M&M group Q3 profit declines marginally to Rs 1,230 cr

Mahindra & Mahindra group reported a marginal decline of 1.93% in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,230 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2013-14.

 

The group had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,254.30 crore for the October-December quarter of the last financial year.M&M's consolidated gross revenue during Q3, 2013-14 grew 8.5% to Rs 20,679.9 crore as against Rs 19,066.8 crore of the same period of last fiscal.

 

The group has gained Rs 256.5 crore on completion of the first part of the transaction in the auto component business with Spanish form CIE Automotives SA, M&M said in a filing to the BSE.

 

Revenue from the automotive segment in Q3 grew to Rs 11,984.43 crore. It was Rs 11,124.70 crore in the same quarter of 2012-13.

Revenue from the farm equipment sector was Rs 4,668.14 crore, as against Rs 3,876.61 crore in Q3 of the last fiscal.

 

Its earning from financial services during the quarter increased to Rs 1,366.14 crore. It was Rs 1,066.51 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal.

 

IT services revenue also increased to Rs 78.42 crore in Q3 of 2013-14 as against Rs 67.48 crore in the year-ago period.

 

Earning from hospitality sector and infrastructure also increased to Rs 199.56 crore and Rs 145.50 crore. It was Rs 184.83 crore and Rs 129.95 crore in the previous fiscal.

 

M&M scrip closed at Rs 962.40, up 2%, on the BSE.

Lupin trades in green on the BSE

Lupin is currently trading at Rs. 978.50, up by 18.05 points or 1.88% from its previous closing of Rs. 960.45 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 956.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 979.80 and Rs. 950.70 respectively. So far 61686 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 979.80 on 28-Feb-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 569.00 on 01-Mar-2013.The current market cap of the company is Rs. 43826.73 crore.The promoters holding in the company stood at 46.76% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 43.22% and 10.02% respectively.

Pharma Major Lupin has received final approval for its Rifabutin Capsules USP, 150 mg from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to market a generic version of Pharmacia & Upjohn Company's Mycobutin Capsules 150 mg. Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LPI), the company's US subsidiary would commence marketing the product shortly.

Lupin's Rifabutin Capsules, 150 mg are generic equivalent of Pharmacia & Upjohn Company's Mycobutin Capsules 150 mg. Lupin's Rifabutin Capsules USP, 150 mg is indicated for the prevention of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease in patients with advanced HIV infection.Mycobutin Capsules had annual U.S sales of $18.6 million in 2013 (IMS MAT Dec, 2013).

Lupin is an innovation led transnational pharmaceutical company producing and developing a wide range of branded and generic formulations and APIs globally.

Q3 FY14 GDP seen flat at 4.8%; services may rise: Poll

The gross domestic product (GDP) for Q3 FY14 is expected to be flat on a quarterly basis. It is estimated to be around 4.8 percent, which compares to 4.5 percent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis and 4.8 percent on a sequential basis. The revised GDP data on a Y-o-Y basis is also expected to be announced. Moreover, the FY13 GDP was revised lower to 4.5 percent versus 5 percent, but the quarterly breakup wasn’t given, so there could be a different figure which could come out. 
 Sectrolly, agriculture is expected to be anywhere between 5.3 percent and 7 percent, compared to 1 percent Y-o-Y and 4.6 percent sequentially. The industry performance is expected to be absolutely flat versus a 3.3 percent sequentially. Within the industry, one must watch out for numbers from manufacturing, construction and mining. 
However, on the services side there is expectation of an uptick to around 6 percent, which compares to 6 percent on a Y-o-Y and 6 percent on a sequentially basis as well. According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) the estimate for trade, hotel and transport services are estimated to fall to a low of 3.5 percent for FY14. 
A lot of economists do not even have an estimate for Q3FY14 GDP because it is assumed as redundant data. However, the CSO estimate is around 4.9 percent.

Tata Power plans Rs 2,000 cr rights issue

Tata Power Company Ltd has proposed to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore through a rights issue.

However, the issue timing, price etc are yet to be decided.

In a communication to the stock exchanges, the company said that its board of directors on February 27 approved raising of up to Rs 2,000 crore by way of a rights issue subject to all approvals.

It said a Committee of the Board would decide on issues like rights ratio, issue price and size and timing of the issue etc.

Shares of Tata Power (FV Re 1) were up by 50 paise to Rs 79.95 on the BSE in early trade.

Dr Reddy's at new high, launches headache drug Sumatriptan

Shares of  Dr Reddy’s Labs hit a record high at Rs 2823, up around 2 percent in early trade on Wednesday. Investors are excited about the company as it launched Sumatriptan injection USP in the US market. 

“It is a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Imitrex Statdose Pen (sumatriptan succinate) and was launched in the US market on February 25 following approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA),” it said in a statement. 
Sumatriptan is used to treat symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to sound and light). The injection is an autoinjector system for subcutaneous use. 

Macquarie estimates USD 1.1 billion of sales from the US in FY15. It has upgraded the drug major's target price to Rs 3,325, driven by much higher US sales. The brokerage has also hiked its FY15e earnings per share (EPS) increased to Rs 160 versus Rs 156.

 At 09:52 hrs, the stock was quoting at Rs 2,803.00, up Rs 29.10, or 1.05 percent on the BSE.

National Stock Exchange launches Volatility Index futures

To help investors hedge near-term volatility risks in their equity portfolio, the National Stock Exchange today launched its futures contracts on India VIX (volatility index) called 'NVIX'.

India VIX is a volatility index based on the index options prices of Nifty.

"Volatility is a different risk class. It has a tremendous potential as every one has to deal with volatility. Anyone who has a portfolio, one who needs to hedge the portfolio for volatility...It could be for institutional or high networth individuals (HNI). It is a broad base usage of this product," NSE MD & CEO Chitra Ramkrishna said after the launch.

Uncertainty is for everyone. This product will help in hedging uncertainty. We expect very good broad-based participation in this product, Ramkrishna added.

NSE is aiming to tap into domestic institutional investor demand for equity futures and options.

The NSE, which constructed India VIX, started disseminating India VIX index in 2009.

India VIX indicates the investor's perception of the market's volatility in the near term. The index depicts expected market volatility over the next 30 calendar days.

A high India VIX value would suggest that the market expects significant increase in volatility, while a low value indicates the reverse. India VIX and Nifty have a negative correlation.

Bonds gain as crude oil prices ease

The benchmark 10-year bond yield 2 basis points lower at 8.85 per cent. Gains in Treasury prices and lower crude oil prices helping bonds, dealers said. 

US Treasuries' prices rose on Tuesday as traders focused on weakening US consumer confidence and ignored stronger-than-expected data showing that US home prices last year climbed the most since 2005. 

Oil fell on Tuesday, pressured by further signs of a Chinese economic slowdown and data that showed a build in US crude stockpiles for the second straight week. 

SEBI proposes new norms for listed companies divesting stake in units

In order to strengthen corporate governance and curb misdoings at the management level, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed new norms that will make mandatory for listed companies to seek approval of shareholders to divest shares in subsidiaries that bring in more than one-fifth of annual consolidated income. At present, divestment in major subsidiaries does not require the approval of shareholders. The market regulator is of the view that company’s special resolution should be moved to get shareholders' nod and its new set of corporate governance norms for listed companies would come into effect from October. SEBI has proposed that all listed companies should have a policy to determine material subsidiaries and they should be disclosed to the stock exchanges. The market regulator would also proposed that a subsidiary shall be considered ‘material’ if the investment of the company in the unit exceeds 20 percent of its consolidated net worth as per the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year. Furthermore, the classification would also be applicable if the subsidiary generated 20 percent of the consolidated income of the company during the previous financial year. SEBI also sought suggestions on the matter from various stakeholders and market advisory committees. SEBI was suggested that major subsidiaries should be defined and should include Indian, foreign and step-down units. Besides, it was also suggested that certain minimum amount of information about proposed disinvestment in subsidiaries such as financial details for the past three years should be disclosed in the notice for the meeting to seek shareholder approval for the resolution.

Sanofi India Q4 net surges two-fold at Rs 93 cr

Drug firm  Sanofi India  posted over two-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 92.7 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013 on account of robust sales in export markets. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 44.8 crore during the same period of previous fiscal, Sanofi India said in a filing to the BSE. Net sales of the company rose to Rs 481.1 crore for the fourth quarter, as compared to Rs 400.7 crore during the same period of previous fiscal. The company follows a January-December financial year. For the year ended December 31, 2013, the company posted a net profit of Rs 265.2 crore, compared to Rs 176.7 crore in 2012. "Significantly better export performance during the quarter and year ended December 31, 2013 has resulted in improvement in profitability of the company," the company said. The company's board has recommended final dividend of Rs 35 per equity share of Rs 10 for the year ended December 31, 2013.

State loan sale cutoffs likely in 9.7-9.8% band: Poll

Cut-off yields for state loan sale of Rs 85.30 billion ($1.37 billion) later in the day are expected to fall within a 9.70-9.80 per cent band, according to a Reuters poll of 10 market participants. 

The lowest cutoff was 9.60 per cent, while the highest was 9.85 per cent, as per the poll. 

A proposed rule change by RBI has raised concerns on how state loans will be valued, which seeks to change pricing from a fixed 25 bps spread over government securities to one based on the spread from the previous two state loan auctions. 

"These bonds also provide comfort against depreciation in government bonds. So no one is interested in buying if the new valuation rule becomes effective," said a senior bond dealer with a state-run bank. 

State-run banks are the main buyers of these bonds. The last state loan auction saw cutoffs in the 9.48-9.72 band with Andhra Pradesh state seeing less than full acceptance. 

Yields on government bonds up 16 bps since Feb. 11, the last state loan sale. 

TCS ranks as No1 manufacturing industry IT service provider in Europe

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, has been ranked the best for overall capabilities in EMEA for its manufacturing-specific outsourcing services. The study, conducted by leading analyst firm IDC, praised TCS for its ability to provide holistic support for large and diverse IT initiatives. The report recognized the company’s proven track record for designing and implementing systems for some of the region’s leading companies.

TCS partners with manufacturers from a range of industries to help transform their existing business models and implement technology solutions. These solutions improve operations by reducing operational expenditure, utilizing existing capacity optimally, improving operating efficiencies across the value chain and improving the time-to-market for new product releases. Each solution is tailored to the partner company, ensuring each business can meet its objectives within the usual safety and regulatory parameters.

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services.

Business Confidence Index rose by about 22 percent in January 2014: NCAER

In its latest survey National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has reported that the Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose by about 21.8 percent in January 2014 to 122.3 points from 100.4 in July-September quarter survey. NCAER said that higher exports, enhanced farm produce and moderation in inflation improved business confidence during the October-December period. The survey noted that there was a continued slide in business sentiment through 2012-13 on concerns of slower growth coupled with high inflation. The survey revealed that manufacturing sector firms were more optimistic than services sector during the quarter, while the highest growth was recorded in intermediate goods sector followed by consumer goods non-durables. The survey further stated that both input cost and ex-factory prices are likely to increase in the next six months and within input cost, only cost of electricity per unit of output is likely to moderate. It also said employment of all types of labour is also likely to improve in the short run along with wage rates.    The survey conducted during Assembly elections in five states has also taken into account influence of the election process on business sentiments besides business and financial data and said that Political Confidence Index (PCI) -- a measure of related business sector perceptions -- increased for the successive quarter, showing an improvement of 9.8 percent to 112.9 points.

Maruti Suzuki surges on reducing prices across its models after excise duty reduction

Maruti Suzuki India is currently trading at Rs. 1682.00, up by 7.35 points or 0.44 % from its previous closing of Rs. 1674.65 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1671.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1693.90 and Rs. 1646.65 respectively. So far 28864 shares were traded on the counter.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1733.90 and Rs. 1638.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 50942.78 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.21 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 35.45 % and 8.34 % respectively.

The country’s biggest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India has cut prices in range between Rs 8,502 and Rs 30,984 across its models after excise duty on automobiles was reduced in the Interim Budget.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on February 17, cut excise duty to 8 per cent from 12 per cent for small cars, scooters, motorcycles and commercial vehicles; 24 per cent from 30 per cent for SUVs; 20 per cent for mid-sized cars from 24 per cent and 24 per cent for large cars from 27 per cent.

Maruti Suzuki reported 11.06% fall in its production to 109,342 units in January 2014 as compared to 122,936 units in same month last year. Of total, the company manufactured a 44,411 vehicles under mini segment (including Alto, A Star, Wagon R), down by 22.21%, as against 57,095 vehicles manufactured in corresponding month previous year.

ICRA shares jump 20% on Moody’s open offer

Shares of ICRA Ltd today surged as much as 20 per cent on the bourses after global rating agency Moody’s said that it would make an open offer to raise its stake in the domestic rating agency.

After market trading hours on Friday, Moody’s said that it would acquire an additional 26.5 per cent stake in the company through open offer at a price of Rs 2,000 a share.

Reacting to the development, shares of ICRA Ltd opened on a bullish note at Rs 1,858 on the BSE. The stock then gathered further momentum and surged 19.99 per cent to an intra-day high of Rs 1,913 on the bourse.

Similar movement was seen on the National Stock Exchange as well where the stock opened at Rs 1,888, then jumped 19.96 per cent to an intra-day high of Rs 1,905.05 a share.

Moody’s plans to acquire up to 2.65 million shares in ICRA, amounting to 26.5 per cent of the company’s equity. If the open offer gets full acceptance, the shareholding of Moody’s in ICRA Ltd would increase to 55 per cent.

The offer is being made by Moody’s Singapore Pte Ltd, Moody’s Investment Company India Private Ltd and Moody’s Corporation.

Rupee trades flat tailing weakness in other emerging currencies

Indian rupee after a mildly soft start is trading flat on Monday morning, tailing some weakness in other emerging currencies and on increased demand for the US currency from importers. Mildly lower opening in the domestic equity market too was putting pressure on the rupee. In the global markets, the dollar index has regained some footing and was trading up against the euro and other emerging market currencies, as investors looked past the Group of 20’s latest commitment to spur faster global growth.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading 62.15, weaker by 2 paise from its previous close of 62.13 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 62.18 and 62.09 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 62.16 and for Euro stood at 85.26 on February 21, 2014. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.66, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 103.4435. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.

JSW Steel to acquire 50% stake in Vallabh Tinplate for Rs 46 crore

JSW Steel intends to acquire 26% equity in Vallabh Tinplate (VTPL) immediately and shall increase its equity stake in VTPL to 50% in due course. The total investment to acquire 50% equity stake in VTPL is estimated to be a maximum of Rs 46 crore depending upon financial performance of VTPL. The above is however subject to customary closing conditions and third party consents. Accordingly JSW Steel has executed a legally binding Share Purchase Agreement and Shareholders Agreement with the shareholders of VTPL and VTPL. JSW Steel will have representation in the Board of VTPL proportionate to its equity holding with a right to appoint certain key managerial personnel. This acquisition marks JSW Steel’s entry into growing Tinplate business in India. Vallabh Tinplate is currently operating a 60,000 MT per annum tinplate manufacturing facility in Beopror Village, Rajpura, Patiala District in the state of Punjab in India. VTPL is owned by Vardhaman Industries (VIL) along with its promoters.

GDP growth to remain in 4.5-5% range in 2014: Nomura

The economy is unlikely to see any major pick in 2014 and may end up with about just 4.5-5 percent growth due to the ongoing fiscal and monetary policy tightening, says a report. 
"GDP growth will remain in a 4.5-5 percent range for much of 2014, due to the ongoing fiscal and monetary policy tightening," Japanese brokerage Nomura said in a report. "
The year 2014 is likely to be a year of consolidation and although the investment downturn appears to be coming to an end, we do not yet see any triggers for a revival," the report said. 
The GDP growth in the first two quarters of FY14 stood at 4.4 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively. 
The economic growth slowed to a low of 4.5 percent in FY'13 on account of mostly local factors such as high interest rates. 
 Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his interm Budget, presented last week, said he expected growth in FY'14 to be at 4.9 percent, similar to the advance estimate given by the Central Statistics Office. 
While he pushed Rs 35,000 crore of oil subsidy payments to next year in the interim budget, the Finance Minister also cut plan expenditure by Rs 75,000 crore to meet the fiscal deficit target which he finally brought down to 4.6 percent from the planned 4.8 percent. According to the agency, this cut back on government spending will negtively impact growth. 
Another growth impediment is the high interest rates, which a hawkish central bank has increased three times or a cumulative 75 bps in the past five months. 
Nomura said the slowdown in domestic consumption was offsetting the better performance of net exports. The report sees growth to pick up in 2015 on account of higher investments and inflation easing out. 
"A revival in the capex cycle and a sustained moderation in inflation are pre-conditions to an economic rebound, which we see as more likely in 2015," Nomura said. 
Meanwhile, rating agency Icra said it expects GDP growth to improve to 5-5.5 percent in FY15 on factoring in a normal monsoon, higher manufacturing growth and a pick-up in investment activity in second half of the fiscal.

Sensex down 44 points

Indian stock markets opened down on Monday amid weak cues from most overseas markets. Trade is expected to be choppy due to rollovers to March derivatives contract.

The BSE Sensex was trading down 44.32 points or 0.21 per cent at 20,656.43 while the NSE Nifty was down 13.25 points or 0.22 per cent at 6,142.20.Nifty is seen taking support at 6,120 points and face resistance at 6,200 points. On Friday, Nifty ended above the technically important 6150-mark at 6155.45, up 64.00 points or 1.0% from Thursday.

US stocks fell on Friday after indications from Fed officials showed that the central bank would continue tapering its bond buying programme. In a speech on Friday, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said the central bank should continue to reduce the pace of its asset-purchase programme. At a separate event, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said US economy is headed for a good year of growth and he expects the Fed to continue tapering the bond-buying programme.

In US, existing home sales dropped 5.1 per cent in January to an annual rate of 4.62 million units, the lowest level since July 2012. Cold weather and a lack of housing stock sidelined potential homebuyers in January, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday, in latest report indicating severe winter weather has dragged on economic growth.

L&T gains on receiving FIPB approval for FDI in L&T Infra

Feb-21-2014   11:27 Hrs IST

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is currently trading at Rs. 1039.65, up by 7.55 points or 0.73% from its previous closing of Rs 1032.10 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 1034.65 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1043.65 and Rs. 1034.40 respectively. So far 51973 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1152.40 on 09-Dec-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 678.10 on 28-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1036.75 and Rs. 976.10 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 96533.32 crore. The Institutions holding in the company stood at 54.56%, while Non-Institutions held 42.69% of the stake. Foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) has approved L&T Infra's FDI Proposal worth Rs 1,000 crore. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) would be making an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore in L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&TIDPL), a unit of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), via equity shares, compulsorily convertible preference shares and/or compulsorily convertible debentures. However, the quantum of stake to be sold by L&T IDPL would be determined at a later stage owing to lack of decision on pricing front. Further, after the initial investment, CPPIB would probably invest a further Rs 1,000 crore at a later date. CPPIB, which manages $201.5 billion in funds, has a strategic alliance with Piramal Enterprises for providing structured debt financing to residential projects across India’s major urban centres. It also has a strategic alliance with the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to acquire foreign direct investment (FDI)-compliant, stabilized office buildings in India’s major metropolitan centres.

Maruti Suzuki speeds up on receiving 13000 bookings for recently launched hatchback Celerio

Maruti Suzuki speeds up on receiving 13000 bookings for recently launched hatchback Celerio

Feb-21-2014   11:15 Hrs IST

Maruti Suzuki India is currently trading at Rs. 1693.50, up by 10.15 points or 0.60 % from its previous closing of Rs. 1683.35 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 1689.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1702.00 and Rs. 1687.15 respectively. So far 10386 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1864.00 on 09-Jan-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1217.00 on 28-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1733.90 and Rs. 1615.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 51196.53 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.21 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 35.45 % and 8.34 % respectively. Maruti Suzuki India, country’s largest car maker, has so far received 13000 bookings for recently launched hatchback Celerio. The company is now planning to start second shift at Manesar unit to make celerio, the waiting period of which on an average is 12 weeks. Maruti currently produces 270 units of Celerio per day. The company has revised the pricing of its recently launched hatchback Celerio in India, after the announcement of a reduction in excise duty by finance minister P Chidambaram. The Celerio, which was originally launched at a starting price of Rs 3.90 lakh, is now available at Rs 3.76 lakh. Maruti Suzuki has reported 11.06% fall in its production to 109,342 units in January 2014 as compared to 122,936 units in same month last year. Of total, the company has manufactured a 44,411 vehicles under mini segment (including Alto, A Star, Wagon R), down by 22.21%, as against 57,095 vehicles manufactured in corresponding month previous year

Bond yields edge higher in subdued session of trade

Bond yields were trading higher in subdued session of trade after central bank's announcement of term repo auctions for next month was seen reducing the prospects of bond purchases via open market operations. The Reserve Bank will conduct a 14 day term repo variable rate auction for a notified amount of Rs 39,000 crore on February 21, 2014 (Friday). The auction will be conducted as per the revised guidelines issued on February 13, 2014. On the global front, U.S. Treasury prices slipped on Wednesday as minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed members supported continued tapering of the central bank's bond-buying program in the absence of a significant change in the economy. Meanwhile, Brent crude slid towards $110 a barrel on Thursday, dragged down by a survey that pointed to slower growth in China, the world's second largest oil consumer. The yields on new 10 year Government Stock 2023 were trading 2 basis points higher at 8.79% against its previous close of 8.77% on Tuesday. The benchmark five-year interest rate swaps were trading 1 basis point higher at 8.44% from its previous close of 8.45% on Tuesday.

Thomas Cook net down 27% at Rs. 2.24 cr

Thomas Cook (India) reported a 27 per cent drop in its net profits for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. The company recorded a net profit of Rs. 2.24 crore on a total income of Rs. 84 crore against Rs. a net profit of Rs. 3.08 crore on a total income of Rs. 81.69 crore.

For the full year, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd declared a 36 per cent growth in net profit at Rs. 68.7 crore (Rs 50.4 crore) boosted by a 200 per cent increase in income from operations, which rose from Rs. 430 crore to Rs. 1,296 crore for the year ended Dec 31, 2013.

The board has recommended a dividend of 37.5 per cent.

Improving efficiency of capital is the key to growth

Whether FDI in retail or balancing needs of small scale and large-scale in manufacturing, the focus should be on improving efficiencies for economic growth, said C Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.Addressing a function to mark the release of “India Uninc” a book by R Vaidyanathan, Professor of Finance, IIM-Bangalore, which focussed on the contribution of the informal sector to the economy, Rangarajan said productivity and efficiency of capital has to improve for economic growth.

In 2007-08 when the economy grew at 9.5 per cent the investment rate was 38 per cent. But now while the investment rate is at 34 per cent growth is low. This is because efficiency of investment has been hit due to delays and inadequate critical inputs like power and coal, he said addressing the event organised by the Madras Management Association.

Allowing FDI in retail is about bringing in efficiencies in the supply chain and improving market access to the farmers. The wholesale trade needs to be revamped by allowing large-scale retail direct access to farmers to improve farmers’ income and increase efficiency of retail, he said.

Arun Duggal, Chairman, Shriram Capital, said more institutions are needed to focus on credit delivery to the unorganised and small scale businesses. S. Gurumurthy, corporate advisor and columnist, said the small scale and unorganised sector contribute to the major portion of the economy and jobs. But formal financial support is less than five per cent.

Syntel revenues up 19% at $223 mn in December quarter

Nasdaq-listed Syntel has reported a 19 per cent increase in revenues for the December quarter at $223.3 million, compared to $187.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

The increase in revenues was 6 per cent on a sequential basis, the company said. Net income for the fourth quarter was $66.3 million compared to $49.9 million in the prior-year period, the company said.

Further, during the fourth quarter, growth was primarily led by Applications Outsourcing that accounted for 78 per cent of total revenue, while Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) contributed 15 per cent.

For 2014, based on current visibility and an exchange rate assumption of 62 rupees to the dollar, the company expects to clock revenues in the range of $910 to $940 million.

Opening bell: Weak global cues likely to drag Nifty today

The Indian equity market is likely to break its winning streak today after four straight days of gains with SGX Nifty ((down 46 points at 6121)) indicating a negative opening for the 50-share index. 
Meanwhile, global cues are unlikely to add some support as the US markets sunk to session lows on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials weighed whether it might be time to drop the notion that a 6.5 percent unemployment rate would be enough to consider raising rates, indicating that officials discussed the possibility of raising interest rates sooner than expected. Higher interest rates would bolster the dollar and pressure demand for precious metals. 
European markets ended mixed while Asian markets have opened weak with trade deficit data weighing on the Nikkei. 
In other asset classes, the dollar holds firm against a basket of major currencies, drawing support from minutes of the US Federal Reserve which showed policymakers remained committed to reducing its massive stimulus at the current pace. The euro was at USD 1.3731 pulling back from seven-week highs of USD 1.3773 against the greenback. 
Meanwhile, crude prices trend mixed with Nymex trading near a four-month high at above USD 103 a barrel ahead of data from the United States and china that may give cues for fuel demand in the world's two largest oil consumers. 
And the precious metal gold bounced back after falling nearly 1 percent in the previous session.

Sanco Inds to raise Rs 4.3cr via IPO; issue opens on Feb 24

Public issue of 24 lakh equity shares of Sanco Industries will open for subscription on February 24. The company has fixed issue price at Rs 18 per equity share. The issue will close on February 26. The company manufactures wide range of products such as rigid PVC conduit pipes, PVC casing & capping, PVC/PP-R plumbing pipes, PVC insulated domestic wires & cables and copper wire rod. Issue proceeds of Rs Rs 4.32 crore will be used for expansion of capacities at existing manufacturing facility at Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the SME platform of the NSE i.e. EMERGE and traded in the SME Normal market. Keynote Corporate Services Limited are the book running lead manager to the issue. BEETAL Financial & Computer Services (P) Limited has appointed as a registrar to the issue. 

IKF Finance reports over two fold jump in Q3 net profit

The company has reported more than two fold jump in its net profit at Rs 2.89 crore for the quarter, as compared to Rs 1.32 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income from operations of the company increased by 45.30% at Rs 15.62 crore for quarter under review, as compared to Rs 10.75 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

IKF Finance is one of the leading Non Banking Finance Companies in Southern India. IKF offers a variety of services including automobile loans, working capital loans etc. The company’s primary focus is on financing the purchase of commercial vehicles. The company had also entered into partnership agreements with banks and institutions for asset management and securitization.

HMT surges 7% on govt nod for restructuring package

Shares of  HMT rallied as much as 7 percent in early trade on Wednesday following the approval of revival and restructuring package of Rs 1,083 crore by Government of India. "The revival and restructuring plans of the company includes cash infusion of Rs 425 crore against which the company has to issue of 8 percent redeemable preferential shares," the company said in its filing. In the phase I, the Government of India has released the sanctioned funds amounting to Rs 217 crore. Further, the board of directors of the state-run company on January 25 approved the allotment of fully paid-up 8 percent redeemable preference shares of Rs 100 each for a face value of Rs 217 crore in favour of President of India. That is redeemable within two years as per the terms of sanction of the investment by Government, the release said. At 09:27 hours IST, the stock was up 6.41 percent to Rs 29.05 on the BSE.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 525.65 crore in index futures and options segments

According to the data released by the NSE, the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 525.65 crore in index futures and options segments as per Thursday’s data, February 17, 2014. FIIs were buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 236.13 crore and they bought index options worth Rs 289.52 crore. In the stock segment, FII’s were net sellers of stock futures worth Rs 244.22 crore, while they sold stock options worth Rs 42.02 crore.

Kolte-Patil surges 4% on signing 2 projects in Mumbai

Shares of  Kolte-Patil Developers  gained 4 percent intraday on Tuesday after the company expanded its presence in Mumbai by signing two new redevelopment projects in Western Suburbs. "Jay Vijay CHS is the first project located at Ville Parle East, having a total plot size of 8,979 square meters with the total area of approximately 3.4 lakh square feet. The second project, Jumbo Darshan, is located in Andheri East, with a total plot size of 7,077 square meters and a total area of the approximately 2.6 lakh square feet," the company said in its filing. In Mumbai, Pune-based real estate developer had bagged its first redevelopment project on Khar-Linking Road in August 2013. "We will continue to further concentrate in Mumbai through redevelopment and we are eyeing many more such projects," Sujay Kalele, CEO said. At 11:10 hours IST, the stock was up 3.6 percent at Rs 73.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Manufacturing sector hails the budget announcements

The Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s interim budget might be called populist and unrealistic to some extent on the revenue receipt front, and difficult to achieve unless growth picks up. As many are of the view that FY15 fiscal deficit target for 4.1 percent may be revised upwards when the new government comes to power, while the assumption on tax front is termed too aggressive one. But amid all the analysis, one sector that is cheering the budget is manufacturing, Hailing the announcement of excise duty reduction for automobile sector, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel have said the move would boost the growth of the sagging industry and generate employment. In the interim budget for the next financial year 2014-15, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has reduced the excise duty on small cars and motorcycles to 8% from 12%, that on sport utility vehicles to 24% from 30%, that on mid-sized cars to 20% from 24% and on large cars to 24% from 27%. He has also announced cut in excise duty on capital goods and consumer durables. The excise duty cut will be applicable up to June 20, 2014 and prices of automobiles, including cars, sports utility vehicles and two-wheelers, are set to come down. However, the government will lose Rs 1,000-1,200 crore over the next three and a half months due to reduction in excise duty.

Jan WPI inflation eases to eight-month low of 5.05% on lower food inflation

In other good news, after Retail inflation numbers India's main inflation gauge, based on monthly WPI, too eased to eight month low at 5.05% in January as compared to 6.16% in December and 7.31% during the corresponding month of the previous. The build up inflation rate in the financial year, so far, stood at 5.17% compared to a build up rate of 5.78% in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, the reading for November WPI inflation was unchanged at 7.52%.

The decline in headline inflation figure was on account of ease in food articles, which declined by 2.7 percent to 233.6 (provisional) from 240.1 (provisional) for the previous month that dragged Primary article index, which occupies 20.12% weight in the overall headline index, lower by 1.9 percent to 238.9 (provisional) from 243.6 (provisional) for the previous month. Meanwhile, the index for ‘Non-Food Articles’  group rose by 0.1 percent to 216.0 (provisional) from 215.8 (provisional) for the previous month.

Further, Fuel & Power, having weight of 14.91%, too rose by 0.7 percent to 212.8 (provisional) from 211.3 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of LPG (5%), aviation turbine fuel and petrol (2% each) and furnace oil, kerosene, high speed diesel and bitumen (1% each).

However, the index of Manufactured Products, which occupies 64.97% of weight in the overall index, rose by 0.5 percent to 152.6 (provisional) from 151.9 (provisional) for the previous month, which took the inflation of manufacture products at three months high level.

However, in a sign of worry, Core WPI, edged higher at 3% as compared to 2.8% (M-o-M basis). Nevertheless, eight months low January WPI, besides bringing some relief to RBI would bring some cheer to Congress party-led ruling alliance, which faces an uphill battle in a general election due by May. Notably, the government in its Mid-Year review terming high inflation as biggest risk to India’s growth outlook, pressed the need for bringing down the headline inflation below 6%.

Thus, the latest reading makes a case for RBI maintaining a status quo stance in its upcoming monetary policy review on April 1, 2014. Persistently high inflation prompted RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan to raise interest rates last month, the third hike since September, even though economic growth has been stuck around a decade-low of 4.5 percent for four quarters.

Mahindra & Mahindra reports 12% jump in Q3 net profit

Mahindra & Mahindra has reported results for third quarter ended December 31, 2013. The company has reported 11.70% rise in its net profit at Rs 934.06 crore for the quarter, as compared to Rs 836.19 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the company decreased by 1.83% at Rs 10650.32 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 10848.52 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. Amongst the various business interests of its parent group, the company is mainly involved in the automobile manufacturing. It is one of the leading auto companies of India.

SBI plans merger of 5 associate banks in 18 months

Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) plans consolidation of remaining five associate banks with itself in the next 12-18 months. "The bank (SBI) envisages consolidation of all subsidiary banks with SBI within a period of 12 to 18 months," Finance Ministry informed the Standing Committee on Finance. This was in response to a query on the stance of the government on merging the subsidiaries with SBI raised by the Parliamentary panel headed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. In the submission to the panel, SBI Chairman O P Bhatt said "there are five banks remaining. We have representations from various associations, leaders etc from these five banks which want these banks also to be merged with the State Bank of India simply because it is primarily good for the employees in multiple ways".

SBI stock price
On February 14, 2014, at 12:50 hrs State Bank of India was quoting at Rs 1500.70, up Rs 1.05, or 0.07 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2469.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1452.90. The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 164.91 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 9.1. The latest book value of the company is Rs 1325.34 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.13.

Bajaj Electricals Q3 profit jumps 72% Net sales increased to Rs 1,032 crore in the quarter under review

Bajaj Electricals reported a 71.48% rise in its net profit at Rs 20.03 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 11.68 crore in the same period of 2012-13, Bajaj Electricals said in a filing to the BSE today.

Net sales increased to Rs 1,032.42 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 872.12 crore in the same period last year.

Revenues from the lighting segment stood at Rs 247.19 crore against Rs 221.57 crore, while revenues from the consumer durables segment increased to Rs 519.19 crore from Rs 504.63 crore.

Revenues from the engineering projects segment stood at Rs 266.67 crore during the third quarter against Rs 146.88 crore in the same period a year ago.

Shares of Bajaj Electricals were trading at Rs 221.20 per scrip during the afternoon trade on the BSE, up 5.64% from the previous close.

Rupee trading strong at 62.32 Vs dollar

The rupee was trading strong by 12 paise at 62.32 against the dollar at 11.58 a.m. local time.

The rupee gained 16 paise to 62.28 against the dollar in the opening trade against the previous close of 62.44 on the back of weakness in the dollar index.

On the domestic front, markets would be keenly awaiting the WPI data which is scheduled to be released today.

According to Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO of India Forex Advisors, the overall trend in rupee is bearish where 62.14 is the strong support level for the USDINR pair.

Call rates, G-secs

The inter-bank call money rate, the interest rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches, opened flat against the previous close of 9.10 per cent.

Yield on the benchmark 8.83 per cent Government security, maturing in 2023,softened to 8.84 per cent from 8.86 per cent. Bond prices rose to ₹99.85 from the previous close of ₹99.75.

Infosys chief’s daughter to invest ₹150 crore to expand hotel venture

 

Infosys CEO SD Shibulal’s daughter Shruti Manchanda, who turned an entrepreneur two years ago, is set to expand her hospitality venture.

Manchanda, who owns slightly less than one per cent stake in Infosys, which according to the current market price is worth ₹1,350 crore, plans to invest up to ₹150 crore for setting up a hotel in Kerala and a resort in Tamil Nadu.

A Columbia Business School graduate, she is currently based out of New York and is also actively involved with the management of the family’s assets through Innovations Investment Management, the single family office (SFO), which takes care of all Shibulal’s personal wealth.

Innovations Investment was formed in 2005-06 to serve as an SFO for Shibulal and his family. Over the last eight years, the company handled all the global tax and compliance issues for the family members. In terms of investments, almost 100 per cent of the assets under management were cash or cash equivalents.

Since then, it has developed a portfolio, predominantly comprising real estate assets. The company has also created an investment platform for the family in Germany. Tamara Real Estate Holding & Development is the hospitality venture of Innovations. She is also a director on the board of Tamara.

The total shareholding of Shibulal and his family in Infosys is about 2.2 per cent, which amounts to ₹4,507 crore as per today’s stock price.

N Senthil Kumar, Director and CEO ofTamara , told Business Line the company will develop properties in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, apart from expanding the existing resort in Coorg, Karnataka.

The Thiruvanathapuram property will be developed into a 108-room hotel. The Kodaikanal property will be developed into a 54-key resort. Tamara has properties in White Field near Bangalore, another one near Kochi and two more in Guruvayur and Madurai.

M&M Oct-Dec Qtr PAT may rise 5% at Rs 879.6cr: ICICIdirect

ICICIdirect.com has come out with its October-December quarter earnings estimates for the automobile sector. The brokerage house expects Mahindra and Mahindra   (M&M) to report a 11.1 percent degrowth quarter-on-quarter (up 5.2 percent YoY) in net profit at Rs 879.6 crore. Revenue of Mahindra and Mahindra is expected to increase by 18.2 percent Q-o-Q (down 2.1 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 10550.6 crore, according to ICICIdirect.com. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are likely to rise by 12.9 percent Q-o-Q (up 6.8 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 1293.1 crore. ICICIdirect.com on Mahindra and Mahindra: In this quarter, M&M's automotive segment witnessed contraction in volumes on a YoY basis. However, the festive season saw a QoQ increase of 9 percent to 129,400 units. However, the tractor segment has continued with its strong momentum and saw 32 percent QoQ growth to 78,400 units. Cost pressure and increase in discouting in automotive segment is likely to lead to a decline in margins by 50 bps QoQ to 12.3 percent. Top line and PAT is expected at Rs 10,500 crore and Rs 880 crore, respectively.

Natco Pharma’s Q3 net profit jumps 32% at ₹30 crore

Natco Pharma Ltd’s net profit increased 32 per cent at ₹30 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year ended December 31, 2013 compared with ₹22.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The total revenue of the Hyderabad-based company increased 14.5 per cent at ₹203 crore (₹177 crore). The growth was driven by a significant growth in formulations, among others. The earnings per share stood at ₹9.34 as against ₹7.20 in the year-ago period.

Natco’s scrip lost 3.14 per cent to end at ₹743.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Asian markets trade mostly higher in early deals on Friday Feb-14-2014

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading in the green in the early deals on Friday tailing the gains in the US markets, though there was concern about the Federal Reserve’s stimulus cuts, a slowdown in China and volatility in developing markets. Japanese stock market is trading weak following the yen's rise against the US dollar after the announcement on implementation of Japan’s stimulus program. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan are trading notably higher. Malaysia is up marginally, while Singapore is trading slightly weak. Shanghai Composite added 10.51 points or 0.50% to 2,108.91,  Hang Seng increased 88.24 points or 0.40% to 22,253.77, Jakarta Composite surged 11.49 points or 0.26% to 4,503.15, KLSE Composite gained 1.83 points or 0.10% to 1,818.98, Seoul Composite rose 15.23 points or 0.79% to 1,942.19 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 76.56 points or 0.90% to 8,544.26. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slumped by 254.83 points or 1.75% to 14,279.91 and Straits Times was down by 3.89 points or 0.13% to 3,036.01.

Bharti Airtel surges 2% on BSE

 

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer on the BSE in morning trade on Friday. At 11 a.m. it was quoting at Rs. 308.75 as against Rs. 302.60 at close on Thursday. This represented a gain of 2.03 per cent.

Tata Motors resumed its firm run on the bourses to quote at Rs. 381.50. This represented a gain of 1.48 per cent on its overnight close of Rs. 375.95.

GAIL (India) was trading at Rs. 356 as against Rs. 351.10 at close yesterday. This represented a gain of 1.40 per cent.

TCS held gains of 1.28 per cent to trade at Rs. 2,161.10 as against its overnight close of Rs.2,133.75.

NTPC powered up 1.15 per cent to quote at Rs. 131.65 as against Rs. 130.15 at close on Thursday.

High inflation rate - biggest risk to growth outlook: Economic Review Feb-14-2014

Presenting not so rosy picture of the economy and also echoing RBI’s views, the government in its ‘Mid-Year Economic Review’ tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday acknowledged that high inflation rate was the biggest risk to growth outlook and pressed the need for bringing down the headline wholesale price inflation (WPI) below 6%.  Besides this, it made note of limited ability of RBI had to extend monetary policy support to growth revival in the background of high inflation. On the positive side, the report noted that despite cuts in government spending, private consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation had increased, indicating that the structural reforms undertaken by the government had started to bear fruits. The document highlighted that a decisive pick-up in economic activity could be gradually expected in the Indian economy over the next few quarters. As per the review, the Indian economy grew by 4.6% in the first half of 2013-14 (Apr-Mar), compared with 5.3% in the same period of the previous fiscal. Further, the review pegged India’s 2013-14 growth at 5.0%, in line with Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) advance estimate released last month. However, it also said that it may take some more time for the economy to reach its higher growth potential.

Sensex, Nifty plunge as IIP shrinks for 3rd straight month

Stock market in India plunged sharply on Thursday. The NSE Nifty managed to close above the psychological 6000 mark. During the day, the Nifty breached the critical level for the first time since February 6, led by heavy selling in scrips across the sectors.

Barring the BSE Realty index all the other major sectoral indices on the BSE ended in the red. Today’s decline was led by the banking, capital goods, oil and gas, power and the healthcare index. 

Sentiment was dampened after the industrial production growth rate remained in the negative zone for the third month in a row, contracting 0.6% in December 2013. The manufacturing segment, which contracted 1.6% during the month, has a weight of over 75% in the index of industrial production (IIP), and has contracted for most part of the current fiscal. On the other hand, Inflation, as per the consumer price index, dropped to 8.79 percent in January from 9.87 percent in December.

Meanwhile, the ruckus in Parliament prolonged, as The Lok Sabha erupted in mayhem on Thursday when a lawmaker fired pepper spray in parliament in protest against a bill on a new Telangana state. 

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 20,193 down 255 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,001 down 83 points over the previous close.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reports 74% rise in Q3 consolidated net profit

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has reported results for third quarter ended December 31, 2013.

The company has reported 15.71% rise in its net profit at Rs 85.88 crore for the quarter as compared to Rs 74.22 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the company  decreased by 16.56% to Rs 759.63 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 910.36 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

On the consolidated basis, the group has reported 73.61% rise in its net profit after taxes and minority interest at Rs 1531.09 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, as compared to Rs 881.30 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the group has increased by 51.60% at Rs 4446.82 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 2933.33 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Hindalco Industries reports 23% fall in Q3 net profit

Hindalco Industries has reported results for third quarter ended December 31, 2013.

The company has reported 22.96% fall in its net profit at Rs 333.98 crore for the quarter, as compared to Rs 433.52 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the company increased marginally by 3.99% at Rs 7477.28 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 7189.80 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Hindalco Industries, the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, is an industry leader in aluminium and copper. The company’s aluminium units across the country encompass the entire gamut of operations from bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting to downstream rolling, extrusions, foils and alloy wheels, along with captive power plants and coal mines.

India Inc gives thumbs up to Interim Rail Budget 2014

India Inc has given thumbs up to Interim Rail Budget 2014, wherein no populist measures were announced. Appreciating government's focus on modernization and expansion of the country's vast rail network without touching passenger fares and freight rates, India Inc termed ‘Railway Budget 2014’ - a step in the right direction.

It noted that government’s focus was rightly attracting huge investments to upgrade, modernizing and expanding railways as per aspirations of people and attempting to bring in foreign direct investment (FDI). It further stated that increasing private participation, as rightly noticed by the government, seems to be the way of future development.

In the interim budget for four months in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge announced to set up an independent Rail Tariff Authority to rationalize fares. He also highlighted that there was a proposal to expand dynamic pricing of tickets in line with the airline industry.

Further, the minister announced the launch of 17 new premium trains, 39 express trains and ten passenger trains in the coming year and providing rail connectivity to Katra and Vaishnodevi in Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast.

D B Realty gets nod for scheme of amalgamation

D B Realty’s board of directors at its meeting held on February 11, 2014 has approved for the scheme of amalgamation of two of its subsidiaries viz. Gokuldham Real Estate Development Company, a company in which D B Realty holds 74.998% of the paid up capital and Real Gem Buildtech, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

D B Realty is real estate Development Company that focuses on residential, commercial, retail and other projects, such as mass housing and cluster redevelopment, in and around Mumbai.

Eicher Motors climbs on plan to invest Rs 600 crore in Royal Enfield business

Eicher Motors is currently trading at Rs. 4700.95, up by 280.55 points or 6.35% from its previous closing of Rs. 4420.40 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 4599.85 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 4884.00 and Rs. 4525.40 respectively. So far 16,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 5294.95 on 03-Dec-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 2512.00 on 28-Mar-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 4884.00 and Rs. 4405.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 12,710.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 55.12%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 25.09% and 19.79% respectively.

Eicher Motors is planning to invest Rs 600 crore in Royal Enfield business. The company would utilize the investment to expand capacity and new products of Royal Enfield. This development is much as per company’s plans of investing Rs 600 crore this year on product development and marketing initiatives.

Additionally, the company, earlier reportedly was eying to increase its market share with the introduction of its Pro series of trucks, which would be rolled out as early as next month.

Eicher Motors is one of the leading manufacturers of commercial vehicle. It has manufacturing facilities located in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Haryana.

Ashok Leyland plans to sell prime property in Chennai: Report

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja group flagship company, is reportedly planning to sell its prime property in Chennai. This is part of a plan involving sale of immovable property to tackle the high debt it is facing, following the slowdown in commercial vehicle sales. The company has put the one-acre property in the Boat Club area in Chennai for sale.

The company is looking to cut debt of Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal and has taken a slew of measures to reduce costs, which include cutting production days to five from six, lay off of 1,300 temporary workers in addition to enforcing a 5% salary cut for the executive cadre and selling stake in non-core subsidiaries.

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship company in India, is engaged in the manufacturing of commercial vehicles and related components. The company’s products include buses, trucks, engines, defense and special vehicles.