TCS Q2 net profit at Rs46.33bn

Total Income is Rs. 209515.30 mn for the Quarter ended September 30, 2013 whereas the same was at Rs. 159490.80 mn for the Quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd  has posted a net profit of Rs. 46333.30 million for the Quarter ended September 30, 2013 whereas the same was at Rs. 34343.70 million for the Quarter ended September 30, 2012.
Total Income is Rs. 209515.30 mn for the Quarter ended September 30, 2013 whereas the same was at Rs. 159490.80 mn for the Quarter ended September 30, 2012.
The company has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on October 15, 2013, inter alia, has declared a Second Interim Dividend of Rs. 4 per Equity Share of Re. 1 each of the Company.
Further the Company has informed that, the Second Interim Dividend will be paid to the equity shareholders of the Company on November 08, 2013.

See the details:  
Tata Consultancy Services the leading IT services, consulting and  business solutions firm reported its consolidated financial results according to IFRS for the quarter ended September 30, 2013.

Financial Highlights for Quarter Ended September 30, 2013
Operating Profit at Rs. 6,330 crore; Growth of 51.5 % Y-o-Y and 30.2% Q-o-Q
Operating Margin at 30.2 %
Dividend per share of  Rs. 4
Earnings Per Share at Rs. 24.00

Business Highlights for Quarter Ended September30, 2013
Gross employee addition: 17,362
Total headcount: 285,250
Utilization: 83.4% (excluding trainees) & 75.0% (including trainees)
Number of $100+ million clients increased to 22 from 19

Commenting on the Q2 performance, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, N Chandrasekaran said: “It has been another great quarter. We have demonstrated all-round strong growth across markets and industries, highlighted by efficient and rigorous execution. Our ongoing investments in industry-led solutions and our efforts to provide insights and articulate the relevance of the digital revolution to business is helping us gain mindshare with customers and differentiate the TCS brand in the market.”

Chandrasekaran added: “We continue to see a robust demand pipeline across markets and a unique opportunity to strategically partner and participate with clients as they reimagine their future in multiple dimensions.”

Rajesh Gopinathan, Chief Financial Officer, said: “Strong volumes, currency tailwinds and firm execution helped us post industry-leading operating margins in this quarter. Our ability to manage operations with a degree of discipline has helped maintain the tempo of investments needed to sustain growth as well as provide superior shareholder returns.”

Growth in Q2 was broad-based with all industries contributing to this holistic performance. Growth was led by Life Sciences, Media, Energy & Utilities and BFSI. All core markets grew smartly with Europe, North America and UK leading the pack. There was balanced growth across IT and other service lines led by Asset Leverage Solutions, Assurance, Enterprise Solutions, Engineering Services and Infrastructure.

ICICI Prudential MF to launch new close ended equity fund soon

New fund offer will open for subscription on October 18 and will close on October 28, 2013

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund will soon launch a new scheme 'ICICI Prudential Value Fund-series 1', which is a close-ended equity scheme with a focus on investing on stocks that trade at a discount to their true value.

The new fund offer will open for subscription on October 18 and will close on October 28, 2013.

According to the fund house, this scheme aims to adopt 'value investing approach', where low priced stocks with higher fundamentals are identified and invested in with the aim of long-term capital appreciation.

"Generally, we have seen equities provide healthy return when bought during periods of low GDP growth and we feel that we are in such a period.

"A close-ended fund like our new fund is well positioned to capture this opportunity for investors," Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Nimesh Shah said.

He also said the company will focus on retail investors to invest in the new scheme and has witnessed encouraging response from the investors.

Shah, however, declined to give any figure which the company is aiming to raise from this close-ended scheme.

On the specifics of market capitalisation, Shah said the scheme would invest in all kind of scrips, irrespective of their market capitalisation and would be sector agnostic.

ICICI Prudential MF is the joint venture between ICICI Bank and UK based financial services group, Prudential Plc, in which ICICI Bank holds the majority stake.

BSE allows MF distributors to use its infra

BSE said an entity seeking to register itself as MF Distributor on its mutual fund platform is required to have a networth of at least Rs 1 lakh

Leading stock exchange BSE today allowed MF distributors to use its infrastructure for purchase and redemption of mutual fund units directly from Assets Management Companies (AMCs) on behalf of their clients following a Sebi directive.

In a circular, BSE said an entity seeking to register itself as MF Distributor on its mutual fund platform in a move to use the exchange's infrastructure is required to have a networth of at least Rs 1 lakh on the basis of audited balance sheet of latest financial year.

For an individual, the exchange has set a minimum tangible assets worth Rs 1 lakh.

Also, the exchange would charge a one-time fee of Rs 15,000 for membership.

MF distributors would not handle payout and pay in of funds as well as units on behalf of investor.

"The pay-in will be directly received by recognised Clearing Corporation and payout will be directly made to investor's account.

"In the same manner, units shall be credited and debited directly from the demat account of the investors by the Clearing Corporation," BSE said.

Earlier this month, Sebi had cleared the proposal to allow MF distributors to use the infrastructure of recognised exchanges for purchase and redemption of mutual fund units directly from AMCs on behalf of their clients.

This would be in addition to the existing channels of MF distribution.

The move is aimed at leveraging the stock exchange platform, which would eventually help MF distributors to improve their reach.

This facility would be available only for a MF distributor registered with Amfi (Association of Mutual Funds in India) and those who have been permitted by the stock exchange concerned would be eligible for this purpose.

The stock exchange would grant permission on a request made by a Amfi registered MF distributor on the basis of criteria including fee and code of conduct, among others, as laid down by it.

Bajaj Finance Q2 net up 30% to 167 crore

Total income at Rs 961 cr vs Rs 735 cr

Bajaj Finance today announced its second quarter earnings. The company posted a net profit of Rs 167 crore, up 29.8% from Rs 129 crore posted in the same period last year.

Total income of the company stood at Rs 961 crore versus Rs 735 crore on year.

Net interest income of the company was reported at Rs 579.6 crore compared to Rs 442 crore posted last year.

Capital adequacy ratio at 20.9%.

The company also announced the appointment of Sanjiv Bajaj as its non-executive chairman.

Markets end lower, financials drop

The market continued with its southward journey amid choppy trade in afternoon while the rupee fell 18 paise to 61.73 against the US dollar. The Sensex is down 76.81 points at 20530.73, and the Nifty is down 21.85 points at 6090.85. Declining shares outpaced advancing ones by 1400 to 879 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

HDFC Bank shares lost more than 2 percent after its second quarter (July-September) net profit rose 20 percent -- higher-than-expected -- to Rs 1,982 crore, compared to a year ago period led by higher other income. However, NPAs of the bank increased during the quarter. Net interest income of the country's second largest private sector lender jumped 20 percent to Rs 4,476 crore in September quarter from Rs 3,732 crore in a year ago period, which was below the analysts' forecast.

BGR Energy Systems signs $246 mn contract with Iraq govt

India's BGR Energy Systems Ltd has signed a contract for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of 4x125 MW gas-based power project at Nasiriya with the Ministry of Electricity (MoE), Iraq.
The contract is valued at USD 246 million and includes the scope of engineering, procurement and construction services of BOP, civil works and erection, testing and commissioning of gas turbine-generator sets supplied by General Electric, as well as, operation and maintenance of power project for six months.
As on date the order book of BGR Energy Systems is more than USD 2 billion, the company said.
BGR Energy Systems is a leading EPC contracting company for power projects in India.

The company has the capacity to design and manufacture over 20 high technology systems for power plants and process industries contributing substantially to the growth of the energy industry in India and abroad for over 28 years and it has successfully implemented several large EPC and turnkey contracts in power, oil and gas sector, the company said.

Strategic partnership with global leaders in power equipment and capital goods enables BGR Energy Systems to offer world-class products and services to its customers, it said.
It employs about 2,500 professionals with domain expertise in products design, fabrication and construction.
BGR Energy Systems Limited is listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.

Sintex Inds gains post Q2 earnings

The stock has rallied 8% to Rs 27.80, bounced back nearly 12% from intra-day's low on BSE.

Sintex Industries has moved higher by over 8% at Rs 27.80 bouncing back 12% from intra-day low after reporting a net profit of Rs 73 crore for the quarter ended September 2013 (Q2) against an average analyst estimates of Rs 66 crore. The plastic products maker had profit of Rs 72 crore in a year ago quarter.

Net sales however grew 14% to Rs 136 crore in September quarter against Rs 119 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Analyst expected average net sales of Rs 1,212 crore for the quarter.

The company said its EBITDA margins remain flat at around 16% during the quarter under review. Textile division see rise EBITDA margin by 241bps, it added.

The stock opened at Rs 26.25 and touched a low of Rs 24.85 on BSE. A combined 27.45 million shares have changed hands on the counter till 1500 hours against an average sub 8 million shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on BSE and NSE.

HDFC Bank net up 27% at Rs 1,982 cr

Net NPA of the bank remained unchanged at 0.3%

HDFC bank today posted a 27%  jump in its net profit at Rs 1,982 crore versus Rs 1,560 crore in the previous quarter.

Gross NPA of the bank was reported at 1.1% compared to 1% in the previous quarter. Net non performing assets of the bank remained unchanged at 0.3%.

Net NPA at Rs 767 crore versus Rs 689 crore on quarter.

Capital Adequacy Ratio Basel III was at 14.6% compared to 15.5%.

The bank posted net interest income of Rs 4,476 crore .

Net interest margin at 4.4% vs 4.6% in previous quarter.

Wipro hits highest level since April 2000

The stock has surged nearly 50% since June 30 on BSE, compared to 6% rise in benchmark index and 40% rally in IT sector index.

Wipro has rallied 4% to Rs 520, extending its previous day’s nearly 3% gain on BSE on reports that the information technology (IT) company is in race for Rs 1,500 crore India Posts devices project.

"Wipro and HCL Infosystems have qualified for technical bids for supplying 1,30,000 handheld devices to Department of Posts (DoP). The vendor for this project as per DoP is expected to be finalized by end of this month," PTI reports suggests quoting a senior government official.

The stock currently quoting at its highest level since April 2000, outperformed the market by surging nearly 50% from Rs 350 on June 30, 2013 on expectation of very healthy new deal wins in July-September quarter (Q2). The BSE benchmark index has gained 6%, while IT sector index surged 40% during the same period.

Meanwhile, Wipro said the board of directors of the company will announce its Q2 earnings on October 22.

“Wipro to continue to be a laggard and likely to post 2% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) revenue growth in dollar terms for Q2. EBITDA margin estimated to improve marginally by 60bps QoQ due to currency benefit partially offset by two months impact of wage hikes,” says analyst at Edelweiss Securities in results preview.

However, Infosys had surprised the street by reporting better-than-expected revenue growth in dollar terms for the recently concluded quarter.

Banking shares under pressure on inflation worries

At 1033 hours, Bank Nifty was down nearly 2% compared to 0.51% fall in benchmark index CNX Nifty.

Banking shares are under pressure falling by up to 4% on the National Stock Exchagne (NSE) after higher-than-expected inflation data dents hopes for a rate cut.

HDFC Bank, Bank of India, YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are down 2-4%.

The NSE banking share index Bank Nifty, the largest loser among the sectoral indices was down nearly 2% compared to 0.51% fall in benchmark CNX Nifty at 1035 hours.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation rose an annual 6.46% in September, higher than the previous month's 6.10% and market expectations of 6.0%. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for September 2013 also surprised negatively as it picked up to 9.84% as compared with expectations of a 9.5% print.

Most of the analyst expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bank to hike the repo rate by 25bp to 7.75% in its next policy review due on October 29, 2013.

However, the appreciation of Indian rupee by more than 10% from its record low and is now stabilizing at present levels, providing comfort to policymakers on the currency front, says analyst at Angel Broking in a note.

In view of this, we believe that the RBI is likely to get some headroom for easing some of the exceptional short-term liquidity tightening measures. We expect the RBI to reduce the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate by 25bp. We thus expect the corridor between the repo and MSF to normalize at 100bp from 150bp currently, says analyst.

Among the individual stocks, IndusInd Bank and YES Bank have dipped 4% each at Rs 411 and Rs 336 respectively. Bank of India was down 3% at Rs 182, followed by Union Bank of India and Canara Bank down 2% each at Rs 120 and Rs 239 respectively.

Supreme Infrastructure inaugurates ‘Supreme Technical Institute’ at Maharashtra

Supreme Infrastructure India has inaugurated ‘Supreme Technical Institute’ (STI) located at Talavli, Padgha, Bhiwandi in state of Maharashtra. The company has opened the institute on October 13, 2013 which is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

Supreme Technical Institute is affiliated by Maharashtra State Board of Vocational Education Examination (MSBVEE). The institute will initially offer three certified courses - Servicing & Repairing of Diesel Engines, Automobile Electrical & Electronics Mechanic and Road Construction.

Besides, all these courses are of 6 months duration followed by Maharashtra Board exam. The courses offered are at free of cost and after the successful completion of course, the candidates will be offered placement by the company.

Asian markets trade higher in early deals on US deal hopes

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in the green in early deals on Tuesday as investors went for bargain hunting on expectations of an imminent deal to reopen the US government and avert a possible debt default, the investors though will remain wary until they see the final outcome. Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market was trading in fine fettle with a weaker yen. On economic front, Japan’s industrial production data for August is due for release during the day. Little change is expected from last month’s preliminary readings that suggested a 3.4 percent monthly increase and a 3.7 percent yearly gain.

Hang Seng rose 133.52 points or 0.58% to 23,351.84, Nikkei 225 gained 25.56 points or 0.18% to 14,430.30, Seoul Composite strengthened 14.22 points or 0.70% to 2,034.49 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 71.74 points or 0.87% to 8,345.70.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite  was down by 3.23 points or 0.14% to 2,234.54.

Markets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore remained closed for the trade today on account of holiday.

CMC surges on reporting 36% rise in Q2 Consolidated net profit

CMC is currently trading at Rs. 1434.90, up by 61.20 points or 4.46% from its previous closing of Rs. 1373.70 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1449.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1474.00 and Rs. 1409.60 respectively. So far 21,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1523.00 on 09-Apr-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1055.05 on 22-Oct-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1417.60 and Rs. 1295.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 4,354 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 51.12% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 41.15% and 7.73% respectively.

On Standalone basis, the company has posted a fall of 26.54% in its net profit at Rs 47.76 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 64.75 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, the total income has increased by 9.05% at Rs 284.52 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 260.90 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

On Consolidated basis, the company has posted a rise of 36.25% in its net profit at Rs 67.31 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 49.40 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income has increased by 22.26% at Rs 560.75 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 458.64 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

CMC is a Tata group firm and subsidiary of the country's top software company TCS. The company operates in four strategic business units namely customer services (CS), Systems Integration (SI), IT enabled Services (ITES) and Education and Training (E&T). The company has pan-India presence that caters to various sectors such as the railways, banks, government entities and other organisations with countrywide operations

NIIT surges on plan to open 100 new centres by 2015

NIIT, a leading Global Talent Development Corporation, is eyeing to expand its chain of educational centres across Pan India by 2015. The IT training institute is looking to add 100 new centres to take its count to 700 from the present 600 centres. Besides the expansion, it will also upgrade all its centres as ‘Cloud Campus’ which would enable students to get hands-on practice through lab exercises in machine rooms and NIIT Centres.

The company has also inaugurated its third Centre of NIIT in the Coimbatore city. Last year the company had a placement of 20,000 and this year it is expecting to increase by 5,000 to 6,000, particularly in IT and Banking sector, which required sales and marketing executives. The company has tied up with ICICI Bank for providing the required trained staff and with Indian Institutes of Management for developing curriculum.

RIL’s telecom arm receives telecom service licence in Singapore

Reliance Industries’ (RIL) telecom arm Reliance Jio Infocomm has received licence to facilitate internet and voice roaming services in Singapore. The licence will facilitate Reliance Jio Infocomm to buy, operate and sell undersea and/or terrestrial fibre connectivity.

Moreover, the company will also set up its internet point of presence, offer internet transit and peering services as well as data and voice roaming services in Singapore.

The undersea or submarine cable system will link South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East as well as Europe, Africa and Far East Asia. Reliance Jio is only company to have pan-India 4G spectrum.

First-year rate offer to decide ultra mega power project developer

Method to be applicable for Tamil Nadu and Odisha projects; index-linked floor and ceiling prices for coal to be also fixed

Project developers for the proposed ultra mega power plants (UMPPs) in Odisha and Tamil Nadu would be decided based on the first-year power rate they offer.

A levelised rate for the entire period of the power purchase agreement was needed for UMPPs awarded earlier. Besides, the Power Finance Corporation, nodal agency for awarding UMPPs, would be setting a floor and ceiling price over an established benchmark, to determine the energy charge for the imported coal-based UMPP in Tamil Nadu.

A senior official told Business Standard this new model for selection of the bidder would help reduce uncertainties and aggressive bidding, preventing offers that are unviable in the long run. For subsequent years, a well-defined trajectory for prices each year would be set by PFC after discussion with power procurers. Project developers would be required to follow that trajectory while quoting the price each year. “This trajectory would be based on the depreciation, wholesale price index and other such components,” he said.

A two-stage bidding process is to be followed for the two UMPPs. In the first stage, companies would be giving their requests for qualification by November 11. PFC would shortlist qualified bidders, who would then file a request for proposal (RFP). “The floor and ceiling in the case of the Tamil Nadu UMPP would be set at the RFP stage,” he said.

Bidders for the Rs 25,200-crore Odisha UMPP, to come up near Bedabahal village in Sundargarh district, would be quoting a fixed charge in the rate component.

For the energy charge, a variable portion of the rate, the cost per power unit, will be fixed in consultation with procurers.

This charge would cover the mining cost of the project developers, since Odisha UMPP is a pit-head project.

The rights to mine coal from linked mines would, however, be passed on to a special purpose vehicle of the procurers, unlike in the case of the Sasan and Tilaiya UMPPs (MP and Jharkhand), where project developers got mines when the ownership of a shell company created for the project was passed on to them.

The developer would now only get the licence to mine coal and a lease on project land; so, these cannot be used as collateral for borrowing money. Besides, the surplus coal available from these mines would also belong to the power procurers and governed by the surplus coal policy currently under work in the Union government, said the official.

Power from Odisha would be supplied to nine states, including the lead procurer, Odisha (1,300 Mw), Punjab (500 Mw) and Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (400 Mw each).

The Rs 24,200-crore Tamil Nadu UMPP would be located near Cheyyur village in Kancheepuram district. Power from the coastal project would be supplied to seven states, including the lead procurer, Tamil Nadu (1,600 Mw), Karnataka (800 Mw), Andhra Pradesh (400 Mw), Kerala and Uttar Pradesh (300 Mw each) and Punjab (200 Mw).

Rate revision pleas for three of the four UMPPs awarded earlier are currently with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. In the case of the imported coal-based Mundra UMPP (in Gujarat), developed by Tata Power, a change in Indonesian law has impacted the price of imported coal, rendering the quoted rate of Rs 2.44 a unit (Kwh) unviable for the company. Reliance Power has filed a rate revision request for its pit-head based UMPPs at Sasan and Tilaiya.

Markets open higher led by RIL; Asia gains

By 9:30, the Sensex was higher by 131 points at 20,739 mark and the Nifty gained by 40 points at 6,153 levels

Markets have started the trading session on a higher note led by Reliance Inds which posted a better-than-expected set of numbers yesterday. Firm Asian markets have also uplifted the sentiments among local investors.

By 9:30, the Sensex was higher by 131 points at 20,739 mark and the Nifty gained by 40 points at 6,153 levels.

On the global front, Asian shares rose to their highest in nearly five months on expectations of an imminent deal to reopen the US government and avert a possible debt default, though the squabbling in Washington kept markets on edge ahead of Thursday's deadline.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.6% on Tuesday morning to its highest level since May 23. Tokyo's Nikkei share average also gained 0.6%, hitting a two-week peak.

Back home, BSE Realty, IT, Oil & Gas, TECk, Consumer Durables, Power, Metal and Capital Goods indices gained by 0.7-1.3%. Infact, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in green zone.

Reliance Industries is trading higher by 2% at Rs 887 in early morning deals on BSE after reporting better than expected 1.5% year-on-year (yoy) growth in net profit at Rs 5,490 crore for the second quarter ended September 2013 (Q2).

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS has gained by 1.5% ahead of its September-quarter result announcements. Analysts said that a gain of 1-1.5% in the stock prior to the announcement was not much as most of the optimism surrounding its earnings numbers had already been factored in.

Other notable gainers are Wipro, NTPC, Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite, Maruti Suzuki and SBI.

On the losing side, Hindalco, Tata Motors and HUL have declined between 0.4-2%.

The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 710 shares advancing and 249 shares declining.

NSEL probe gets wider

Inspection under Companies Act launched; ED starts money-laundering probe; FMC mulls special audit of MCX

The probe in the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) payment crisis is being widened, with more agencies joining the investigations. Also, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is considering a special audit of the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), NSEL’s sister concern.

The Department of Company Affairs has already begun an inspection of NSEL under Section 209-A of the Companies Act, 1956. The probe would include inspection of the exchange’s books, with a specific reference to “all sums of money received and expended by the company and the matters in respect of which the receipt and expenditure take place”. The Enforcement Directorate is probing the exchange’s operations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after securing information in this regard from the economic offences wing of the Mumbai Police.

When contacted, an NSEL spokesperson said, “Since investigations are on, we cannot comment on this.”

After issuing a show-cause notice to the promoters and directors of the crisis-ridden exchange, the FMC is now focusing on MCX, India’s leading commodity futures exchange. It is considering a special audit of MCX operations since the inception of the exchange in 2003, focusing on related party transactions and on probing whether any special treatments were given to these, in terms of margins.

In response to a query, an MCX spokesperson said, “MCX has not yet received any communication from FMC with regard to a special audit. MCX is open to any scrutiny from FMC or any other authority.”

MCX has already admitted the Indian Bullion Merchants’ Association (IBMA) was found to be trading on MCX, despite the fact that it was a subsidiary of NSEL and, therefore, a related party. Trading by related parties isn’t allowed by regulations governing commodity futures.

The MCX spokesperson clarified, “MCX has an automated trading system, with virtually no human interference. Calls for margin money are automated, with adequate provisions for informing members about their margin requirements and settlement dues. Moreover, the system does not waive or lower margin money for members’ leveraged trades. Members are not allowed to take new positions without the requisite margin requirements, and the system automatically squares off all such outstanding positions.”

Sources privy to the development said a special audit would cover issues related to trading by IBMA — whether any related party traded on it or not, whether favourable margins were given to related parties and whether proper procedures were followed in case of NSEL defaults.

In its show-cause notice to NSEL promoters, FMC had said there were 2,000 defaults.

A source said FMC would soon finalise who would conduct the special audit. The audit is aimed at ascertaining whether corporate governance norms were adhered to. “If nothing serious comes out, that will inspire confidence among other stakeholders and if some discrepancies are found, prompt action will be taken to restore the confidence,” said a government official.

Fortis to sell stake in Quality Healthcare

The deal is expected to be completed in October 2013.

Fortis Healthcare International Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Ltd (Fortis) today announced its decision to sell its 100% stake in Altai Investments Limited, the holding company for Quality Healthcare (QH), Hong Kong, to Bupa, for US$ 355million.The offer price is reflective of the value and efficiencies added through improved operations and the introduction of new and specialised medical centres while QH has been a part of the Fortis group.

The deal is expected to be completed in October 2013.
Malvinder Singh, Executive Chairman, and Shivinder Singh, Executive Vice Chairman, Fortis Healthcare Limited, said, “The divestment clearly aligns our business with our stated priorities. We have taken a strategic decision to intensify our focus on our core hospital and diagnostic business in India with a clear path to profitability. The divestment also enables us to further strengthen our balance sheet and substantially improve our net debt equity ratio, creating further room for growth.”
Fortis has demonstrated remarkable fiscal prudence and slashed its debt in the preceding 12 months. Post QH, the company’s net debt equity position is expected to be less than 0.3x down from 1.6x as on 30th Sept 2012. The company continues to evaluate its portfolio of assets to ensure the right alignment and strategic fit.

In the current year, Fortis will add over 1,000 beds from Greenfield projects in India. In May 2013, it launched its flagship, the Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon. Two more projects, one each in Ludhiana and Chennai (Arcot Road) are nearing completion and will be commissioned in the next few months.
Following the QH divestment, the India revenue will account for nearly 95 % of the Company’s total revenue. With the addition of new capacity and performance improvements, the company expects its India business to exhibit a robust operating performance going forward.

J. P. Morgan and Religare Capital Markets acted as financial advisors to Fortis for this transaction.

Asian shares hit near five-month high on US deal hopes

Nikkei gains 0.6%, hits two-week peak; investors expect deal before the 17 Oct deadline

Asian shares rose to their highest in nearly five months on expectations of an imminent deal to reopen the US government and avert a possible debt default, though the squabbling in Washington kept markets on edge ahead of Thursday's deadline.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.6% on Tuesday morning to its highest level since May 23. Tokyo's Nikkei share average also gained 0.6%, hitting a two-week peak.

A number of markets in the region, including Singapore, Indonesia, were closed for holidays.

On Wall Street, signals that politicians were heading towards a deal that would avert a possible US default pushed the S&P 500 index up 0.4% to its highest close in nearly one month.

US S&P 500 E-mini futures added 0.2% early on Tuesday, indicating a firmer open if the gains were to be maintained. US Treasury futures slipped 5 ticks.

The US debt ceiling needs to be raised by October 17.

"Risk sentiment remains resilient despite the lack of a clear breakthrough in the US debt ceiling and government shutdown negotiations," analysts at BNP Paribas wrote in a note.

"The Japanese yen's initial rally has now fully reversed although in the absence of an agreement the near-term risks are for a stronger yen," they added.

The dollar was at 98.61 yen, recovering from a low of 98.05 hit on Monday. It also stabilised at $1.35560 to the euro after slipping 0.1% on Monday.

Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar was up 0.1%.

The fiscal plan under discussion by senators would raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover US borrowing needs at least through mid-February, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. It would also fund government operations through the middle of January.

But any deal needs approval in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have insisted any continued funding must include measures to undercut President Barack Obama's healthcare programme -- non-negotiable for Democrats.

JPMorgan analysts said market reaction to the US budget impasse has been muted so far, though it did not believe investors were complacent.

"Our sense is not complacency, but more a belief that a true default, beyond a technical delay in payments lasting several days, is highly unlikely, and a lack of clarity of what such a default would mean for markets beyond a sense that it will be bad," they wrote in a note.

"Market participants appear to be preparing for the event risk of a delayed payment of US Treasury coupons and principals by adding liquidity and avoiding securities maturing around the debt ceiling deadline."

In the commodity markets, gold fell 0.5% to around $1,267 an ounce.

US crude slipped 0.1% to around $102 a barrel, giving up some of Monday's gains as traders bought contracts to cover short positions ahead of a possible deal in Washington.

RIL first Indian firm to clock Rs 1-lakh-cr sales in a quarter

Firm's net profit jumps 1.5% in July-September, despite 19% drop in gross refining margins

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday beat the Street, posting net profit of Rs 5,490 crore in the July-September quarter, 1.5 per cent higher than that in the second quarter of 2012-13. This was despite a 19 per cent drop in its gross refining margins and higher than analysts’ estimates of Rs 5,380-5,410 crore.

The company became the first company in the country to achieve quarterly turnover or sales of more than Rs 1 lakh crore in a quarter. Its turnover during the quarter stood at Rs 1,06,523 crore, against Rs 93,266 crore in the previous quarter.

“RIL’s performance in the first half of the year reflects the resilience of our business model in a period of volatility and uncertainty. Our diversified and integrated petrochemicals business captured margins across segments — delivering near-record profit levels, even as the domestic economy slowed,” said RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

The company’s gross refining margins (GRM) — earnings from processing every barrel of crude oil — stood at $7.7 a barrel, compared with $9.5 a barrel in the same quarter a year ago. Reuters’ Singapore benchmark GRMs were down to a 12-quarter low of $5.4 a barrel during the quarter. However, revenues for its refining and marketing segment rose 16.2 per cent to Rs 97,456 crore.

“Optimal utilisation of best-in-class refinery assets and inherent flexibility in sourcing, product delivery contributed to healthy operating profits from our refining business,” added Ambani.

“RIL’s numbers are led by growth in core business and other income has not contributed much to the overall profitability,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, equity head, strategist & head of research, SMC Capitals.

The company’s revenue from petrochemical segment rose 12.8 per cent to Rs 24,892 crore, from Rs 22,058 crore in the September quarter last year. It said its petrochemicals business performance was boosted by higher volumes, stable demand, improved deltas for key polymers & fibre intermediates, and favourable exchange rate movement. “Though polyester margins were weak, RIL benefitted due to integrated chain economics,” the company said in a press statement.

“A petrochemicals margin of over 10 per cent is excellent and even refining margins came beyond expectations,” said Destimoney Securities President Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

On the retail business front, RIL posted 31 per cent sales growth during the quarter, compared with the same period a year ago.


“The company’s retail business continues to break new ground, growing 41 per cent in the first half of 2013-14. Reliance’s ongoing counter-cyclical investments will strengthen our competitive position in each business segment,” Ambani added.

RIL said, during the quarter, the retail business crossed a significant milestone of operating 10 million square feet of retail space, with an addition of 58 stores across all formats. The business now operates over 1,550 stores across 136 Indian cities.  Revenue from its shale gas business stood at Rs 1,208.5 crore - year-on-year growth of 33 per cent.

"There continues to be focus on operational, cost and efficiency improvements," RIL said.

The company's average combined daily production for its three joint ventures stood at 875 million standard cubic feet per day during the quarter. "As at the end of the second quarter of 2013-14, the cumulative number of producing wells stood at 550, compared with 309 at the end of the second quarter of 2012-13 and 494 wells at the end of the first quarter of this financial year," RIL added.

Ahead of the results, the RIL scrip gained 0.84 per cent from its previous close to Rs 870.25 on BSE. The BSE Oil & Gas Index gained 0.35 per cent to close at 8,554.95. The results were declared after the end of Monday's trading session.