:30

Simplex To Grow Through Power And Oil Drilling

Simplex Infrastructures, one of the top-five infrastructure solutions providers in the country, plans to foray into power transmission EPC business in India and abroad. For this, it is looking for a joint venture with established companies in the field.

“We are talking to a few players in India and abroad to join us as technical partners to form a joint venture. We are working on the construction of about five power plants in India and are bidding for the contracts of about 20-25 power plants coming up in India and abroad. Power and oil drilling will be a major area of growth for us in future,” said Amitabh Mundhra, director, Simplex Infrastructures.

Indian manufacturers such as RPG group-promoted KEC International and Kalpatharu are already among the largest transmission EPC players in the world.

The Rs 1,712 crore Simplex has an order book worth over Rs 7,000 crore, with over 25 per cent of the projects coming from the industrial infrastructure sector. The company was hopeful of achieving a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore by 2010, said Mundhra.

The eight-decade-old Simplex, with the heritage of executing the works of the Supreme Court and the Howrah bridge, had forayed into oil drilling a few months ago by bagging a $22 million contract from Oil India. Amitabh Mundra said the company had bought an oil rig from China with an investment of Rs 50 crore and would soon start drilling in Assam and Orissa. Soon, the company plans to bid for more drilling projects in India and abroad and add more rigs to emerge as a major Indian player in this field.

Currently, Simplex is executing refinery projects in Qatar, and four others in India, including a major contract for Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery.

Recently, Simplex also bagged the civil works for the liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal at Dahej. Works on the two-year project worth Rs 200 crore had taken off a few days ago, he said.

The Rs 300 crore civil work for the Kudamkulam nuclear power project is on schedule and will be completed by December.

A 500X2 mw, coal-based power plant in Raigad in Maharashtra, promoted by the Jindal group, a 660X2 mw coal-based power plant in Orissa by Vedanta Resources and a Rs 180 crore hydroelectric project awarded by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) are among the major power projects executed by Simplex.

Source : Business Standard

Gitanjali Gems - Launches Ivida Technologies

2007-09-08T10:33:00.000+05:30

Gitanjali Gems Launches IT Company

Gitanjali Gems, a Rs 1,250 crore jewellery company, today announced its foray in the information technology (IT) sector. The company has floated Ivida Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary, to launch its software, technology and telecom business.

The subsidiary will be essentially engaged in web development, infrastructure management and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Explaining the rationale behind the move, Sam George, director, Ivida Technologies, said, "The company intends to tap opportunities in the retail boom and the IT sector in general."

He also mentioned that technology will play a key role in Gitanjali’s expansion plans as the company is looking at automating all its retail operations.

Apart from addressing the IT requirements of the group company, the subsidiary will also cater to its independent clients. George said, "The company has bagged some US-based jewellery clients for the web portal operations. We are also in talks with companies to be their enterprise resource planning (ERP) partners in India." He further said that the third area of immediate concern for Ivida would be hardware and networking.

The company is also looking at partnering with solution providers like JDA, SAP and others for specific retail solutions. Subsequently, Ivida also aims to focus on media and graphics and knowledge processing outsourcing operations. Currently, it has a team of 30 people, which would be scaled upto 75 by the end of the first operational year.

Source : Business Standard

Genus Overseas - Electricity Goes Pre Paid

2007-09-08T10:23:00.000+05:30

Genus Launches RFID Based Electric Meters

Genus Overseas Electronics Ltd has announced that it has come out with a RFID based contactless smart card Pre Paid meter, which has distinct advantages over the conventional key paid based or plug in type card based Pre Paid Meters. The new developed product is in line with the 11th Power Plan recommendation on Pre Paid Meters.

The new product will ensure advance revenue collection for the utilities and with the Government policies aligning to promote the concept will have a huge market potential in coming years.

The pilots for the technology have already started in India and the product is getting an international acceptability. Recently Genus pre paid meters have been approved by Brazalian Utilities.

Genus is providing the complete infrastructure in terms of vending station, servers and relevant software and in all probability will ensure a better revenue recovery model for Electricity Utilities.

Genus is expecting very good orders for the aforesaid new product from State Electricity Board and Private Utilities.

For over a decade "Genus" has been providing Technically advanced Metering Products and Solutions through which Electricity Distribution Utilities have been able to control and reduce the Electricity theft and have also been able to improve the revenue recovery.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Elder Pharma - Going To Bulgaria

2007-09-06T21:21:00.000+05:30

Elder Pharma Buys 51% In Biomeda Of Bulgaria

Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals has acquired 51% stake in Biomeda Group in Bulgaria for euro 5 million (around Rs 28 crore) in an all-cash deal. Biomedia has a turnover in the range of euro 10-12 million.

With the acquisition, Elder will see the launch of many more products in Europe. Biomeda is Elder’s second acquisition in less than 45 days. Earlier, Elder bought 20% stake in London-based NeutraHealth through subscription of shares worth about Rs 47 crore.

"Biomeda is an unique acquisition. It is a manufacturer of oral dosage formulations. The acquisition will provide us the right entry vehicle to enter the Bulgarian market, leveraging Elder’s robust EU product portfolio and pipeline. Elder will enjoy a pan-European presence, covering all the key markets of Europe," said Alok Saxena, director (international), Elder.

"The Bulgarian market's skilled labour, which has an advantage in terms of lower labour cost compared to other European countries, attracted us. Being a member of the European Union, patent rules are in line with EU standards. Corporate tax and VAT are among the lowest in central and eastern Europe with low production costs."

Suashish - Diamonds Are Forever

2007-09-01T11:14:00.000+05:30

Suashish Diamonds Triples Its Net Profits In Q2 2007

Suashish Diamonds Limited, one of India’s leading diamond and diamond jewellery manufacturing and exporting groups, declared its financial results for the 2nd quarter ending 30th June 2007.

During the quarter, the company achieved a turnover of Rs.182.56 crores and tripled its PAT (profit after tax) from Rs.8.37 crores in 2006 to Rs.26.33 crores in 2007. in terms of year to date (YTD) H1, the company has also witnessed a topline growth in excess of 10% from Rs. 374.08 crores to Rs. 412.94 crores.

Ashish Goenka, Managing Director of the Suashish Diamonds said, “the company has performed exceedingly well, inspite of a marginal drop in y-o-y topline, the company continues to strengthen its bottom-line. we continue to focus on driving operational efficiencies, and enhance efforts to build our proprietary business”.

The decision of going downstream with higher focus on jewellery sales through retail chains and through its brand Ishi’s has paid rich dividends in the form of increased customer loyalty and substantially better-margins. suashish is a vendor partner to 5 out of the top 10 jewellery retailers in the world and is emerging as a leader in jewellery exports from india.

In India the local diamond jewellery segment has also grown by over 26% in 2006. the brand ‘ishi’s’ is well positioned to take advantage of growing consumer spends in the country’s changing retail environment. over the past year Ishi’s has done very well and is now available in over 130 outlets, spread across India and The Middle East.

The company is continuously investing in scaling up its operations and building infrastructure for sustainable growth.

Inox Leisure - Multiplexes In Fashion

2007-09-01T11:02:00.000+05:30

INOX Leisure Records 31% YoY Increase In Net Profit

Financial Highlights:

33% YOY growth in total revenues for Q12007-08 at Rs. 54.07 crores versus Rs. 40.53 crores in the same quarter of the previous year.
EBITDA for Q1 is at Rs. 17.48 crores compared with Rs. 13.56 crores in the same quarter of previous year, a growth of 29 % .
PAT has increased to Rs 10.96 crores versus Rs. 8.37 crores in Q1 2007, a growth of 31%

Operational Highlights:

Properties under operation up to 15 in Q1 2007-08 from 11.
Screens under operation up to 54 in Q1 2007-08 from 41 .
Footfalls up 38% to 2968373 in Q1 2007-08 from 2153818

The Board of Directors of INOX Leisure Limited (ILL) announced its results for the first quarter of the financial year 2007-2008, following its meeting on Monday, 30 July 2007 in Mumbai. For the quarter ended 30th June 2007, INOX reported a 34% increase in total revenues from Rs. 40.53 crores in 2006-07 to Rs. 54.07 crores in 2007-08.

The profit after tax for the quarter ended 30th June 2007 amounted to Rs. 10.96 crores, as compared to Rs. 8.37 crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year – an increase of 31 %. EBITDA saw a growth of 29% from Rs. 13.56 crores in 2006-07 to Rs. 17.48 in 2007-08.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Deepak Asher, Director - INOX Leisure Ltd. said, “Our results reflect INOX’s ability to maintain its profit leadership position along with a high growth momentum. Going forward we remain focused on creating India’s largest network of world class multiplexes across the country."

Jagran Prakashan - Reaching To Masses

2007-08-01T12:24:00.000+05:30

Jagran Prakashan Q1 Net Up 51.62%

Driven by significant advertising revenue growth, Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), publishers of Hindi daily 'Dainik Jagran', on Friday reported a 51.62 per cent increase in its net profit for the quarter ended June 30.

The company said its net profit for the period under review stood at Rs 34.71 crore against Rs 22.89 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The media house's total revenues for the said quarter stood at Rs 192.27 crore, an increase of 34.69 per cent compared to Rs 142.75 crore in the last fiscal.

"We dedicated our efforts towards strengthening Dainik Jagran and various other initiatives. We are pretty positive about future of the media industry in general and business in particular," JPL Managing Director and Chairman Mahendra Mohan Gupta said.

The steady growth in the revenue has been driven by the significant growth in advertisement revenue, which grew by 42 per cent, at Rs 126.74 crore from Rs 89.22 crore, it said, adding revenue from businesses other than publication was Rs 11.49 crore.

Jindal Stainless - Robust Performance

2007-08-01T12:18:00.000+05:30

Jindal Stainless June Qtr. Net Jumps 63%

Jindal Stainless Ltd., India's largest stainless steel maker, on Monday reported a 63 percent rise in net profit for the quarter ended June on higher sales and cost-cutting measures, a senior official said.

It reported a net profit of 826 million rupees on net sales of 11.97 billion rupees for April-June.

A key factor has been the company's ability to produce cost-effective products and its flexibility to meet market requirements, Ratan Jindal, vice-chairman and managing director, said.

"During the quarter, we experienced diversified demand for stainless steel from both new and existing customers across key verticals and geographic markets," Jindal said.

Greenply - Green Is The Colour Of Money

2007-08-01T12:10:00.000+05:30

Greenply Industries Q1 Net Profit Up 101%

Strong sales growth across its product categories of plywood, laminate and decorative veneer helped India’s largest interior infrastructure manufacturer Greenply Industries Limited (GIL) report a revenue of Rs 116 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, representing a growth of 37% over the corresponding period last year. The company had posted a revenue of Rs 84.60 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.

Against a net profit of Rs 4.51 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 9.07 crore during Q1 2007-08; a growth of 101%.

According to GIL Joint Managing Director Saurabh Mittal, a combination of higher capacity utilisations, rupee appreciation resulting into reduced raw material cost, benefits of excise reduction, improved product mix and visibility and buoyancy in the market had led to the improved margins.

“Greenply”, he added, “has a range of products that has given us 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.”

GIL accounts for 25 per cent of organized plywood and 15 per cent of organized laminate market.

Greenply Industries has recently begun commercial production at its Behror plant in Rajasthan after completing its expansion project. The capacity of the Behror plant is now at 53.40 lakh sheets from the earlier 39.60 lakh sheets, making Greenly India’s largest laminate producer. The plant was originally scheduled to commence commercial production in August.

Greenply had put in an investment of Rs 40 crore to set up of a fourth production line at Behror. The expansion was undertaken to meet the growing demand for decorative laminates in India and abroad.

Yes Bank - Net Soars 114%

2007-08-01T12:01:00.000+05:30

Yes Bank Q1 Earnings Jump 2.13 Times

Yes Bank registered a substantial 2.13 times growth in earnings for the quarter ended June 2007, helped by strong revenue growth. During the quarter, the company witnessed a rise in profit to Rs 360 million from Rs 168.8 million in the same quarter, last year.

Interest earned for the quarter climbed 2.95 times to Rs 2,725.3 million, while the total income for the quarter rose 2.69 times to Rs 3,484.9 million, when compared with the corresponding quarter, a year ago.

The earnings per share for the quarter climbed 2.05 times to Rs 1.29 compared with the same quarter, a year ago.

During the quarter, the bank raised upper tier II debt of Rs 20 million to augment long term capital resources and to enhance the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for successfully implementing its growth plans.

Yes Bank is a private-sector bank, engaged in the business of providing corporate & institutional banking, business & retail banking and private wealth management services.

Asahi India - Class Apart In Glass

2007-08-01T11:58:00.000+05:30

Asahi India Net Jumps 4.16 Times For Jun`07 Qtr

Asahi India Glass reported a phenomenal jump in net profit for the quarter ended June 2007. During the quarter, the net profit of the company went up 4.16 times to Rs 207.20 million from Rs 49.83 million in the same quarter, last year.

Net sales for the quarter ended June 2007 rose 30.21% to Rs 2,250 million from Rs 1,727.94 milion during the corresponding quarter, a year ago. Total income climbed 56.92% to Rs 2,724.9 million for the quarter ended June 2007 from Rs 1,736.47 million in the same quarter, a year ago.

Operating margins decreased to 0.96% during the quarter, a fall of 684.60 basis points compared with the corresponding quarter, a year ago. Net margins, on the other hand, rose to 7.60% during the quarter from 2.87% in the same period, last year. Excluding extraordinary income (expense), the net margin is estimated to be at 9.35% for the quarter.

The company`s earnings per share on a trailing twelve month basis is Rs 3.62.

Hitachi Home - Cool Quarter

2007-08-01T11:45:00.000+05:30

Hitachi Home & Life Solutions India Ltd Q1 Profit Rises To Rs.17.37 Crores

Hitachi Home & Life Solutions India Ltd has announced the following Un-Audited results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.

The Company has posted a net profit after tax of Rs.173.75 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 where as the same was at Rs.88.72 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. Total Income is Rs.1530.13 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 where as the same was at Rs.1173.16 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.

The company has reported an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of Rs.7.57 for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 compared to Rs.3.86 during quarter ended June 30, 2006.

The Company has revised estimated useful life of its certain asset as a result of this change additional depreciation aggregating of Rs 9.759 million (June 2006 quarter : Nil) is charged to the Profit and Loss account.

3i Infotech - Bonus Awaits You

2007-07-31T13:10:00.000+05:30

3i Infotech - Net Jumps 88%

3i Infotech a global provider of IT solutions and one of India’s largest software product companies, announced its operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Consolidated results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007:

Revenue for the quarter was Rs 264.2 crores, a growth of 98.3% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Profit before depreciation, Interest and Tax (including other income) for the quarter was Rs 66.3 crores, a growth of 94.5% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Profit after tax for the quarter was Rs 40.3 crores, a growth of 88.9% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Earnings per share (EPS) increased to Rs 6.41 from Rs 3.68 in the same quarter of the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Mr. V. Srinivasan, Managing Director & CEO, 3i Infotech Limited said, “Our strategy of aggressive organic growth complemented by strategic acquisitions is paying rich dividends by creating a fundamentally strong business model”.

Business Highlights

During the Quarter, 3i Infotech:

Acquired 50.5% stake in aok in-house BPO Services Limited and aok in-house Factoring Services Private Limited. These companies were acquired for their delivery capabilities in the area of credit cards and auto loans processing for the banking sector and claims processing in the insurance sector.

Launched a new global development centre in Chennai which will focus on the enhancement and development of the company’s flagship insurance solution PREMIA, the Kastle line of banking solutions and Orion ERP solution, as well as support the company’s growth in these areas.

Was adjudged the winner of Top Contributor in Financial Services & Insurance (FSI) Sector Award from Oracle for Independent Software Vendor (ISV) – 2006.

Received the ‘Best Software Product` award from the Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA) for its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Fraud Detection software – AMLOCK™

The Board of Directors have accepted the resignation of Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch with effect from June 1, 2007. The vacancy casued by her resignation has been filled by the Board by appointing Ms. Vishakha Mulye as a Director pursuant to Section 262 of the Companies Act, 1956.

WS Indusries - Net Up 146%

2007-07-31T13:04:00.000+05:30

WS Industries - Now Also Listed At NSE

WS Industries India Ltd has announced the UnAudited Financial Results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.

The Company has posted a profit after taxes of Rs.39.45 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 where as the same was at Rs.16.03 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. Total Income is Rs.476.88 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 where as the same was at Rs.394.61 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.

The company reported an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of Rs.1.8 for Quarter ended June 30, 2007 compared to Rs.0.75 reported during Quarter ended June 30, 2006.

The proceeds of the equity / preference issues made by the Company are being used for the purpose for which they were raised. Income from temporary deployment of these proceeds have been netted against Capital Work in Progress.

Patel Engineering - Wait For Value Unlocking

2007-07-31T12:44:00.000+05:30

Patel Engineering posts 34.46% jump in cons net profit at Rs 27.04 crore versus Rs 20.11 crore YoY. Consolidated income from operations rose 33.07% at Rs 415.25 crore Vs Rs 312.06 crore. Revenues includes: 50% from Hydro projects, 30% from Irrigation and 8% from road business.

As on June 30, 2007, company’s order book position above Rs 5,000 crore. Company has pre-qualified for new projects worth in excess of Rs 6,000 crore as on June 30, 2007. Company bagged order worth USD 153 million in Algeria from Agence Nationale Des Barrage Et Transferts (ANBT – Algeria).

Floated wholly owned subsidiary Patel Realities India Ltd (PRIL) for real estate development. Company currently owns more than 500 acres of urban land bank in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and other cities. Real estate revenues starts reflecting from FY09. Working capital is of 150 days current cash at Rs 175 crore including Rs 100 crore from unutilised funds from FPOs Rs 30 crore revenues from Joint Venturs. Debt equity ratio - 0.70, current debt at Rs 500 crore plus.

FCI Delisting - Boon Or Bane

2007-07-20T18:55:00.000+05:30

One more buy back and one more delisting from the cluster of shares I like. I am talking about FCI OEN Connectors. The said company is getting delisted and the exit price is Rs. 700.00. I have recommended the stock at Rs.408.00 and those reading this blog regularly, would have made profit.

But, I have a thing against Delisting. I really don't like when companies go for delisting because it forces us to part away with some of the most beloved treasures. In the past I had to surrender my holdings in Cadbury's, Philips and many more. An investor sows the seed in a good company and when it starts to bear fruits the company goes for delisting. This should be stopped and rules should be changed. Similarly, defaulter companies should be punished heavily instead of delisting shares.

There are three types of delistings. This is either when a substantial acquisition of shares by acquirer (where the public holding dips below requisite levels) takes place and an exit offer made, or through mergers/acquisitions or compulsory delisting enforced by the stock exchange.

Investors also face the bane of being stuck with shares of a company that has not witnessed trading for years. Over the past two years, at least 26 companies, mainly multinational companies have delisted themselves from the stock exchanges, while another 90 other firms propose to do the same in coming years.

Imagine, many people have invested at the nascent stage of company and when promotors (of good and mulinational companies) feel that they should be given a free run they go for delisting or is it something else ? Why are several companies delisting themselves from the bourses? Should they be allowed to do so, while keeping shareholder and investor interest paramount? Readers please post your comments.

Jagran Prakashan - Excellent Results

2007-07-11T09:46:00.000+05:30

Jagran Prakashan Net Profit Up 140 % At Rs 76.22 Crore

Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), publishers of Dainik Jagran, has acquired a net profit of Rs 76.22 crore, which is up by 140.45 per cent from Rs 31.70 crore in the corresponding period of last year. JPL has reported total revenues of Rs 622.98 crore for FY07, an increase of 27.95 per cent as compared to Rs 486.88 crore in FY06.

The EPS for the year was Rs 12.65, as against Rs 6.23 at the end of FY06. The performance of the company in the last quarter of FY07 was commendable with total revenues increasing by 29.71 per cent to Rs 170.25 crore, as compared to Rs 131.25 crore in Q4 FY06. EBIDTA and net profit increased by 28.58 per cent and 42.53 per cent to Rs 33.96 crore and Rs 18.09 crore respectively in the quarter ended March 31, 2007.

In the last fiscal, JPL saw significant revenues from out-of-home advertising and event management activities, which was over Rs 30 crore. During the year, the JPL made two new launches -- a bilingual daily newspaper ‘I-Next’, and a weekly infotainment newspaper ‘City Plus’. Both are targeted at the youth.

Commenting on the performance of the company in the last fiscal, Mahendra Mohan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, JPL, said, “In the last fiscal, we have taken steps to expand our product and services portfolio, and now JPL has presence in all media genres which includes print, out-of-home advertising, event management, and the new emerging media. Being a 360-degree media house, we have become one of the most diversified media player, providing complete media solutions to all the clients, while maintaining our primary focus towards maintaining our credibility in giving detailed, accurate and up-to-date news to our readers.”

JPL also entered into an alliance agreement with Yahoo! India, under which the company’s news portal www.jagran.com will be co-branded as www.jagran.yahoo.in. Yahoo! India would be responsible to host, maintain and market the website on revenue sharing basis. In addition to these, a separate profit centre named ‘J9’ was created to take the short code service division of JPL to a higher level.

Apart from these new initiatives, JPL’s flagship brand Dainik Jagran also ventured into new territories of Indore, Siliguri and Amritsar. The advertisement and circulation revenues continued to increase with advertisement revenues at Rs 388.21 crore and circulation revenue at Rs 170.83 crore for the year. The advertisement revenue for Dainik Jagran grew by 25.7 per cent, higher than the industry’s overall growth rate of 22.8 per cent. The advertisement revenues were driven by the increase in card rate, increased focus on local market and increase of about 18 per cent in colour advertisement space.

Emami - Good Results

2007-07-11T09:42:00.000+05:30

Emami FY07 PBT Up 44% On Strong Exports

Emami, one of the leading players in the personal and health care industry, reported a 44% growth in profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 74.5 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007 (FY07) as against Rs 51.6 crore in FY06.

The turnover for the company grew 27% at Rs 516 crore as compared to Rs 407 crore in FY06. Emami attributed this growth to its growing FMCG business and newer launches last financial year.

During the quarter, the company saw 39.91% rise in profit to Rs 221.90 million from Rs 158.60 million during the quarter ended March 2006.

Net sales for the quarter rose 54.24% to Rs 1,499.40 million from Rs 972.1 million during the corresponding quarter, a year ago.

Operating margins fell to 14.12% during the quarter, a fall of 24.17 basis points compared with the corresponding quarter, a year ago. Net margins, on the other hand, fell to 14.74% during the quarter from 16.24% in the same period last year.

The brands Navratna Oil and Boroplus Antiseptic Cream with market shares of 55.2% and 69.7% respectively, strengthened Emami's position further.

Mr Black & Mrs Black Hair Dye Powder and Malai Kesar Cold Cream were the most recent launches and accounted for 17% of turnover.

Emami's international business grew by 40%. This growth is from all 59 countries that it exports to, specially SAARC, Africa and Europe. Emami's new international range of products, Emita range, aimed at the masses in developing countries and the Gold range and Ayucare range, aimed at niche and premium markets, received excellent market response.

Jain Irrigation - Gets Mango Pulp Order

2007-06-27T15:47:00.001+05:30

Jain Irrigation Secures Rs 84 Crore Mango Pulp Order

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd has announced that the Company has bagged the largest order for Rs 84 crores from Hindustan Coca Cola Company for supply of mango pulp. Compared to the order of Rs 33 crores last year, this is a quantum jump. Coke bottles Mango drink in India under the most popular brand name of Maaza.

The Mango pulp business is expected to exceed a turnover of Rs 160 crores this year based on additional export orders in hand. Entire order will be processed in the current mango season. The Fruit & Vegetable Processing Division is expected to register more than 50% growth in the current financial year.

The Company has five plants for fruits & vegetables in the vegetable processing in India and one in USA. The Company is expecting to process in excess of 75000 MTs of mangoes in the current season registering 60% growth in amount of quantity processed. The Company is a major supplier to many MNCs and to global leading beverage & food brands. The Company has emerged as the largest processor of fruits & vegetables from India.

The Company will continue to invest to expand product range and to strengthen backward linkage with farmers so as to become major supplier of frozen, aseptic and dehydrated fruit & vegetable products.

India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world with a share of more than 55% of the world production. India is also the producer of the most delicious mangoes such as Alphonso, Kesar, Dasheri, Totapuri, Chusa, etc. There is Large potential for fresh mangoes as welt as processed mango juice as consumers are preferring healthy drinks over other types of drinks. Fruit juice and fruit drink market in India is growing above 30% every year.

The Company is a diversified company with more than 5,000 employees worldwide and market capitalization in excess of INR 3.00 bn and a product portfolio encompassing Irrigation Products, Piping Products, Plastic Sheets, Dehydrated Foods, Fruit Puree, Pulp & Juices in India and other world markets. The Company has been named as one of the eight Indian Companies expected to emerge as challengers to the World Leading Companies by Standard & Poor's recently in May 2007.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Sangam India - Ties Up With Riopele Texteis SA, Portugal

2007-06-21T15:46:00.001+05:30

Sangam India Ties Up With Riopele Texteis SA, Portugal For Supply Agreement

Sangam India Ltd on June 21, 2007 has announced that it has entered into a strategic supply agreement with Riopele Texteis S.A. Portugal-based Riopele, with an annual turnover of Euro 64 million, is one of the largest manufacturer of high value added polyester-viscose bi-stretch yarns and fabrics Company. It has composite production facility and is a leading supplier to various leading retail chain in Europe and USA.

Under the agreement, Riopele Texteis will outsource high value added polyester viscose bi-stretch lycra fabrics from the Company. In turn, the Company will outsource technical expertise and designing pattern from Riopele Textels S.A. Initially, the agreement will be for period of one year and subsequently renewed mutually based on performance.

Explaining the rationale behind the tie-up, Mr. R P Soni, Chairman of the Company said, "This is the first step towards our vision to expand in the global markets with high value added product such as poly-viscose bi-stretch fabrics segment."

Mr. Soni also added, "This tie-up with help us to get the technical know-how and latest trend in designing from the Riopele and in turn give us an opportunity to supply high value added. Going forward, we are targeting around 10-15% revenue of is fabrics division revenue through this tie-up."

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

SREI Infra - Net Jumps 98%

2007-06-20T09:44:00.001+05:30

SREI Net Up 98% As Core Sector Booms

SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd has posted a 98 per cent growth in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 at Rs 31.5 crore as compared to Rs 15.9 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Hemant Kanoria, vice-chairman and managing director, SREI said higher business growth led to larger disbursements. "We are now in a position to increase our presence in the infrastructure sector exponentially through our recent association with BNP Paribas Leasing Group, the worldwide leasing financing arm of BNP Paribas," Kanoria said.

With the new venture the company will be able to increase assets under management to Rs 15000 crore, Kanoria said. The new venture will formed in another 90 to 120 days time. The association with BNP Paribas will help SREI Infrastructure to bid for more road, power and port projects.

The company is also thinking of increasing its portfolio into the medical equipment arena, where BNP has years of expertise. The total income for the quarter grew by 62 per cent to Rs 124.71 crore as against Rs 77.15 crore in the same period last year. For the financial year ended March 31, 2007, the company reported 64 per cent growth in the net profit at Rs 79.2 crore as compared to Rs 48.4 crore in the corresponding period previous year.

The total income grew by 76 per cent to Rs 400 crore for FY 2007 from Rs 227.2 crore for the year ended March 2006. Assets under management went up to Rs 5083 crore, crossing the one billion dollar mark, from the level of Rs 3393 crore achieved in the earlier year.

Net worth grew by 19 per cent to Rs 471 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007 from Rs 405 crore in the previous year.

Source : Business Standard

Simplex Infra - Order Book Set To Swell

2007-06-20T09:38:00.000+05:30

Simplex Infra Expecting Huge Order

According to sources, Simplex Infrastructure may be gearing up to bag another Rs 1000 crore from West Asia. The order may be for a housing project. Simplex Infra will execute the order in two to three years.

Simplex Infra management had tendered for few other orders, but refused to divulge details. The company's current order book is at about Rs 7,000 crore.

Simplex Infra had recently bagged a Rs 1,000 crore order from two overseas companies. But they are eyeing a fresh order of the same size in the Middle East. Sources say they are in the final stages of negotiation.

This order will contibute to about 12-15% of their current order book size of Rs 7,000 crore. Housing projects contibute around 28-29% of Simplex Infra's revenues. Operating profit margins are expected to be better than normal, around 12-13%. And it is expected to be a paid contract and not BOT.

If this order is executed, the revenues coming from the Middle East will go up from 30% to 35%. The rationale behind this could be that, the company is slowy trying to reduce revenues that come in from the government side from 60% to 50%. This could also be a precursor to more projects from the Middle East.

If this order comes through, the total kitty of Simplex Infra will go to Rs 8,000 crore.

Disclaimer: This is source-based information and has not been provided to the stock-exchanges.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

International Combustion - Dark Horse

2007-06-05T09:35:00.000+05:30

International Combustion Became Debt Free, Margins Improved

The revenues of International Combustion India Ltd (ICIL) grew by 15.6% year on year (yoy) to Rs24.1 crore in Q4FY2007. The revenues of the heavy engineering division (HED) grew by 24.8% yoy to Rs18.4 crore while that of the geared motor and geared box division (GMGBD) declined by 5.1% yoy to Rs5.9 crore. However, on a sequential basis the GMGBD's top line grew by 61.2%.

The operating profit margin (OPM) of the company improved by 280 basis points yoy to 20.3% in Q4FY2007, in line with our estimates. The margin expansion was driven by a lower raw material cost as the raw material cost as a percentage of sales ratio declined to 51% from 56.3% yoy. Consequently, the operating profit grew by 34.6% to Rs4.9 crore.

The margin of the HED improved by a whopping 1,340 basis points yoy to 32.6% while that of the GMGBD declined by 1,800 basis points to 14.7%. The GMGBD's margin declined largely because the company started manufacturing the B2000 series of geared motors and gear boxes in this year. It has made huge investments in the B2000 series project the results of which will get reflected in its FY2008 numbers.
The interest cost declined by 7.7% yoy to Rs0.1 crore as the company repaid its entire debt and became a debt-free company in this year. Consequently, the net profit grew by a strong 47.4% yoy to Rs2.8 crore.

The outstanding order book stood at Rs56 crore out of which the HED's order book stood at Rs48 crore with the GMGBD accounting for the balance Rs8 crore.

ICIL is currently trading at a price/earnings ratio (PER) of 6.8x its FY2008E earnings and 4.2x its FY2008E enterprise value (EV)/earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation (EBIDTA). Considering the strong order backlog and the expansion plans of its key user industries such as steel, sugar and cement, it remains a good buy.

Punj Lloyd - Slowly Becoming A Behemoth

2007-06-05T09:25:00.000+05:30

Punj Lloyd To Build Nuclear Plants With GE & Westinghouse

Punj Lloyd Limited (PLL), a global EPC services provider in energy and infrastructure domains, has recorded consolidated income of Rs 5206 crore and consolidated net profit of Rs 196.03 crore for the financial year 2006-07. This is against consolidated income of Rs 1716.60 crore and net profit of Rs 54 crore for FY 2005-06.

Punj Lloyd acquired 100% stake of Sembawang Engineers & Constructors during the year, which contributed Rs 2155.20 crore to revenues, Rs 42.40 crore to EBITDA and Rs 28.6 crore to net profit.

On a consolidated basis, EBIDTA (Earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation) for the fiscal was Rs 489.70 crore as against Rs 222.90 crore in the previous fiscal. The EBITDA margin in FY07 was 8.71 %.

The basic and diluted EPS for FY07 stood at Rs 7.44 and Rs 6.91 respectively for Rs 2 paid up share. The board of directors have recommended a dividend of 15% for FY07, subject to the approval of shareholders.

For the fourth quarter ended March 2007, the consolidated revenues stood at Rs 1719.91 crore, while consolidated net profit stood at Rs 88.49 crore.

The order backlog (unexecuted value of orders as on date) as of March 31, 2007 stood at Rs 15,943.90 crore, of which Punj Lloyd (excluding Sembawang) contributed Rs 11,039.40 crore and Sembawang contributed Rs 4904.50 crore.

Punj Lloyd Chairman, Atul Punj commented, “the group has made rapid progress up in the value chain, with average ticket size of the order increasing manifold. This enables us to manage large projects without commensurate increase in resources, enabling higher margins in the process. Our order book now has an increased component of engineering and procurement services, as against largely construction contracts at the beginning of the year. The petrochemical and pipelines domains have a larger share in the order book as compared to civil construction projects. Large number of oil & gas discoveries in India is expected to give a boost to the orderflow. Our experience in setting up first world scale bio-ethanol plant in UK will also help us capitalize tremendous opportunities.”

Order book update

Punj Lloyd Group has an order backlog of Rs 15,943.90 crore. This is the unexecuted value of orders on the corresponding date plus new orders received till date.

Punj Lloyd on a stand-alone basis has recorded robust growth in its order book during the year. It is significant to note that after the acquisition, Sembawang and Simon Carves have also started contributing to group’s order book. The order backlog for Punj Lloyd (excluding Sembawang) stood at Rs 11,039.40 crore. The new order bookings in FY07 for Punj Lloyd including Sembawang stood at Rs 10,210.60 crore.

In terms of geographical contribution, the company’s current order backlog comprises of 40% of the orders from South Asia, 23% from Middle East, 4% from Asia Pacific and 2% from Caspian region and 31% from rest of the world.

From the application perspective, of the Company’s total backlog on 31 March 2007, 31% represents pipelines; 4% represents tankages, 17% represents infrastructure and 17% represents process plants and Sembawang contribution 31%. The composition of these contracts is reflective of Punj Lloyd’s endeavour to focus not solely on backlog additions but to create a high quality and diversified backlog of projects.

Punj Lloyd expects a robust order book and an increase in revenue contribution from overseas in the current fiscal. PLL has undertaken challenging projects in different fields across the globe. The company has managed to receive repeat orders from the refineries, power and energy sectors. It has proved to be a leading project executor to public sector undertakings as well as private sector companies. Some of the big customers in the domestic and international markets include NTPC, GAIL, Jindal Power, NHAI, BPCL, ONGC, RIL Bechtel, British Petroleum, Shell, Qatar Petroleum andKuwait National Petroleum Company.

In FY07, PLL acquired Singapore-based Sembawang Engineers & Constructors (earlier known as SembCorp Engineers& Constructors) and its UK-based subsidiary, Simon Carves. This acquisition would enable the company to acquire pre-qualification in new verticals of infrastructure sector like airports, jetties, MRT/LRT (Mass Rapid Transit system/Light Rail Transit system), tunneling and sewerage and EPC capabilities in petrochemical domain. The acquisition would also cement company’s presence in South East asia and Middle east and give access to new countries like UK, China, Iran etc. Acquisition of Sembawang has started resulting in new order flow from specialized fields. Simon Carves has been engaged by Ensus group to design and construct world’s largest wheat based bio-ethanol production facility in UK.

To Build Nuclear Plants

Further, Punj Lloyd is in talks with General Electric and Westinghouse Electric to jointly build nuclear power plants in the country, chairman Atul Punj said.

“We are in talks with manufacturers like GE, Westinghouse to partner with them on construction of nuclear plants,” he told Reuters on Friday on sidelines of a news conference. “The areas where we do not have significant qualifications are nuclear plants,” he said.

Since a civilian nuclear cooperation deal was signed by India and the United States in 2005, several US nuclear technology firms have expressed interest in partnering Indian companies to set up nuclear power plants. “This is just a step ahead in the company’s value chain, and given its execution skills, it does not surprise me,” said Jonas Bhutta, an analyst with HDFC Securities Ltd.

GE India’s outgoing head, Scott Bayman, joined Punj Lloyd’s board as an independent director from Friday, the company said.

Punj said the company, which earns more than 50% of its revenues from outside the country, was aggressively looking for opportunities in the infrastructure and power sectors. “Whether it is gas, thermal, nuclear or hydel (hydroelectric) we are looking at all the different segments in the power space,” he said.

Punj Lloyd would raise Rs 500 crore in the year to March 31, 2008, to help meet its order backlog, and had marked another Rs 500 crore for capital expenditure.

Shares in the company ended up 2.2% at Rs 220.95, not far off a record hit of Rs 224.88 hit last December, Punj said the company had formed a joint venture with a private firm to offer drilling rigs to the Indian exploration industry, aiming to meet some of the global shortage of rigs.

“Starting with onshore (rigs), we expect to migrate to offshore at a later date,” he said, adding the company’s initial investment would be Rs 40 crore.

The joint venture would compete with offshore services players such as Aban Offshore and Shiv-Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Ltd, Punj said.

SREI Infra - French Connection

2007-06-03T21:57:00.000+05:30

BNP Paribas Buys 50% In SREI Arm For Rs 775 Cr

BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, will acquire 50% stake in the equipment financing business along with insurance broking (which is being spun off into a separate company) of Kolkata-based SREI Infrastructure Finance for Rs 775 crore.

The deal, the first of its kind in the country’s booming infrastructure sector, will help SREI to unlock shareholder value, Hemant Kanoria, vice chairman and managing director, SREI said. “The market capitalization of the company is around Rs 600 crore. The deal values the equipment financing business of the company at Rs 1,500 crore, two-and-a-half times of its total market capitalisation,” he said.

SREI is into project financing in addition to equipment financing, the main money spinner. It has Rs 5,000 crore of assets under its management.

Both the companies today signed an agreement to this effect at a press conference in the city. Kotak Investment Banking advised SREI on the transaction while Ambit Corporate Finance was BNP Paribas’ advisor.

BNP Paribas Lease will be the investment vehicle for the foreign bank into the company in which SREI will also chip in Rs 25 crore. SREI will get Rs 375 crore for transferring the infrastructure equipment and insurance broking businesses into a separate company.

The stock market gave a thumps-up to the deal. Share prices of SREI today rose 19.97%, the maximum permissible limit in a day, to close at Rs 71.80 on a strong Mumbai market.

SREI director Sunil Kanoria said the capital infusion would help the company to grow its project financing business as well.

The infrastructure equipment finance market stands at around Rs 14,000 crore. It is estimated to grow at a compounded annual rate of 40% to over Rs 31,000 crore in three years as the country needs to improve its inadequate roads, ports and electricity generation.

India plans to spend more than $320 billion in the next five years to build roads, ports and other infrastructure as it aims for an annual growth of 10 percent by 2012 from 9.4 percent in the year ended March 31.

Source : Business Standard

3i Infotech - Wins Best Software Award

2007-06-03T21:45:00.000+05:30

3i Infotech, a global provider of IT solutions and India’s fourth largest software product company*, today announced that the company’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Fraud Detection software – AMLOCK™ - has been adjudged the ‘Best Software Product of 2006-2007’ by the Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA).

The prestigious HYSEA award recognizes 3i Infotech’s innovation in product development and the growth of the company’s presence in the space of Anti Money Laundering (AML) software. The awards are audited by Ernst & Young.

Commenting on the win, Mr. Sheikh, Head – Capital Market, 3i Infotech said, “Post 9/11, global compliance standards have become increasingly important for financial institutions in order to check money laundering and run transparent businesses. Add to this RBI’s directive to Indian banks and the need for technology has become a global one. Hence, next generation solutions like AMLOCK would continue to play a pivotal role in checking and curbing money laundering practices. We are grateful to HYSEA for recognizing our efforts in this direction and will continue our endeavour to delivering best in breed technology products.”

Mr Sheikh added, “3i Infotech is a leader in Anti Money Laundering with AMLOCK being used to monitor a very significant proportion of the banking transactions in India. 3i Infotech has over 40 AMLOCK customers across the world and is connected to more than 10 global core banking systems.”

Patel Engineering - Bags Order From NHAI

2007-06-03T21:40:00.000+05:30

Patel Engineering's Order Book Stood At Rs. 5000.00 Crore

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded an annuity based build operate-transfer (BOT) project worth Rs518 crore to Patel Engineering Ltd.

The is to be located on NH-7 in Andhra Pradesh under North-South Corridor (NHDP Phase II). Patel Engineering and KNR Constructions will jointly execute the project. The semi-annual annuity project will generate total revenue of Rs1,597.32 crore.

The NHAI project work includes design, construction, development, finance, operation and maintenance of Islam Nagar to Kadtal stretch of the Nagpur-Hyderabad section on NH-7 in Andhra Pradesh under North-South Corridor (NHDP Phase II. The work also includes approximately 32km four-laning of the bypass out of 48km.

Avccording to Rupen Patel, managing director, Patel Engineering, "We would focus on selective road development projects following government's new initiative to encourage private sector participation in the road sector development through BOT (Built Operate and Transfer) annuity projects."

Recognising the present deficiencies in the road network, the government has assigned a high priority to the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP). According to NHAI data, a total of 23,546km of roads would be constructed in the next two year. Further, to encourage participation of the private sector, the department of road transport and highways has laid down comprehensive policy guidelines for private sector participation in the highway sector to encourage private sector participation. It has been decided that all the sub-projects in NHDP Phase-III to Phase-VII would be taken up on the basis of PPP on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode.

As on March 31, 2007, the Company's order book position stood at around Rs 5,000 crore. Around 55 per cent of the orders are from multipurpose water supply and power projects, 25 per cent from irrigation and 20 per cent in transportation and other sectors.

Usha International - Pays 225% Dividend

2007-05-29T16:13:00.000+05:30

USHA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Usha International Limited, a Siddharth Shriram Group company, has recorded a healthy 38% increase in net profits for the year ending 31st March 2007 over the previous year. The company has demonstrated good performance and as per the company’s audited financial results, the net profits increased to Rs.14.28 crores this year from Rs.10.37 crores last year. Gross profit has been recorded at Rs.25.47 crores this year compared to Rs. 19.56 crores last year, an increase of 30%. Total turnover for the this financial year has gone up to Rs.661 crores from Rs.541 crores last year, an increase of 22%.

As per the consolidated financial results of Usha International Ltd. and its subsidiaries, the net profits increased to Rs.18.29 crores this year from Rs.13.68 crores last year.

During the year growths were registered across all product groups of the Company. The diverse products marketed by the company include fans, sewing machines, home appliances, agricultural and domestic engines, motors & pumps, water coolers, air conditioners, generators, inverters and auto components.

Jindal Stainless - Show Must Go On

2007-05-29T15:55:00.000+05:30

Jindal Stainless Net Zooms 2.8 Times For Mar`07 Qtr

Jindal Stainless reported 2.82 times rise in net profit at Rs 921.2 million for the quarter ended March 2007 as compared with profit of Rs 326.9 million for the quarter ended March 2006. Net sales for the quarter rose 73.20% to Rs 14,324 million, compared with Rs 8,270.4 million for the corresponding quarter, year ago. Total income for the quarter was Rs 14,351.8 million as compared with Rs 8,343.2 million, a year ago. The earnings per share (EPS) of the company rose 2.34 times to Rs 6.84 as compared with Rs 2.92 a year ago.

The company posted a 2.21 times jump in net profit at Rs 3,530.1 million for the year ended March 2007 as compared with profit of Rs 1,597.3 million for the year ended March 2006. Net sales for the year rose 53.23% to Rs 48,775 million as against Rs 31,831.4 million a year ago. Total Income also rose to Rs 48,964.3 million as against Rs 32,026.1 million a year ago. EPS for the year was Rs 26.76 as against Rs 14.26, a year ago.

The board of directors recommended final dividend @ 20% i.e. Re 0.40 an equity share of Rs 2. Earlier in the year, the company had already disbursed interim dividend of 80% i.e. Rs 1.60 a share of Rs 2 each.

The company on Feb.16, 2007 allotted 6,800,000 equity shares of Rs 2 each to Jindal Overeeas Holding, a foreign incorporated entity forming part of the promoter group companies, on conversion of 6,800,000 convertible warrants into equity shares of the company. Further, during the year it issued 869,350 equity shares of Rs 2 each fully paid on conversion of 80, 2.50% FCCB due 2006, into GDSs. Consequent to these conversions, the paid up equity share capital has increased to Rs 276.40 million.

During the Financial year 2006-07 the company has commissioned additional facilities enhancing the capacities of Cold Roiling from 150,000 MT to 250,000 MT.

IVRCL Infra - Time For Value Unlocking

2007-05-29T15:47:00.000+05:30

IVRCL Group Turnover Exceeds Rs.25000 Million In 2006-07

The Board of Directors of IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Limited (IVRCL) at their meeting held on 28.05.2007 have considered the financial performance of the company for the year 2006-07.

Mr. E.Sudhir Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director stated that IVRCL has achieved an accelerated growth and crossed a turnover of Rs.25000 million during the year 2006-07. The turnover of the company increased by 222% while the Profit After Tax (PAT) increased by 250% compared to the turnover and profits of 2004-05.

IVRCL Group has achieved a turnover of over Rs.25185 million - an increase of 47% over the previous financial year 2005-06. The consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs.1689 million against Rs.1078 million for the previous year indicates an increase of 57%.

Yearly Performance

The Company on stand alone basis achieved a turnover of Rs.23465 million for the financial year 2006-07 as against Rs.15214.23 million for the previous financial year recording a growth rate of 54%. The Earnings before Interest, Depreciation and Taxes (EBIDTA) increased by 70% from Rs.1400 million in the previous financial year to Rs.2375 million for the financial year 2006-07. The Profit After Tax (PAT) has increased by 53% from Rs.930 million in the previous financial year to Rs.1415 million in the financial year 2006-07.

Quarterly Performance

The quarterly results for the 4th quarter of 2006-07 indicate a growth of 67.5% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year in having recorded gross income of Rs.10093.33 million as against Rs.6025.77 million during the last quarter of the previous financial year.

EPS

The EPS of the Company is Rs.12.40 (on 129662390 shares) as against Rs.8.84 (on 105188095 shares) of the previous year. The EPS growth has been achieved on an expanded capital. The company has raised Rs.5550 million improving its networth to Rs.13189 million as on March 31, 2007 helping in its financial pre-qualification.

Dividend

Considering the overall performance of the company the Board at its meeting held on 28.05.2007 has recommended a dividend of Re.1/- per share of Rs.2/- each resulting in 50%.

Performance of Subsidiaries

a) Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Limited

The company’s acquisition of M/s. Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Limited (HDO) has resulted in great advantage for both the companies and the operations of HDO are streamlined to include execution of contracts on EPC basis as well. The company has achieved a gross turnover of Rs.2146 million as against Rs.1457 million recording an increase of 47%. The Profit After Tax (PAT) has also increased by 137% from Rs.65 million to Rs.154 million resulting in an EPS of Rs.4.32/-.

b) IVR Prime Urban Developers Limited

IVR Prime Urban Developers Limited (IVR PUDL) – the Urban Infrastructure subsidiary of IVRCL, has recorded revenue of Rs.1478 million for the financial year 2006-07 as against Rs.1364 million in the previous year and the net profit increased from Rs.117 million in the previous year to Rs.213 million in the year 2006-07.

The company plans to develop around 57 million square feet of residential and commercial projects over a period of five years. The company received observation card from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its proposed Initial Public Offer (IPO). The issue is expected to be completed in next couple of months complying with the SEBI observations.

BOT Projects

The company’s Special Purpose Vehicle viz.., Chennai Water Desalination Limited (CWDL) is setting up the desalination plant on DBOOT (Design, Built, Own, Operate and Transfer) in technical collaboration with BEFASA CTA of SPAIN to supply drinking water to the people of Chennai. The project is estimated to cost Rs.4900 Million and having achieved the financial closure, commenced execution. This project was highly commended for Global Water Awards 2007 by Global Water Intelligence as one of the “Desalination Deal of the Year”.

The Company’s three NHAI Road BOT projects aggregating to 150 Km in length with total investment of approximately Rs.12000 million have all commenced execution and have achieved around 20% financial progress. These projects are in the high traffic growth corridors like Salem-Coimbatore and Jalandhar-Amritsar.

We are extremely happy to inform that IVRCL was rated by Standard & Poor’s and CRISIL Limited, as sixteenth amongst India’s Top 100 Corporates based on certain financial parameters while evaluating the credit trends of 100 selected corporates based on their credit profiles. It may also be noted that IVRCL is the only corporate under “Building & Development” segment of Indian Industry, that has achieved this position.

Contribution to Exchequer

The contribution of the company to the exchequer by way of Direct & Indirect Taxes has increased from Rs.140 million in 2004 to Rs.830 million in the year 2006-07.

Shareholder Value

The Chairman drew the attention of all that the company allotted shares in the follow on Public Issue in March 2005 of Rs.2/- each @ Rs.79/- (Rs.10/- each @ Rs.395/-) which is now quoting at Rs.340/- which is more than 400% of the investment.

To view the Audited financial results, please click on the link given below:

Audited Financial Results

Source : Business Wire

Jain Irrigation - Buys 50% Stake In Na'anDan, Israel

2007-05-28T18:34:00.000+05:30

Jain Irrigation Buys 50% Stake In Na'anDan, Israel

Jain Irrigation Systems has signed definitive agreements through a wholly owned subsidiary in Netherlands to acquire 50.001% of the share capital of Na'anDan Irrigation Systems, Israel for $ 21.5 mn in all cash deal.

According to an official release issued by the company to the BSE today, it along with Kibbutz Naan on an equal basis would jointly control and manage Na'anDan. Of the $21.5 mn, $ 10.5 mn will be retained in Naandan for future growth.It is further committed to bring additional funding support in form of loan and/or guarantees to the tune of $ 7.5 mn for bona fide growth requirements. The closing is expected to take place early next month.

On the completion of the proposed transaction, Na'anDan's name will be changed to "Na'anDan Jain Irrigation". Jain Irrigation will be the platform for development of worldwide drip/sprinkler market for both partners. Both partners have agreed to provide long term guarantees for maintaining the manufacturing facilities and employment in Israel.

NaanDan's global network includes manufacturing companies in the USA, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Australia and marketing subsidiaries in France and Italy. Naandan has exclusive distributors in over 50 countries and employs 550 people worldwide. Naandan has achieved a $75 mn revenue for 2006 and is a profit making company.

B H Jain, chairman, Jain Irrigation said: "This is a historic deal wherein the fastest growing irrigation company in the world, has joined hands with Na'anDan, which is one of the earliest pioneers of the irrigation technology having global presence. We will be able to leverage their technology to improve productivity of Indian agriculture and use their access to global markets to increase exports from both the countries".

Source : Business Standard

TV 18 - Forms Joint Venture With Viacom

2007-05-22T16:45:00.000+05:30

TV18 Group Forms 50 / 50 Joint Venture Operation With Viacom In India

Network 18 Fincap Ltd has informed BSE that Viacom Inc and the TV18 Group on May 22, 2007 has announced the creation of a new 50 / 50 joint venture operation in India, Viacom-18. The strategic alliance will include television, film and digital media content across numerous brands to build India's leading multi-platform entertainment Company. The partnership was announced at a press conference in Mumbai, India by Philippe Dauman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, and Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of the TV18 Group. This transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions.

As part o the agreement, Viacom-18 will launch a new Hindi-language general entertainment cable and satellite channel in India within the next year. It will include original, locally produced programming and acquisitions. MTV Networks (MTVN), a unit of Viacom, will contribute its successful local networks, MTV, Vh1 and Nickelodeon India, to the joint venture. Viacom-18 will also launch a further suite of targeted channels in the future from the MTV Networks portfolio, as well as new brands, Digital media content across all of the television brands will be developed and distributed to Indian consumers. The joint venture will also syndicate MTVN programming and newly produced content.

The TV18 Group will contribute its Motion Pictures division operation to the joint venture, which produces, acquires and distributes Hindi-language films. Additional cooperation in the Indian market beyond this alliance includes joint ownership of the management Company for The Indian Film Company, which is in the process of being listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. In the coming months, Viacom's Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks studios will explore additional opportunities for collaboration with Viacom-18.

"India is one of Viacom's priority markets for expansion internationally," commented Mr. Dauman, "This partnership will transform and significantly enlarge our business to offer audiences greater content diversity across platforms, and opportunities for advertisers to reach the full spectrum of demographics. The film operation for Viacom-18 will provide strong synergies with the TV and digital media business, as well as complement our Paramount and DreamWorks studios. We are delighted to enter into this partnership with TV18, the most forward-looking, entrepreneurial media Company in India."

Commenting on the partnership, Raghav Bahl, MD of the TV18 Group, said: "Having established leadership in news broadcasting and consumer Internet business, the TV18 Group was poised to make an ambitious entry into the multi-platform entertainment space. We are delighted to do this in partnership with Viacom, easily among the most successful entertainment Companies on our globe. We are confident that Viacom-18 will entertain India's burgeoning film and television audiences. Viacom-18 will also propel the TV18 Group into the league of a truly diversified and broad-based media conglomerate."

"The entertainment space offers significant opportunities and this partnership gives us the scale to compete and the edge to achieve leadership position. Viacom-18 will build and nurture communities across platforms much like TV18 has successfully done in the news space. We intend to exploit the compelling demographic synergies between our news channels and Viacom-18's entertainment offerings," commented Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, TV18.

The TV18 Group, subject to regulatory approvals, proposes to eventually house its investment in this joint venture through its general broadcast subsidiary - GBN.

"To take leadership in the dynamic entertainment industry, a business needs superior capabilities across content creation, brand building and distribution. The Viacom-18 joint venture brings together the unique strengths of two formidable partners, thus forming a multimedia entertainment powerhouse that will have a competitive advantage in serving the needs of both viewers and advertisers," said Amit Jain, Managing Director, MTV Networks India and Executive Vice President, MTV Networks Asia.

Further announcements about Viacom-18, including management and content plans, will be made in the coining weeks. This transaction was supported by Ambit Corporate Finance Pte Ltd and BMR Advisors.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Radio Mirchi - Good Numbers

2007-05-21T14:01:00.000+05:30

ENIL Q4FY07 Total Income Rises 41.4%

Entertainment Network (India) Ltd. (ENIL), India’s largest private FM Radio operator, popularly known as Radio Mirchi, announced its results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2007.

During the quarter Q4FY07, total income grew by 41.4% to Rs. 46.43 crores from Rs.32.84 crores for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 (Q4 FY06).The company’s earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization (‘EBITDA’) grew 56.4% per cent to Rs. 14.25 crores and net profit stood at Rs. 10.44 crore. On a like basis (comparing 7 old stations only), EBITDA for Q4FY07 stood at Rs. 12.49 Crores, up 37.1% YoY.

Total income during the year grew by 43.6% to Rs. 170.53 Crores while EBITDA increase by 25.2% to Rs. 47.75 crores and net profit before exceptional items stood at Rs. 29.08 crore, up 47.9%. On a like basis, EBITDA for FY07 stood at Rs. 47.20 crores, up 23.8% YoY.

Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur achieved a positive EBITDA in the first year of their operation. According to data based on Indian Listenership Track (ILT – 2006 Wave 2 conducted by MRUC) for the period December 2006 – February 2007, Radio Mirchi continued to retain the number one position in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Radio Mirchi has increased its lead over #2 player in Mumbai from 39% to 43%, with 2.23 million out of a total of 4.97 million daily listeners, it also maintains its 2:1 lead over #2 player in Delhi, capturing 3.45 million out of 5.76 million daily listeners and in Kolkata has a lead of 79% over #2 player with 2.53million listeners out of a total of 4.2 million daily listeners.

Radio Mirchi completed the launch of two new stations Patna and Jalandhar in the April 2007. These are among the 22 stations slated to be rolled out in phase II.

The Company reported consolidated net profit before exceptional items of Rs. 25.14 Crores, up 18.4% YoY. Consolidated total income was Rs. 237.60 Crores and EBITDA was Rs.45.28 Crores.

Commenting on the performance of the company, Mr. A P Parigi, CEO and Managing Director, ENIL said, “This quarter has seen high intensity of competitive activity and Radio Mirchi’s growth performance is a clear sign of the leadership status of the brand, success of the strategy and strength of the management team. The other engine of growth of the Company, Times Innovative Media Limited has chipped in with a good performance, bagging some of the prestigious projects in Times OOH media this quarter.” During the quarter, Times Innovative Media Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ENIL, was granted licenses for the Advertisement Rights at both the domestic and international terminals of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

United Spirits - Acquires Whyte & Mackay

2007-05-21T13:55:00.000+05:30

United Spirits Acquires Premium Scotch Distillers Whyte & Mackay For £595m

United Spirits Ltd on May 16, 2007 has announced that it has acquired a hundred percent of Whyte & Mackay for £595m.

Whyte & Mackay is a leading distiller of Scotch Whisky, owning brands including The Dalmore, Isle of Jura, Glayva, Fettercairn, Viadivar vodka and the eponymous Whyte & Mackay blended Scotch. The Company also owns several other Scotch Whisky brands such as Mackinlays, John Barr, Cluny and Clayrnore amongst a host of others.

Whyte & Mackay is a key strategic acquisition for The UB Group and its Chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya. In the last four years, Whyte & Mackay has been transformed by a team led by Vivian Imerman. The Company has delivered strong revenue and profit growth as a result of internationalizing its premium brands and maximizing the returns from its attractive bulk whisky assets.

The Company sees significant revenue growth opportunities from its acquisition of Whyte & Mackay. In particular, The UB Group will provide access to India and other large emerging markets, allowing an acceleration of Whyte & Mackay’s growth plans.

Whyte & Mackay recorded sales of 9 million case and case equivalents in the last 12 months. The Company recorded sales of 66 million cases for the year ended on March 31, 2007. With this acquisition, the Company will have consolidated sales of 75 million cases per annum. At a time when global demand for Scotch Whisky is showing strong growth and prices are increasing rapidly, Whyte & Mackay's bulk scotch inventories of 115 million litres are not only very valuable but allow the Company the opportunity to meet their own growing requirements for their brands in India.

The Invergordon Distillery, near Inverness, is one of the largest Scotch Whisky distilleries with a capacity of producing 40 million litres of alcohol per annum. This production resource will provide the Company with a perennial source of Scotch Whisky to meet its global requirements in the future. In addition, Invergordon will remain a key strategic provider of bulk Scotch Whisky to industry majors.

Whyte & Mackay also owns four malt whisky distilleries in Scotland and a state of the art bottling facility in Grangemouth with a capacity of producing 12 million cases per annum. Imerman was appointed CEO at the start of 2003, and took majority control of Whyte & Mackay in 2005. At that time, Imerman set out a vision to turn Whyte & Mackay into an international premium spirits business. He and his management team have since delivered on all of the milestones that were set at the time, they have refinanced the business, reorganized the structure, eliminated costs and complexities, taken control of UK sales and distribution established key international distribution, re-branded the product line, and led the increases in bulk and own-label whisky prices by buying up excess stock in the market.

Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman of the Company said "We have a large and growing business in India and have made recent forays into Russia and China. United Spirits have created some of the world's largest brands of drinks. Until today, the only missing link in our portfolio has been Scotch and due to the shortages and rapidly increasing prices of Scotch Whisky, we needed a reliable supply source to secure our future considering that we use scotch in our Indian blends. The potential for premium Scotch Whisky in India is enormous and, with the acquisition of Whyte & Mackay we now have a strong portfolio of internationally recognized brands that we will immediately introduce into the Indian market and use our strong distribution muscle fully to our advantage. In addition we now have access to international distribution and can look forward to exporting our brands from India".

Dr. Mallya added "Given the very valuable Scotch Whisky inventories and production assets, a significant part of the acquisition. debt is in the target with no recourse to United Spirits. I have repeatedly stated that we will not over pay in any acquisition and I am satisfied that the price agreed is attractive. Further, the combined profits of United Spirits and Whyte & Mackay are expected to be earnings accretive from the first completed year of operations after accounting for the cost of funds applied to the acquisition."

Vivian Imerman will remain with the Whyte & Mackay group as a Strategic Advisor to the Chairman and Chief Executive, Dr. Vijay Mallya.

Acquisition finance for the transaction to the Company was arranged and provided by ICICI Bank and Citibank. The Company was advised by UBS, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered. Whyte & Mackay was advised by Citigroup.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Hotel Leela - Best Challenger

2007-05-15T13:51:00.000+05:30

Hotel Leelaventure - Best Challenger Awarded By Standard & Poor

Hotel Leelaventure Ltd has informed BSE that Leela Palaces, Hotels, and Resorts is among eight Indian Companies listed by Standard & Poor global rating agency based in New York as among the best challengers of 2007.

Standard & Poor, the most respected name in performance ratings, spotted 300 Companies world-wide that can pose a challenge to the world's leading Companies in their respective fields. In India Standard & Poor identified seven Companies last year and eight this year to include the Leela.

The report noted their Indian equity in the universe of listed stocks is less than 396.

Last year three Indian commercial banks featured in the Standard & Poor rating. This year no bank is listed. Standard & Poor drew up this year's list on the basis of market capitalization which has to be in the range of $ 500 million to $ 5 billion. They also need to post price appreciation for three years in a row. These Companies also need to post a growth in their earnings per share and the number of employees.

The Leela has grown by leaps and bounds in the last three years with luxury hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Kovalam Beach and Delhi. It has acquired prime property in the Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi at a cost of Rs 611 crores for a super luxury seven-star hotel besides new projects at Gurgaon, Udaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. All these will come up and be operational between 2007 and 2010.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

TV18 - Forms Alliance With Infosys

2007-05-15T13:29:00.000+05:30

Infosys BPO, TV18 Launch SOURCE 18

Infosys BPO has announced a strategic alliance with TV18 Group, India’s leading full play media conglomerate to launch SOURCE 18. SOURCE 18 will provide a full spectrum of services to Media and Entertainment companies globally.

Infosys BPO with its global delivery capabilities, technological know-how and process understanding will provide the initiative for the much needed process and technological support, while TV18 would bring in domain knowledge and expertise to the alliance. Media companies around the world have gone through significant transformation with new forms of media gaining superiority.

SOURCE 18 will offer services in enabling content for digital media including digital archiving & metatagging, repurposing content, work flow charting, ideation, re-editing, transcoding, quality control as well as media process outsourcing, which shall include promo production, traffic management, uplinking, inventory management. The services would also offer Analytics, Finance and Accounting services, Order Management, Rights Management, HR and other outsourcing services. Source 18 will utilize the services of Tangerine Digital Entertainment, a company specializing in content repurposing and media process outsourcing, for part execution of the contracts.

Source 18 offerings have already seen endorsements from the industry. National Geographic Channel International (NGCI), one of the leading and most respected international broadcasters, with an impressive lineup of globally relevant programming, has signed up for repurposing their archived and current content for the mobile platform.

With the global media and entertainment industry growing to almost USD 2 trillion by 2008, there is a sizeable business opportunity emerging in the media outsourcing market. Major content owners globally are focusing on creating strong content after-markets and generate revenue through multiple platform delivery. This will allow broadcasters and content owners significant incremental revenue upside and reduced costs.

“We believe this strategic alliance is a great symbiosis of competencies of two great organizations - Infosys BPO and TV18. We expect media & entertainment to be a key growth driver for us. This partnership with TV18 is a significant step in that direction, as we together cater to the tremendous opportunities in Media & Entertainment industry”, said Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO & MD, Infosys BPO Limited.

Adds Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, TV18, “SOURCE 18 will be a key part of our strategy to address all aspects of the media value chain. We believe that as a full play entity, process outsourcing and media repurposing & production services are key focus areas for us. With SOURCE 18, we combine the technological, process and management know-how of Infosys BPO with the domain knowledge of the TV18 group and this will be a market making alliance”.

Puneet Johar, Founder, Tangerine Digital Entertainment, said, “Proliferation of content across formats and platforms is the new media reality. We believe that SOURCE 18 will be an ideal partner to content owners as we together negotiate the exciting space of digital entertainment.”

Source : Moneycontrol.com

Infomedia - Something Is Cooking

2007-05-15T13:12:00.000+05:30

Reed Elsevier To Pick Up ICICI Ventures’ Stake In Infomedia

ICICI Ventures, the country’s largest venture capital firm, is likely to sell its entire 63.3% stake in the publishing company, Infomedia, which is valued around Rs 235 crore at the current market price. Highly placed sources said ICICI Ventures was earlier considering part-stake sale. But later it decided to sell the entire stake if it gets good valuations. Infomedia has twelve b2b titles and eight b2c special interest magazines in its repertoire. It was further learnt that ICICI Ventures is in talks with UK’s Reed Elsevier for the stake sale.

Infomedia India (formerly, Tata Infomedia) has a 51-49 joint venture with Reed Business Info, a division of Reed Elsevier. ICICI Ventures exit, Prakash Iyer, managing director, Infomedia India, told DNA Money: “It’s not true.”

Infomedia acquired its present name in 2003, when the Tatas exited the business and ICICI Ventures took over their majority stake in the company for Rs 1.2 billion. Infomedia’s flagship product Yellow Pages is the market leader in the business directories segment. The company also plans to introduce Yellow Pages on other platforms like the Web and mobile phones.

Incorporated as a commercial printing press in 1955 by the name of Tata Press, the company entered the information service business in 1991 with the publication of business directories, known as Yellow Pages, and was renamed Tata Infomedia.

Source : DNA

A Worthy Shuffle

After technology enabled services, contract drug manufacturing and auto components, there is an all new segment that is witnessing an outsourcing boom: back-end publishing. Being a niche, the size of the outsourcing market is relatively small at an estimated $250 million, but this is more than sufficient to set the share of Infomedia India on fire.

Over the past one month, the stock has gained 47 per cent rising from Rs 146 to Rs 190, after domestic brokerage Edelweiss Securities published a visit note on the stock pointing to a favourable change in the business mix.

While Infomedia’s publishing and outsourcing businesses are growing steadily, the company is hoping to utilise its printing capacity entirely for its own publications, thereby improving margins further. Currently, the printing division which constitutes 20 per cent of revenues suffers from low margin due to intense competition from the unorganised players.

Infomedia India, now owned by ICICI Ventures, has a business composed of printing, publishing and publishing outsourcing. The domestic publishing business includes business directories and special interest magazines. It forayed into outsourcing by acquiring companies in this space. In addition to this, the company has a tie-up with the Ringier Group of Switzerland to publish five trade magazines in India and also market advertising space in Infomedia’s magazines abroad. Besides, Infomedia has a unit called Reed Infomedia, a joint venture with Reed Business Information US (RBI US), a division of Reed Elsevier Group of the UK which will bring over 100 business titles of RBI US to India.

Sourcing Growth

Infomedia acquired Bangalore-based Cepha Imaging Systems, and Keyword Group in the UK, to enter the publishing BPO market in FY06. In April 2006, it acquired International Typesetting and Composition’s (ITC) operations which has the front-end based out of Florida in the US and the back-end in Noida, India.

ITC is a leading pre-press and publishing services company. Currently, the company provides these services mainly for academic texts and other books published in English. The division employs 700 professionals with various skill-sets.

“The services we provide are in the nature of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) since we attempt to help publishers in the intervening process from the time an author gives the manuscript till a printer-ready file is created for publishing,” says Prakash Iyer, managing director, Infomedia India.

Over the past year, the company’s publishing BPO division has witnessed phenomenal growth. In FY06, this division contributed a meagre four per cent to the topline, which rose to 26 per cent in FY07. “After we acquired it, this business has grown close to 40 per cent in just a year,” claims a confident Iyer.

The icing on the cake is that this vertical is proving to be the most profitable for the company with operating profit margin in the range of 35-40 per cent. The business has plenty of headroom for growth considering the potential to scale up Infomedia’s services in areas like magazine publishing, academic journals and even yellow pages.

Yellow Pages And More

Infomedia India has been a pioneer in publishing yellow pages, since 1991. Apart from having a presence in nearly 20 cities across the country, the company has launched exporters’ guides, state directories, home, office and city guides and a 24-hour yellow-line, which is a telephonic helpline. In addition to steering this business into more locations, the company is now looking to leverage its expertise in publishing of yellow pages to outsource similar products to foreign publishers, especially in the US.

Infomedia also publishes special interest magazines and certain other business publications. Currently, it has eight business-to-consumer (B2C) titles, like Overdrive, Cricinfo, Better Photography, Better Interiors, AV Max, T3 and Disney Adventures and 12 business-to-business (B2B) titles including Auto Monitor, Chemical World, Photo Imaging, Modern Textiles, Modern Pharmaceuticals among others.

The company has also launched publications aimed at children under the brand Bright Sparks. Further, leveraging its joint venture with RBI US, Infomedia has brought titles like Logistics in B2B publishing, and the globally successful online directory service called HotFrog. It is now planning to enter the business events segment in order to organise trade fairs and commercial expositions.

Even as Infomedia is re-shaping its business, a key concern is competition from overseas publishers back home. Overdrive and Better Photography have been in the market for more than a decade.

However, these are vulnerable to competition, as more titles are being launched after the government has allowed up to 74 per cent foreign direct investment in special interest publications. To counter competition, the company is looking at launching international titles along with its own titles in the same space.

“Apart from that, we are investing heavily in creating content through a worldwide network of contributors to provide better content to our readers with the right mix of domestic and international content,” says Krishna Tewari, general manager - publishing, Infomedia India. “We also attempt to connect better with our readers by organising events, conferences and trade fairs, such as organising Overdrive rallies,” he adds. So far there seems to be no stress on profitability. Infomedia’s topline from domestic publishing business (excluding BPO) grew 19 per cent in FY07. “While our overall operating profits grew 83 per cent, which was mainly due to the outsourcing business, the operating profit in the core publishing business too grew nearly 25 per cent,” says Jayaraman Shashidhar, chief financial officer, Infomedia India.

Valuations

In FY07, the company reported a whopping 53 per cent jump in its revenues, from Rs 131.5 crore in FY06 to Rs 201 crore this year. Its operating profit margins improved from 14.8 per cent in FY06 to nearly 18 per cent.

As the outsourcing business grows, the profitability is expected to improve further. Infomedia’s stock trades at 26.5 times its FY07 earnings and 21.2 times its estimated FY08 earnings. Considering the potential for outsourcing and the company’s strong magazine titles, profitable growth is assured. After the recent run-up, the stock looks fairly valued. Investors can look at accumulating the stock on dips.

Source : Business Standard

Patel Engineering - May Unlock Value

2007-05-11T11:12:00.000+05:30

Patel Engineering May Hive Off Realty Arm

Patel Engineering, the Mumbai-based infrastructure construction firm, is on course to unlock the value of its urban land bank. The company is transferring most of its rights in lands in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune to a company which will be a 100% subsidiary of Patel Engineering.

The new company, named Patel Realities India Ltd will have a land bank of more than 500 acre of urban real estate in these cities. The new company will also develop these properties.

Sources at Patel Engineering confirmed the development. The idea to hive off its real estate division into a separate company was to enhance shareholders wealth by monetising its urban land bank, sources said. The entire land bank of Patel Engineering is owned by the company it had bought several years ago and is valued at historical prices in its books.

A fund manager, who tracks the company and attended a recent management meet, said Patel Realties plans to develop its urban land areas into commercial and residential real estate. When completed, the total space could aggregate to about 60 million square feet. At a conservative price of about Rs 2,000 per square feet, the total value unlocking could be a staggering Rs 12,000 crore.

Compared to this, Patel Engineering’s current market capitalisation is a little over Rs 2,200 crore. Going forward, on a standalone basis, the real estate subsidiary itself could be as big or even larger than its parent, Patel Engineering.

"The company has already made the initial moves and put in place its key management team," the fund manager said. Recently there was market speculation that the company might hive off its real estates into a separate listed company. However, the company sources said at present there were no plans to list the realty company.

Patel Engineering has already put in place a key management team headed by Pravin Malkani as PRIL’s president. “We are in the process of appointing other key personnel for the company to create adequate infrastructure for the real estate business,” said Mr Patel. Mr Rupen, however, denied any plans to demerge the subsidiary. “Since our entire real estate development is in major metros, we do not see any need to access the capital market. Going forward, we believe that reality business will enhance cash flows, which will then be used for further strengthening our core business and taking more BOT and independent power projects.”

Pravin Malkani, president, PRIL, said, “We will focus on residential and commercial development in these metros. Going forward, we see profits from PRIL competing with the parent company.” The company reported a 51% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 111 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2007.

The positive development is already beginning to show on the company’s stock price. In the last one month, the stock has increased 20% and the activity in the stock has increased since the company announced its annual results a week ago. Volume have jumped dramatically in both the NSE and BSE in the last two days.

Patel Engineering is a major player in underground construction of tunnels and caverns and has also acquired expertise in micro-tunnelling. Recently the company, in partnership with another firm, bagged a Rs 157 crore order from the municipal authority in Mumbai for construction of a tunnel in the city.

Recently, the company also announced its foray into thermal power generation. It is planing to set up a 1200 MW power plant in Gujarat with a proposed investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

The company is also foraying into power production as an independent power producer through its subsidiary Patel Energy Ltd.

Hydro-power generation could be the next area where it could step into, the company said in a recent announcement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

PSL - Going Global

2007-05-04T16:49:00.000+05:30

PSL Ltd has informed BSE that the final negotiations between the Company's recently incorporated Company namely "PSL - NORTH AMERICA" (PSL-NA) and State of Mississippi in USA have been completed resulting in allocation of 156 Acres of land along with an attractive package of incentives to the said Company for setting up a Greenfield Steel Pipe Manufacturing facility just outside of Bay of St. Louis, MS at the Port Bienville Industrial Park in the State of Mississippi, USA.

While on the subject, it is pertinent to inform that the aforesaid Company was formed as a result of a Joint Venture between the Company and two other parties including the US based A & L GROUP, which is engaged in construction of gas distribution projects, and is a multifaceted provider of construction services both in the United States and in select markets around the World. Its comprehensive range of services include cross-country pipeline construction, pipeline maintenance and integrity upgrades, facilities - station fabrication / installation, horizontal directional drilling, and gas distribution / rehabilitation.

The Company will be holding a majority stake of approximately 75% in the aforesaid Joint Venture through funding of approximately US$ 20 Million aggregate consideration.

The above mentioned 156 Acres land will be used for setting up a Plant, which will Manufacture and Coat large diameter API pipe with a diameter range of 24" to 60", a wall thickness range of 1/4" to 1", lengths up to 80", and grade up to and including X80. Annual plant capacity will ultimately be 300,000 short tons depending on order mix. The plant employment at capacity will exceed 300. The state-of-the-art facility will utilize the latest technology available in terms of the Helical Two-Step, Submerged Arc Welded (HTS-SAW) pipe manufacturing process and is expected to begin serving the strong Large Diameter Line Pipe market in the second quarter of 2008. PSL - NA is building this facility because there is a significant imbalance with domestic US demand far exceeding domestic supply of Large Diameter Line Pipe for Natural Gas Transportation requirements. The Company expects the Large Diameter Line Pipe demand to continue to grow in the coming years to meet increased natural gas consumption, encompass new natural gas sources such as Liquid Natural Gas terminals, and replace existing infrastructure as it reaches the end of its useful life. PSL-NA is strategically locating this facility along the Gulf Coast to minimize overall freight coasts with access to barge, railroad and truck.

Source - Bombay Stock Exchange

Zicom - Goes To Hong Kong

2007-05-04T16:45:00.000+05:30

With reference to the earlier announcement dated March 12, 2007 regarding Outcome of Board Meeting, wherein the Company had informed about the approval granted by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on March 09, 2007 for investment in overseas ventures, Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd has now informed BSE that in accordance with the said approval, the Company has set up a subsidiary in Honkong in the name of Zicom Manufacturing Co. (HK) Ltd with 76% shareholding.

Zicom Manufacturing Co. (HK) Ltd will promote international marketing and sale of Zicom branded products. This Company will also help Zicom, India to source equipments at the competitive price. In future, Zicom Manufacturing Co. (HK) Ltd will also engage in setting up of manufacturing facilities for Zicom's in-house developed products in China and other neighboring countries.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Yes Bank - Way To Go

2007-04-25T15:50:00.000+05:30

Yes Bank net jumps 102%

Yes Bank posted a 102% growth in profit after tax for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, to Rs 30.9 crore, as compared to a profit of Rs 15.3 crore reported in the corresponding for the previous fiscal.

The bank reported a year-on-year profit of Rs 94.4 crore, up 71% from last year’s Rs 55.3 crore. The growth was led by a 205% year-on-year growth in interest earned by the bank, which rose to Rs 587.6 crore, as against Rs 192.8 crore reported last year.

The bank’s operating profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 stood at Rs 59.8 crore, a 78% rise from the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal.

Operating profit showed a 74% yearly growth to Rs 172.4 crore. Total advances were reported at Rs 6,290 crore, a 161% growth from last fiscal’s Rs 2,407 crore and total deposits grew 182% to Rs 8,220 crore from Rs 2,910 crore.

The bank reported a 177% growth in total income for Q4-FY07 to Rs 281.1 crore, as compared to Rs 101.3 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year. Total yearly income for the past fiscal also rose 170% to Rs 782.2 crore. Capital adequacy ratio for the bank stood at 13.6% on March 31, 2007.

Source : The Economic Times

CBOP - Deutsche Bank

2007-04-23T14:36:00.000+05:30

Deutsche Bank has come out with a very positive report on Centurion Bank Of Punjab with a price target of Rs. 48.00. The report is a must read for all CBOP investors.

Click Here To Download

Biocon - Solid Research Solid Revenue

2007-04-20T09:48:00.000+05:30

Biocon Q4 Net Increases 26%

Bangalore-based biotech major, Biocon reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2006-07. The net profit for the quarter was up 26 per cent at Rs 61 crore and the turnover was up 30 per cent at Rs 279 crore compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The company has attributed its performance to a focus on operational efficiencies, entry into branded formulations and aggressively defending its market position. The severe price competition in statins, which had affected the company’s performance during the earlier part of the year, also eased in the latter half.

The company’s revenues from biopharmaceuticals grew by 29 per cent to touch Rs 204 crore and the enzymes business was up 9 per cent at Rs 27 crore. The research services (delivered by subsidiary Syngene) and licensing delivered an exceptional performance, growing by 54 per cent to touch Rs 47 crore compared with the corresponding quarter. The EBITDA of the company for Q4 was up 26 per cent at Rs 61 crore, compared with Rs 48 crore clocked in Q4 FY06. The EPS was up at Rs 6.1 during Q4 FY07 as against Rs 4.8 registered in Q4 FY06.

In FY07, Biocon’s net profit was up 15 per cent at Rs 200 crore and revenues rose 25 per cent at Rs 986 crore. According to Biocon COO Dr Arun Chandavarkar, the company benefited from the tax concessions on SEZs, paying less tax at Rs 17 crore in FY07 compared with Rs 31 crore in FY06.

Source : Business Standard

Genus Overseas - Is Now Genus Power Infrastructures

2007-04-20T09:34:00.000+05:30

Genus Reports 57% Increase In PAT

Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd(formerly Genus Overseas Ltd) has reported 57% increase in profit after tax for the quarter ending March to Rs 12.6 crore compared to Rs 8 crore in the corresponding period last year. Backed with a robust demand for power equipment makers, net sales for the electronic meter manufacturer rose 35.4% to touch Rs 152 crore during the quarter. For the full financial year, the company reported 84.3% increase in net profit to Rs 28.2 crore as against Rs 15.3 crore last year. Net sales posted a growth of 72% during the year and stood at Rs 365.16 crore.

The demand for meters is soaring on the back of the government's aim of providing power for all by 2012 as well as the focus on 100% metering and replacement of old mechanical meters with electronic energy meters (EEMs). Genus Overseas Electronics is a leading manufacturer of tamper-proof EEMs and to cater to the growing demand for EEMs, the company has expanded its manufacturing capacity by setting up a new plant for EEMs in the tax-free zone at Uttranchal.

The order book of the company stood at Rs403 crore (including export orders worth Rs15 crore) at the end of March 2007. The order flow is expected to remain robust as the government's mission of "Power to all by 2012" with the focus on 100% meeting and replacement of old mechanical meters with electronic energy meters fueling the growth. To cater to the growing need of electronic energy meters, the company has set up a new manufacturing plant in the tax-free zone at Uttranachal. The commercial production from the plant has started and is expected to contribute around Rs150 crore to the top line of the company on a full year basis.

To capture the huge growth opportunities in the overseas markets and also as a de-risking strategy, the company has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Mobix Wireless Solutions Ltd, a leading Brazilian company in communications technology. The land for the plant has already been acquired and the orders for equipments have been placed.

Simplex Infra - Bags Order

2007-04-12T09:50:00.000+05:30

Simplex Infra Bags Rs 708cr Worth Of Cumulative Orders

Simplex Infrastructures Ltd., one of India’s leading infrastructure solutions providers, today announced bagging cumulative orders worth Rs. 708.4 crores towards civil and structural work for cement plant, hotels, ports, approach jetty, flyovers and bridges spread across the country and also in the middle east.

Commenting on this, Mr. Amitabh Das Mundhra, Director, Simplex Infrastructures Ltd. said, “We have begun the year on a healthy & positive note and we have been able to bag Rs.708 Cr. worth of cumulative projects between Jan- March-2007. We being awarded projects across the infrastructure verticals speaks about our project management and executional capabilities.”

The order book exceeds Rs. 6000 Crore. The notable projects bagged include reconstruction of Mattancherry Wharf at Cochin Port Trust, main berth and construction of approach jetty at Dahej in the marine sector. Also, the projects bagged from Dalmia Cement, Grasim Industries, and Bina Refinery are for the civil and structural work.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

Subhash Projects - Bags Orders Worth Rs. 309 Cr.

2007-04-10T16:02:00.000+05:30

Subhash Projects - Award Of Orders For Rs 309 Crores

Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has bagged orders cumulatively worth Rs 309 Crores for execution of power projects. These include projects worth Rs 220 Crores to be executed for Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd and Hubli Electricity Supply Co. Ltd. in Karnataka and Rs 89 Crores for Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) in Bihar on turnkey basis.

The scope of work in Karnataka includes upgradation of existing sub-stations, construction of 220/110/66 KV sub-stations and transmission lines. The order for PGCIL in Bihar involves construction of new underground cabling as well as revamp of existing limes under the APDRP Phase – II. The completion period for the above projects will be 6-18 months.

The Company has entered the power business in 2001 and is one of the foremost players to participate in the rural electrification drive. On April 09, 2007, the Company's power business contributes to around 50% of total order book, currently at Rs 2900 Crores.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Micro Tech - Electrifying Products

2007-04-10T15:58:00.000+05:30

Micro Technologies Introduces Electric Black Box To Check Power Consumption

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company introduces revolutionary Micro EBB - Electric black Box to bring relief to the Electricity usage and monitoring. The distribution and use of Electricity has assumed great importance in Indian economy. With problems in the high cost and time involved in increasing the generation of electricity optimization of the use of the Electricity is the only way to come out of this problem. There is an essential requirement of the regulation and monitoring of energy consumption and needs to know periodically the electricity consumption so as to monitor and analyze the consumption issues and billing concerns.

The Company has come up with a unique solution of a Dual monitoring system known as the Micro Electric Black Box, which apart from keeping a track On the energy consumption also monitors the security aspect of the Energy Distributors by preparedness planning and early mitigation.

The Micro EBB - Electric Black Box system records the unit consumption of electricity for each of individual digital meters installed and sends periodic messages to the Power Distribution Company. This helps the power distribution Company to keep a live record on the total energy consumption for each of their clients and misuse. The clients through web can view and keep a track of the energy consumption. This system gives instant message on the mobile / email of the authorized person upon slightest detection of smoke, temperature rising, power failure and even remotely control the electronic machinery through mobile phone. Thus preventing the major losses, which may occur due to anomalies. Micro Electric Black Box can be effectively control access to sensitive areas in Power Supply Plants and Energy Distribution systems. It gives instant message on the mobile email to the authorized person about any unauthorized access and also captures screen shots with a web camera and mails the pictures via email to the respective personnel.

The Company is a leading provider of security and life-support solutions to the global audience. The Company’s products are globally recognized through its innovation, perfection and quality. Its range of Security products include Home Security Micro HSS, Vehicle Security Micro VBB; Unmanned location Security Micro IBB Intelligent Black Box etc would have good acceptability in the Global market.

The Company has already launched various consumer utility products keeping the security perspective as the prime concern. This unique product is an advanced security and consumption solution for both energy consumers and energy distributors would be soon launched based on the positive feedback required from the users and is expected to give good commercial return to the Company.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

SREI Infra - To Set Up 5000 Common Service Centres

2007-04-10T15:53:00.000+05:30

SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd has informed BSE that in a unique move to bridge the digital divide between the rural and urban areas and in the process ensuring prompt delivery of government and other services, the West Bengal government has entered into a Master Service Agreement with the Company, the leading private sector infrastructure equipment, infrastructure projects and renewable energy products financing Company to set up nearly 5,000 common service centres (CSCs) in rural Bengal. The program has been drawn up under the aegis of the increasingly popular public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The agreement signed between the Company and the Government of West Bengal, Panchayat and Rural Development Department on April 05, 2007, encompasses 14 districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakhin Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and South 24 Parganas, Purba Midnapore, Bankura, Birbhum, Howrah and Hooghly in Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode. The agreement was signed by Shri. M N Roy - Hon'ble Principal Secretary, Panchayat & Rural Development Department, Govt of West Bengal and Dr. Sabahat Azim - Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives, of the Company. Mr. Hemant Kanoria, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, of the Company was also present on the occasion.

The initiative envisages setting up one CSC for each cluster of six villages with one being set up within each Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti office premises. To start with, 4,937 such CSCs to be known as ‘Sahaj Tathya Mitra’ will be set up with Internet connectivity and will offer e-Governance Services and other commercial services to the rural populace.

The Company will manage these CSCs in collaboration with Wipro Infotech Ltd. While Wipro will be responsible for the technological inputs, the Company will chalk out the various services these CSCs will provide to the rural masses.

Under this program, a number of village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) preferably from women self-help groups (SHGs) will get direct livelihood while rest of the population will get access to e-Governance and Internet related services at its doorstep at a very nominal rate. The program is aimed at improving the standard of living in rural Bengal.

The feather in the cap undoubtedly goes to West Bengal, which has become the first state off the bloc in signing this Master Agreement, which is a part of the National e-Governance Plan. These CSCs will become operational in less than twelve months.

These CSCs have the potential of developing as revenue neutral tools in the hands of other Companies and service providers keen to access rural markets. The IT-enabled e-kiosks will also be developed to provide information and services for meeting rural needs in relation to agriculture, education, vocational training, health and hygiene.

Incidentally, the Company bid for all eight zones in the State comprising 18 districts for a total of 6797 CSCs and bagged six of those against stiff competition from Companies like Reliance Communication, 3i-Infotech and Wire & Wireless India Ltd.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Patel Engg - Gammon India JV Bags Rs 806Cr Order

2007-04-05T09:49:00.000+05:30

Patel Engineering’s Order Book Stands At Around Rs 4800 Cr

Patel Engineering Ltd., a civil infrastructure construction company, today announced that the company has bagged order a Rs 806 crore order in joint venture with Gammon India Ltd from the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd for the 434 MW Rampur Hydro Electric Project. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. Is a joint venture between the Government of India and Government of Himachal Pradesh.

The project is located on the river Satluj in Shimla and Kullu Districts of Himachal Pradesh. The project work involves construction of a 15-km-long head race tunnel (HRT), a 140-m deep surge shaft and power house on the right bank of river Satluj near Village Bael in district Kullu. The project will be completed in the next 54 months.

Commenting on the development, Sonal Patel, Whole Time Director, Patel Engineering said, “The hydro power sector is witnessing significant traction as the hydro power capacity addition during Tenth Five Plan (FY03-FY07) is expected at 8,762MW. Further, Ministry of Power has set a target of capacity addition of 20,000MW during the Eleventh Plan (FY08-12).”

“Given the fact that a large number of hydro power projects are being awarded and with construction component accounting for 70 per cent of the cost of a hydro power project, we believe that this segment offers good growth potential,” Sonal Patel added. Interestingly, Patel Engineering has participated in 22 per cent of India’s 32,000 MW hydroelectric projects.

Patel Engineering’s order book position stands at around Rs 4800 crore, which includes Michigan Engineers order book of Rs 50 crore in urban infrastructure. Of this Rs 4800 crore, 50% of the orders are from hydro division, 28% irrigation and 22% in transportation and other sectors.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

Aftek - Gets CE Certification For VoIP-GSM Gateway

2007-04-05T09:41:00.000+05:30

Aftek's Future Versions To Support Google Talk

Aftek Ltd has announced that "VoIP-GSM Gateway" - a product developed in-house by the Company, for a European customer, has won the much coveted CE Certification. The CE conformity has become a mandatory requirement for the electronic devices to be sold in Europe. CE conformance guarantees the safety, electromagnetic interference limits and electromagnetic compatibility of the electronic products. The certification boosts the saleability of this device in the European segment.

The product was given the conformance certification by Underwriters Laboratories India Pvt Ltd., Bangalore an affiliate of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. which is a widely accepted and recognized across the European market.

VoIP-GSM Gateway is a hi-tech device that allows IP telephony operators to deliver their services directly to the existing GSM cell phones. It acts as a VoIP to GSM and GSM to VoIP gateway device. It allows an ordinary GSM mobile phone to make and receive VoIP calls to / from your Skype ID.

This is a USB powered plug and play device and does not require any charger or an adapter. No additional software needs to be installed on the mobile phone. Hence it can connect to any GSM handset with no constraints about the OS or Java support. This has made VoIP-GSM Gateway a universal device connecting with the simplest to the most hi-tech handsets. Currently it is Skype compatible and future versions will also support Google Talk.

GSM technology used by VoIP-OSM Gateway gives mobility to the users. With VoIP GSM Gateway, users do not have out-of-range issues like normal WiFi phones, thus giving them maximum connectivity. It enables significant cost savings as the GSM calls are transferred to Skype.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Punj Lloyd - First Bio Ethanol Plant In UK

2007-03-16T19:38:00.000+05:30

Punj Lloyd Group To Construct UK's First World Scale Bio-Ethanol Plant

Punj Lloyd Ltd has informed BSE that Simon Carves Ltd, a subsidiary of the Company, a global EPC services provider in energy and infrastructure domains, has been engaged by the Ensus Group to design and construct the world's largest wheat based bio-ethanol production facilities. The plant will be the first world scale facility to be built in UK and marks a major step in meeting the EU bio-fuel obligations. The full production from the plant is likely to commence in early 2009, with the construction work starting in the second quarter of this year.

The facility will be built at the Wilton International site in Teesside, an integrated petrochemical complex in the North East of England. The project will employ approximately 800 people during the construction phase and approximately 100 people once the plant is fully operational. This facility, will substantially underpin UK's entire target of bio-fuels, once the plant is fully operational.

Working with world's leading technology providers, this prestigious contract with Ensus comes close on heels to Simon Carves recent LOI to build 300 ktpa LDPE plant in Saudi Arabia.

Ensus Ltd is owned by the global private equity firm 'The Carlyle Group' and energy focused 'Riverstone Holdings'. The investment will be the first of a series of world scale facilities planned for construction by Ensus throughout Europe.

The production of bio-ethanol from the plant will contribute significantly to the EU's strategy to scale-back dependency on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EU Council of Ministers recently endorsed a 10% binding minimum target to be achieved by all Member States for the share of bio-fuels in overall EU transport fuels by 2020.

Commenting upon the win, Mr Atul Punj, Chairman, of the Company, said, "A World scale bio- ethanol plant being designed and constructed by Punj Lloyd group reinforces our credentials within the region and also with world's leading players. With blending of bio ethanol in retail petroleum products becoming mandatory, many more bio-ethanol fuel production plants will be setup in Europe and in many parts of South Asia specially India. Simon Carves’ successful track record and reputation in engineering, procurement and construction of bio-ethanol production plants worldwide will help Punj Lloyd Group in gaining many such contracts in these regions".

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Jagran Prakashan - Hike In Ad Rates

2007-03-15T18:33:00.000+05:30

Jagran Prakashan Increases Advertisement Rates Of Dainik Jagran

Jagran Prakashan Ltd on March 14, 2007 has announced that it has revised its advertising rates. As per the revised rates, all-edition rates will increase by 26% alongwith a 37% increase in UP + Uttaranchal rates. The Company has decided to take this move one—month early this year, as compared to the usual practice of increasing the rates on April 09 every year.

With the launch of I-next in the current fiscal, the Company has offered an impressive scheme to the advertisers this time with a package rate for both Dainik Jagran and I-next for the UP + Uttaranchal editions and for all editions. The advertising rates for Dainik Jagran in other states (Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal) have been increased by an average of around 10%. Standalone prices for I-next have been fixed at Rs 198 per sq cm for Kanpur + Lucknow editions.

Dainik Jagran at present has 31 editions with nearly 250 sub editions covering 50% of India's population and the entire Hindi-speaking belt of India. I-next, the bilingual daily launched by the Company in Kanpur and Lucknow in December 2007, will soon be launched in other areas of the Jagran's footprint.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

PSL - Secures Order From Reliance

2007-03-15T12:19:00.000+05:30

PSL Secures Order Worth US$ 21 mn For RIL - K.G. Basin Pipeline Project

PSL Ltd on March 13, 2007 has bagged an order worth US$ 21 million for the gas field known as KG-DNN-98/3, within the K.G.Basin, Bay of Bengal, off the east coast of India.

Mr. D N Sehgal, Director of the Company, said, "The gas find being developed by RIL lies in Water Depths ranging from 400 meters in the Northwest to over 2000 meters in the South ease, and requires very special anti-corrosion and offshore concrete weight coating. The work is to be carried out with an extremely tight schedule demanding high levels of technical competence since the first two lots of Bare Line Pipe have already been received by the Company at its coating yard in Vizag."

The Company has established state-of-the-art onshore and offshore pipe coating yards at Kakinada in addition to the existing API-certified pipe mills and coating yards at Vizag. The sequence of operations and coating of bare line pipes at Vizag, and offshore concrete coating work both at Vizag and Kakinada, are to be carried out simultaneously, and require extremely detailed micro-planning in order to meet the stringent schedule for pipe laying work as laid down by the Turnkey Contractor; M/s. Allseas, Netherlands.

The scope of responsibilities for the Company also includes the design, engineering, supply, and installation of sacrificial anodes, fabrication and coating of induction bends, and other allied works like fabrication of spools at Kakinada.

The high-technology facilities being developed by the Company at Kakinada will go a long way in serving other upcoming projects being implemented within the KG Basin, including the Grassroots Refinery of ONGC, onshore and offshore pipeline projects being implemented by GSPL, British Gas, and others.

Mr. Sehgal added that, "PSL, as subcontractors for M/s. Leighton, Malaysia, is also carrying out SPM Projects from its pipe coating yard at Kandla for offshore pipe coating work in support of the Reliance Jamnagar Project."

The K G Basin pipeline order at Vizag and Kakinada offers "TOTAL PIPE SOLUTIONS", and is being carried out simultaneously along with the SPM Project at Kandla. These constitute critical offshore projects that are being co-ordinated from the eastern and western coasts, and are an acknowledgment of and testimonial towards the Company's capabilities in both simultaneous and timely implementation of multi-locational offshore projects.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Television Eighteen Aquires Bigtree

2007-03-13T09:49:00.000+05:30

TV18 Venturing Into E-Business Of Ticketing

Television Eighteen India Ltd has informed BSE that The TV18 Group's, Internet arm, Web18 on March 07, 2007, has announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the industry leader in Movie and Entertainment Ticketing. This investment will further strengthen the Group's position in the Internet and Mobile Transactions space.

Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd., is India's premier comprehensive entertainment ticketing applications and solutions provider. The Company was founded in 1999 during the nascent stages of the multiplex and live entertainment boom. Over the past 8 years, Bigtree has established a strong brand presence in the Indian market by offering its integrated entertainment ticketing solutions and services across 35 cities in India. Bigtree fulfills an important need for the entertainment industry by providing ticketing applications to cinemas and entertainment venues. This is done through a complete suite of software products ranging from box office ticketing, concessions management, web ticketing, loyalty management software, film programming, bar code ticketing, voucher management etc.

Bigtree also specializes in ticket selling services to end consumers. Cinemas and event organizers are offered a complete solution through 16 call centers, Internet ticketing and a mobile ticketing platform. The Company provides the necessary software, processes, systems, door delivery options, cash collection, warehousing and accounting services, and currently handles over 2.5 million ticketing transactions annually for all major exhibition chains / centre across the country.

This acquisition strengthens Web18's position in the e-transactions space, both on the PC as well as mobile phones. The Company had acquired a significant stake in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India a few months ago.

According to Haresh Chawla, TV18 Group CEO, "This acquisition is in line with our strategy to strengthen our position in the Consumer Internet space. The Internet and Mobile markets are key to the Group's future and growth."

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Hats Off To Udayan Mukherjee

2007-03-08T09:50:00.000+05:30

Udayan Vs. Kamal Nath

Yesterday a saw this interview on CNBC and Mr. Kamla Nath was seriously on the backfoot unable to defend and the interview also affirms my views in previous post.

Clarifying the government's stand on the ban on cement exports, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath mentions that he has not said that they will ban cement exports, rather he would look at all options.

He says that the government wants cement companies to be healthy and profitable. He does not want cement companies to take advantage of the demand-supply mismatch. Nath also mentions that they are examining the reasons whether levies can be absorbed.

According to Nath, the ban on exports may not be imposed if companies choose to absorb duties. In his view, cement companies must make profits; he is concerned about excessive profits.

Excerpt's from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Kamal Nath:

Q: The market is very worried by what you said this afternoon. Did you actually go on record saying that you are considering banning exports for cement?

A: I didn’t say that. I said that we are going to look at all aspects to see if cement companies will absorb new levies that have been imposed. We do not want them to profiteer; we want them to make a profit in a healthy way. At the same time we have to ensure that there is no extra fat there. It’s a question of having muscle and not fat.

Q: What is profiteering in your eyes, since these are cyclical businesses, which sometimes do well and sometimes don’t. Where does the concept of profiteering come in?

A: Excessive profit; taking advantage of a supply-demand mismatch or temporary supply demand constraints, raising prices by taking advantages is profiteering.

Q: It is disturbing to hear you say that because in all industries across the world when demand exceeds supply prices go up. Isn’t that the basic law of economics that when demand exceeds supply prices move it?

A: It’s certainly the law and that’s how the market operates. The market operates on supply demand basis but when there is an unnatural temporary situation, one has to consider it. So we are examining the options on whether these levies can be absorbed. Infact the Finance Minister has said that his intention was to ensure that there is no increase in prices. It’s a matter of looking into this whole issue in detail and also for cement companies to see to what extent these levies can be absorbed with or without them being passed on.

Q: If they cannot absorb the levies and choose to pass it on would you consider banning exports to cool prices?

A: I do not think there is any point in answering the question, which starts with IF because that would be another question.

Q: If they choose to absorb it then will you not consider it?

A: Certainly not. Price control is not something, which should be used and not export banning because export markets are developed and you must remember that I also want to see exports rise. But at the same time one has to look at it holistically, so we are in discussions with them and I am sure solution will be found.

Q: What if a solution is not found because our talks with the cement companies seem to indicate that they are reluctant to absorb this entire excise themselves?

A: Those are your talks, we are also having talks and that is not necessary everybody’s talks are your talks.

Q: Your talks are showing up that they will absorb the excise hike?

A: My talks are with everybody looking at it and it is going to be studied in the next 2-3 days.

Q: What is your definition of excess profits, you used the phrase that they are making excess profits?

A: Excessive profits are when an advantage is taken for temporary dislocations in supply-demand. I am sure everybody understands what excessive profits are and what profiteering is. I said that the companies must be healthy and should make profits. That’s the whole basis of this.

Q: By the same logic, if these companies face a temporary excessive supply in the market then would the government actually step in to stem some of the losses of the cement companies because if you are taking away their profits today, then excess supply situations leading to losses should also be addressed which you did not when the cement companies really when through bad times for the last many years?

A: I have not said we are going to take their profits away. So don’t put those words in my mouth.

Q: I don’t think there is any great hue and cry from the consumer. We don’t hear any resistance on the part of consumers of cement. Is it not that the government has a problem with the inflation number which is why its training a few sectors like cement?

A: If you have not heard it, I don’t know how much ears you have to the ground because no consumer wants a price rise.

Q: Why don’t you freeze all prices in the economy then? Why just cement?

A: We will do what we have to; we are doing whatever we can to curtail the rise in price rise. We will continue to take effective steps.

Q: Which are the sectors you are training other than cement because it has started with sugar, which you have effectively killed in the last 3 months?

A: That’s your perception of it. That’s not the consumer’s perception of it.

Q: On the sugar sector?

A: No, that’s not the perception for the sugar sector.

Q: That is very much the perception of the sugar sector; I can play you sound byte after sound byte of the sugar manufacturers coming out and saying that they will start making losses this quarter and throughout this year because of your ban on sugar exports?

A: They have made losses, that’s not what the figures have shown, that’s not what they have said in their discussion with me.

Q: Of course that figure shows that? Have you seen the quarterly numbers of sugar companies this quarter?

A: Their losses are not because of prices.

Q: Their losses are centrally due to the ban on export of sugar, which has led to a collapse in sugar prices locally?

A: Do you know how much sugar was imported two years ago?

Q: Why don’t we discuss the issue at hand? Because of your ban on sugar exports, sugar companies are making losses today, is that a fact or not? Will you please go and check with the sugar companies?

A: Will you please go and check with the consumers what they have to say and will you go and check with the farmer, if you ever have any connection with him because you should not talk just on behalf of the sugar companies. You got to talk to the farmers, you got to talk to the consumers. That’s it. If you ever have an opportunity to talk to farmers, then talk to them and then make a statement of it.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

Budget Musings Part - 1

2007-03-05T18:31:00.000+05:30

This Budget could have been a historic and landmark budget for India but sadly it has become just another event. Although, I knew that the budget will be a non event but somewhere in my heart I was hoping that FM will do something magical and India will make a Big Leap forward. Anyways, whatever fall you are seeing in our stock markets is due to Global Factors and FM should not be held responsible for it.

It seems that in order to bring inflation under control FM has become over conscious and took some anti inflationary measures which may boomerang causing further rise in inflation. He knows it better that every hike in excise duty is passed on to the costumer/consumer by the industry and the same has happened with cement. FM hiked the excise duty on cement sold at the rate of Rs. 190.00 per 50 Kg. and above by 50%, as a result cement manufacturers hiked the prices. Now, cost of every builder increases and they pass it to customers therefore “Home” which is already dearer due to higher interest rates becomes more costly. It is like Chaos Theory – “the flapping of a butterfly's wings in one area of the world can cause a tornado in another”

Well, FM says that he wants to punish those who sell costly cement by hiking price every now and then. Question : Why do cement producers hike price? Because there is demand greater than they can fulfill. Cement manufacturers are businessmen and they have also seen lean seasons. What did FMs do to help them during the period of recession? India lacks in infrastructure in the form of ports and roads and public transportation and airports and what not? So, a lot of cement and steel are required to develop world class infrastructure. And, if there is demand for cement and manufacturers are happy, why punish them. Instead, help them to increase their capacity and if you can’t do that, incorporate a Cement PSU mammoth and give subsidies through it and let it bleed to death sparing private sector manufacturers.

I am still wondering whether hiking the excise duty is an anti inflationary measure or reducing it. If you hike it on cement, why reduce it on Petrol & diesel.

.......to be continued

Twinkle Twinkle Emerging Stars

2007-03-02T17:28:00.000+05:30

If you like emerging sectors and companies then do go through this file which contains conference calls hosted by SSKI (Sharekhan). The companies covered are mostly from mid-cap universe and I like most of them. This file is a must read for all the Investors who like mid-cap stocks in emerging sectors.

Click Here To Download The File

Budget - Just Another Event

2007-02-25T08:42:00.000+05:30

It's that time of the year, again, when the markets become jittery and retail investors are at the receiving end. Yes, it's The Budget time folks and investors are counting days with bated breath as to what will the Finance Minster do this time. With every statement of the FM, markets will swing wildly on the D-Day, so be very very cautious and avoid short term trades for the time being. Believe me its better to avoid losses than to miss opportunities.

For long term investors, there is no need to worry if they have invested in quality stocks with good management. A good management makes all the difference, because they are versatile and can adapt to the new situations if budget brings any major changes. Historically we all know that markets fall after Budget, barring a few instances, but it will always bounce back.

Budgets come and Budgets go, but if you are investing in India story then you are bound to make profit because no government is stupid enough to do something drastically wrong and stall India's progress. I am also relieved that both Prime Minister and Finance Minister are learned persons who, in true sense, started the Indian Juggernaut rolling in Global Arena.

Now, if FM takes same strict measures to curb inflation by hiking CRR or reducing petrol & diesel prices than what’s wrong in it? Rising inflation is a part of booming economy, somehow, because a good economy shows growth across all sectors alongwith growth in GDP and people have more money to spend which increases the purchasing power and demand-supply gap widens in favour of demand. As a result prices of commodities start to move upward which in turn make Wholesale Price Index to rise and ultimately Inflation figures dampen the sentiments of the markets. So, as far as FM is concerned about rising inflation, you need not worry.

Similar is the story of Bank Interest Rates. A large number of companies have already issued FCCB’s and raised loans at a very low interest rate. Even if they need money now, it is available cheap globally compared to India. Yes, it will hurt entrepreneurs, small & mid size companies and those who are seeking home loans. But don’t you think it is necessary to put a check on the prices of Real Estate and maintain the demand-supply ratio of commodities. If money is available cheap, everyone will expand their capacity in order to do more business which will result in oversupply and we will drift towards recession. Actually this is a Business Cycle of every economy, which cannot be avoided, but we can try to postpone recession as far as possible.

Moral of the story : Don’t worry about good or bad budget. Just keep an eye on demand-supply ratio across all the sectors (I know it is very difficult) and start worrying when you think we are entering into a long period of recession.

What Money Managers Expect In 2007

2007-02-19T19:23:00.000+05:30

Seven stock market experts, Ramesh Damani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Sanjoy Bhattacharyya, Raamdeo Agarwal, Madhu Kela, Prashant Jain and Anoop Bhaskar, discuss the prospects for Indian stocks in the annual roundtable organised by Capitalideasonline.com.

Ramesh Damani: To start the discussion we turn to the king of the panel first – so I’ll start with you, Rakesh, as always. Well, what do you think of the market?

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: The bullish market is not the index, it is the bullishness of the Indian economy. And as long as I don’t come to a conclusion that India’s growth is not going to accelerate or we are not going to maintain 8-9 per cent economic growth constantly – this bull market is always going to remain alive whether the index is 12,000 or 20,000. The bull market is in the Indian economy and not in the stock market.

Although you could have the economy growing but you could have very high interest rates which is a big factor in the valuation of the market. That could temporarily disturb the market.

As long as India’s economy is doing well and I see no reason why it shouldn’t – the bull market is very much alive and kicking for me.

Ramesh Damani: Sometime they say stock prices are slave to corporate profits over the long term. What is your outlook for corporate profits or the Sensex in 2007?

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: Well, to be very frank, I don’t do too much mathematical research. I don’t say that India is going to have consistent profit growth of 25-30 per cent y-o-y.

But I do believe that you have the biggest market and the biggest opportunity for all companies is the economy. Look at any sector, everything is at such an early stage of growth.

Ramesh Damani: I now have a question for you. We have had four years of solid gains in the Sensex. Do you make it five years in a row for 2007?

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: Well, seeing the apprehensions that people have, I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be. Because if you have 15 to 18 per cent earnings growth, unless P/Es dip or those earnings dip, I don’t see any reason why there should not be a positive year.

Read Full Story at Business Standard

Multibagger Stock Idea

2007-02-18T11:28:00.000+05:30

Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd. - Initiate Coverage

Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Gujarat, represented by the Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd for investing in various City Development Plans of Gujarat in the following areas, namely:

- Water Supply & Sewerage Management
- Solid Waste Management
- Electricity Utility Management
- Roads
- High Capacity Bus Services
- Car Parking
- Storm Water Drainage
- Real Estate Development - Township Development / Shopping Malls / Entertainment Plaza

The proposed investment of the Company is approximately Rs 5000 crores and the Scheme is likely to commence operation by March 2010 / 2012. The Government of Gujarat will extend full support in providing basic infrastructure facilities like land, power, roads, water supply, etc and obtaining the statutory approvals for establishing and efficient running of the aforesaid projects.

Jain Irrigation - Acquires Aquarius

2007-02-16T10:45:00.000+05:30

Jain Irrigation Announces Acquisition Of Aquarius Brands Inc. California, USA

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd on February 15, 2007 has announced that it has agreed to acquire 100% control in Aquarius Brands Inc. California, USA from Habasit Holding USA Inc for USD 21.5 million in all cash deal. Aquarius is a debt free Company. With this acquisition, the Company will become second largest drip irrigation Company in the world.

The Company is a diversified Company with more than 3,800 employees and market capitalization in excess of INR 25 Billion and a product portfolio encompassing Irrigation Products, Piping Products, Plastic Sheets, Dehydrated Foods, Fruit Puree and Juice concentrates. The Company has pioneered drip irrigation for small farmers in India and has the major market share in one of the fastest growing irrigation markets in the world. The Company had acquired Chapin Watermatics, a leading manufacturer of drip tape located in Watertown, New York in May 2006.

Aquarius is a leading designer and manufacturer of micro-irrigation systems for agriculture, landscape and nursery applications, Aquarius' divisions include Agricultural Products (API®), PEPCO®, and Acu-Drip®. The Company has been providing fittings, filters, air vents, tubing, emitters and accessories to the irrigation industry for over 35 years. Branded products Include Spin Clean® filters, Tape Loc®, Spin Loc® and Power Loc® fittings, Softube® and Fiatube®, Micro-Flapper®, Quadra-Bubbler® and Octa-Bubbler®, among many others. The Company has manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Fresno, California and Winter Haven, Florida. It has network of more than 1000 dealers for product distribution.

Managing Director of the Company, Anil Jain said after closing the deal in USA, "With this acquisition we have firm foothold in one of the largest markets for the irrigation business and access to latest technology for Irrigation components". He further added that "Jain Irrigation will now focus on synergies of its operations in India and USA to offer the most diverse but integrated products and services in the irrigation business to customers all over the world".

This Acquisition will be made through Jain Irrigation Inc, USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Closing of the transaction will take place immediately.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

Gitanjali Gems - Star In The Making

2007-02-14T18:42:00.000+05:30

Gitanjali Gems Purchases Majority Stake In Tri-Star Worldwide LLC

Gitanjali Gems Ltd has informed BSE that in line with the management’s perception on expansion and further acquisition, the Company has purchased a majority interest in Tri-Star Worldwide LLC.

Tri-Star Worldwide LLC is a BHP Billiton direct customer and a CANADMARK licensee. It's a manufacturer and global distributor of Canadia® brand diamonds and diamond jewelry.

Partnering with Tri-Star will provide the Company with an opportunity to be a part of the finest "Mined in Canada" branded offering available to the market today.

Tri-Star Worldwide LLC was founded by Beny Sofer & Sons, LLC in 2002. Canadia diamonds and diamond jewelry is sold by fine jewelry retailers around the world, including Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United States which began as a branded loose diamond from the recently discovered rich diamond resources in the Northwest Territories of Canada and was one of the first to offer country of origin certification, along with comprehensive marketing support.

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange

GHCL - More Acquisation

2007-02-12T18:53:00.000+05:30

GHCL Acquires BEST MANUFACTURING GROUP Of USA

GHCL Ltd has announced that the Company has acquired BEST MANUFACTURING GROUP of USA for a consideration of US $ 35 million through its international subsidiary GHCL Inc.

Best is the Leading manufacturer and distributors of Home textiles and certain related items for the hospitality & healthcare sector in USA.

Best is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey with satellite operations strategically located across the, Canada, Mexico and Asia. The Company has two manufacturing plants, one each in Combodia and Mexico along with 8 warehouses across USA. Best Manufacturing has a top-line of about US$ 160 Million.

Total Acquisition cost of $35 million dollars being funded by existing lenders of Dan River and NOT through current cash flows of the Company. This demonstrates the confidence being developed by the lenders in Dan River.

Dan River before this acquisition, owns and operated warehousing network of 1.25 million sq. ft, in-house designing capability and also has an over 200 strong multi-sourcing team in place and has its own brands and branding capabilities. With the acquisition of BEST the current top line of Dan River will go from $250 million (including the earlier HW Baker acquisition) to a Top Line of $ 400 million dollars.

Mr. Sanjay Dalmia, Chairman of the Company said,

"Best Manufacturing's acquisition proves our (GHCL) growing acceptability of the strategy being put in place even in the most competitive home textiles market of the world-USA".

This further strengthens our position in the largest home textiles market of USA provides us with an ideal opportunity to leverage Best's global platform and a renowned global brand in order to make GHCL one of the dominant player in the Home textile space globally.

With the acquisition of BEST Manufacturing Group Dan River is the only Company in the world which will cater to the All the 3 Segments that is 1) Retail Chain in the US; 2) Hotel and Restaurant industry; 3) Hospital Industry. We are soon going to expand the operations for all the 3 sectors into other parts of the world also, so that we can service these industries globally, including our own."

"It would be ideal combination of low cost strong manufacturing base with a large established marketing platform to put us on the fast track growth".

Earlier in the month of December 2006, Dan River Inc. a step down subsidiary of the Company had acquired assets of H W Baker Lenin Co. having a turnover of US Dollar $70 million in the US through competitive bidding process for US Dollar 6.75 million.

H.W. Baker Linen Co. of USA, a leading supplier of textile products, amenities and guest room supplies to hotels and motels across USA.

Baker is a division of the Best Manufacturing Group supplying textile and non-textile products including Sheets, Terry Lenins, Blankets, Pillows, Pillow cases and amenities to some of the leading hotels in US.

With Current Clients of Dan River predominantly being the Retailers such as Walmart, K- Mart, JC Penny etc, it further added a direct client base of the Institutional segment such as Starwood, Hilton, Four Seasons, it will further extend its client base by an additional customer base of over 900 customers with the some prominent names like:

- United Airlines, Morgan Services, Admiral Linen, National Linen and Walt Diseney - In the Institutional Segment; &

- Hackensacks, Angelica, Image First and Unitex— in the Healthcare Segment.

Post these acquisitions, the process of Restructuring the Businesses will gather further momentum and the Company is in the process of taking the above structure to the Global Financial market for value unlocking for the Indian Shareholders.

Usha International - Superb Third Quarter

2007-02-09T20:52:00.000+05:30

USHA INTERNATIONAL LTD.

Usha International has posted superb set of third quarter numbers. Net Sales has increased from Rs. 104.93 Cr. to Rs. 125.47 Cr. while Net Profit jumped to Rs. 23.7 Cr. from Rs. 11.8 Cr. on yoy basis.

Click Here To See Quarterly Figures Of Usha International Ltd.

Numbers become more important when you consider that this growth has come in the winter season which is not favourable with the nature of business of Usha International, since maximum revenue comes from the sale of ceiling fans and other consumer durables. If they can so such stellar performace in winters what can they do in summers - Just Imagine.

Bilcare - Packing A Punch

2007-02-08T17:00:00.000+05:30

Bilcare Net Sales Up 40% PAT Up 54%

Bilcare Ltd., India’s leading pharma major in the drug discovery to market value chain, announced their Q3 results for FY 06-07, today.

The company has recorded sales of Rs. 834.7 million, PBT of Rs. 215.5 million and PAT of Rs. 142.0 million for the quarter ended 31 December 2006. The sales of the company has recorded a growth 40% while PAT has shown an increase of 54% over the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Announcing the company’s Q3 results, Mr. Mohan Bhandari, Chairman & Managing Director said, “Bilcare continues to focus on the research and technology aspects to provide innovative packaging solutions to the global pharmaceutical industry. We are progressively entering into technical collaborations with companies across the globe that will partner with us to provide solutions to the issues faced by the industry. Recently, Bilcare announced a regional collaboration with US-based Honeywell’s Specialty Films Business to Develop Value-based Pharma Packaging Solutions.”

Bilcare continues to revolutionize the pharma industry through innovative products. The highlight being the winning of the patent in the USA for its pharmaceutical grade thermo-formable composite films. The innovative packaging material will address multiple concerns and limitations of the pharmaceutical products in the market like anti-counterfeit and anti-pass off. The unique products under this range are Patina, Ultra and Ultra TX.

Bilcare Research will continue to focus on key areas of developments like clinical research, clinical supplies and pharma packaging and looking at global prospects for expanding in these fields.

Multibagger Stock Ideas

2007-02-05T17:28:00.000+05:30

Initiate coverage on following stocks :

Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd.
Federal-Mogul Goetze (India) Ltd. (also recommended by Sharekhan)

Happy Investing

Micro Technologies - Going Turkey

2007-02-05T17:07:00.000+05:30

Micro Technologies Enters The Turkish Market With Easy Fleet Solutions

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company is entering the Turkish Market with one of its Vehicle Security, Life support and Fleet Monitoring System through its alliance with Easy Fleet Solutions.

Growing competition and maturity in the vehicle management & security across the Middle-East Market is resulting in a shift towards integrated systems and services and increased market consolidation. The Turkish market has generated a huge demand of vehicle Fleet Monitoring and tracking equipment. The use of such products can provide significant cost and timesaving techniques over traditionally scheduled, time-based maintenance to upkeep the vehicles. With the innovative product and successful track record, Micro Fleet Monitoring has emerged as the unique solution to provide the customers with new solutions that provide competitive advantage with advance technology. Even the Turkish government has emphasized on developing transport policy to improve the energy, efficiency of fleet through sophisticated fleet monitoring systems. In order to benefit from the lucrative growth opportunities in this sector, the Company has come up with a technologically advanced product, which can not only manage vehicle fleet but also can save as much as 30% in the cost incurred in fleet operations.

Micro Fleet Monitoring System is a web based monitoring system, which has been developed to manage and track vehicle fleet owned by different Fleet Owners. It is a powerful vehicle monitoring system that functions as a gateway to the information and knowledge that is unique to our Company. Features include real time vehicle tracking interfacing with GIS (Geographic Information System) on map, Report Generation (Start time, date, vehicle number), Intimation on route deviation, Fuel-Theft, Two-way communication etc. The product works on both GSM / CDMA technologies.

The Company System will certainly be a new realm of technology in terms of Easy Fleet solutions in Turkey Market in coming future.

Jagran Prakashan - Reports Higher Profits

2007-01-31T18:56:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-30T18:49:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-30T18:44:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-30T18:41:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-30T12:14:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-27T11:52:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-23T16:00:00.000+05:30

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%

2007-01-23T15:55:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-23T15:50:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-22T12:47:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-22T12:41:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-22T12:34:00.000+05:30

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%

2007-01-22T12:27:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-22T12:22:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-19T14:52:00.000+05:30

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.