Mahindra & Mahindra reports 6% fall in Q1 net profit

Mahindra & Mahindra has reported results for first quarter ended June 30, 2014.

The company’s net profit has declined by 5.98% at Rs 881.78 crore as compared to Rs 937.91 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. However, its total income has increased by 2.59% to Rs 10451.41 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 10186.75 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The results for the quarter ended and year ended March 31, 2014 includes the result of the Trucks Business transferred from Mahindra Trucks and Buses Limited for the full year ended March 31, 2014 as sanctioned by Honourable High Court of Bombay which became effective on March 30, 2014.

SBI's, Q1 profit rises 3% at Rs 3349 cr

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew by 15 percent to Rs 13,253 crore in the first quarter of current financial year 2014-15 from Rs 11,512 crore in the year-ago period.

India's largest lender  State Bank of India (SBI) surprised street with the first quarter (April-June) net profit rising 3.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,349 crore on higher net interest income though it was impacted by higher provisions, tax cost and lower other income. Net profit in the year-ago period was Rs 3,241.08 crore. Analysts had expected the bank to report net profit at Rs 2,824 crore and net interest income of Rs 13036 crore for the quarter. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew by 15 percent to Rs 13,253 crore in the first quarter of current financial year 2014-15 from Rs 11,512 crore in the year-ago period with the domestic net interest margin improving sequentially to 3.54 percent from 3.49 percent. However, global net interest margin continued to saw some pressure during the quarter, down to 3.13 percent compared to 3.17 percent in previous quarter (it was at same level in Q1FY14) and 3.19 percent in Q3FY14. Other income (non-interest income) could not support profits during the quarter, declined 5 percent on yearly basis to Rs 4,252 crore from Rs 4,474.3 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal. Asset quality (overall) continued to be stable during the quarter despite marginal rise on net basis. Gross non-performing assets (NPA) slipped 5 basis points sequentially and 66 bps on yearly basis to 4.90 percent while net NPA fell 17 bps year-on-year (up 9 bps quarter-on-quarter) to 2.66 percent in the quarter gone by. In absolute terms, gross NPA of the bank declined 1.9 percent Q-o-Q (down 0.75 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 60,434 crore but net NPA increased 2.5 percent sequentially (up 6.3 percent yearly basis) to Rs 31,883 crore in the quarter ended June 2014. The public sector lender saw fresh restructuring of Rs 3,598 crore during the quarter, down compared to Rs 7,636 crore in previous quarter while fresh slippages were Rs 9,932 crore. Recoveries by the bank were Rs 3,185 crore and upgradations stood at Rs 1,362 crore in the quarter gone by, which both together were lower compared to Rs 8,843 crore in March quarter. The bank has written off loans worth Rs 6,556 crore in June quarter. Provisions dropped 30 percent quarter-on-quarter (up 72 percent year-on-year) to Rs 3,903 crore in June quarter with the provision coverage ratio at 62.7 percent at the end of June 2014. Advances of the lender shot up 13 percent year-on-year to Rs 11.989 lakh crore while deposits grew by 12.85 percent to Rs 14.19 lakh crore in April-June quarter. Tax expenses during the quarter increased by 34.5 percent to Rs 1,942 crore from Rs 1,444 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Indo Rama Synthetics Q1 EBIDTA at Rs 58.10 Crore

Indo Rama Synthetics India’s largest dedicated polyester manufacturer announced its Net Sales at Rs 705.27 Crore.

Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Limited, India’s largest dedicated polyester manufacturer, announces its audited results for the Quarter and financial Year ended June 30, 2014. For the quarter ended June 30, 2014, net sales stood at Rs 705.27 crore as against Rs 706.26 of Q1 of previous year. The EBIDTAEBIDTA for the period stood at Rs 58.10 crore. Net profit for the period stood at Rs 22.05 crore. Indo Rama has demonstrated its resilience in the challenging economic times last year in the adverse conditions and we continue to be steady despite all odds. In order to grow further from here, we have taken some cost improvement initiatives, which will further add to our competitiveness. With the Polyester prices bottoming out and rupee stabilizing, we expect the sentiments and performance to improve from here. We have been successfully able to make optimum utilization of available resources so as to keep up our operational efficiencies. We hope to see improvement in the overall economic environment that should help us perform better in the coming quarters. With the demand looking up in the coming year, we project that the following quarters will be better than the last. Commenting on the company’s performance, O. P. Lohia, Chairman & Managing Director, Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd. said, "The overall market outlook for polyester remained turbulent and uncertain in the last few quarters. High raw material cost has impacted the overall business proposition in a big manner. We remained watchful, agile and prudent and have launched several operational excellence initiatives to further enhance our operational performance in the last quarter. I am confident that with our clear strategic focus, our superior execution and our top notch team, we will be delivering better margins in the future." "The recent government announcement of levying Provisional Anti Dumping Duty on imports of PTA will have a huge impact on the margins of the Polyester Industry, which is already reeling under thin margins and will keep on suffering as competition will become more severe. The downstream industry will have to become more alert as there is no anti dumping duty on fabrics which would become expensive and the garment would also become dearer" futher he added.

Tata Steel plans to raise Rs 4000 crore via QIP

Tata Steel is reportedly planning to raise Rs 2000-4000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP). In this regard the company has appointed two banks to explore options for QIP. Recently the company had raised $1.5 billion via bond issue in July.

Earlier in April, the company intended to seek approval for increasing its borrowing limit to Rs 70,000 crore from Rs 50,000 crore, or the aggregate of the paid-up capital and free reserves of the company, whichever is higher.

The company, had net debt of Rs.70,526.27 crore as of 31 March 2014 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Tata Steel, the flagship company of the Tata group is the first integrated steel plant in Asia and is now the world’s second most geographically diversified steel producer and a Fortune 500 Company.

Aurobindo Pharma Q1 net profit at Rs4154.30 mn

Total Income is Rs. 29218.80 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 where as the same was at Rs. 17194.80 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has posted a net profit after taxes and minority interest of Rs.4154.30 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 where as the same was at Rs. 186.00 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Total Income is Rs. 29218.80 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 where as the same was at Rs. 17194.80 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. "During the quarter Agile Pharma B.V-Netherlands, a step down subsidiary of the Company has acquired select Western European business of Actavis. The stock is up 2% at Rs726.

HCL Technologies gains on bagging $250-million deal from Alcatel-Lucent

HCL Technologies (HCL), a global IT services provider, has reportedly won a $250-million deal from French telecom major Alcatel-Lucent. The deal involves the company taking up complete R&D work of Alcatel-Lucent in technologies such as 2G and 3G.

Besides, HCL will co-create intellectual property and help the French telecom major innovate in these areas. For HCL, this deal follows a spate of multi-million dollar deals that the company bagged in the 2014 fiscal.

HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company working with clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses. HCL leverages its extensive global offshore infrastructure and network of offices in 31countries to provide holistic, multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Consumer Services, Public Services and Healthcare & Life sciences.

Nestle Q2 net up 6.07% at Rs 287.86 crore

FMCG major Nestle India posted 6.07 percent increase in net profit at Rs 287.86 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

FMCG major  Nestle India  posted 6.07 percent increase in net profit at Rs 287.86 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 271.38 crore during the April-June quarter of 2013-2014. The company, which follows January-December financial year, reported net sales of Rs 2,418.91 crore in the quarter under review, up 9.29 per cent as against Rs 2,213.21 crore in the same period of previous year.

 the company is now a debt free company after paying last instalment of USD 35 million (total borrowing of USD 192 million) of external commercial borrowing in July. For the half year ended June 30 2014, Nestle India's net profit stood at Rs 547.02 crore as against Rs 550.47 crore in the same period last year. Net sales during the half-year period stood at Rs 4,732.37 crore as compared to Rs 4,461.29 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, the company said.

Bharti Airtel raises Rs.2,100 crore from share sale

Bharti Airtel Thursday raised approximately Rs.2,100 crore (about $350 million) from a share sale in Bharti Infratel to comply with a rule that necessitates listed companies to have a minimum 25 percent public shareholding, a company statement said here.

With the Offer for Sale, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel has come down to 74.86 percent, well ahead of the December 2015 timeline to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India's minimum public shareholding norm of 25 percent, it said.

Bharti Airtel was selling up to 85 million shares through the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

Brent rises more than $1 to near $107 as US approves air strikes on Iraq

Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic rose more than $1 on Friday, with Brent nearing $107 a barrel after the United States approved air strikes against Islamic militants in Iraq, raising the threat of oil disruptions from the key oil producer. 

President Barack Obama said he had authorized limited use of American air power on advancing Islamic militants in northern Iraq to protect American personnel, but had no intention of getting dragged into war there. 

Brent crude for September delivery rose $1.19 cents to $106.63 a barrel by 0328 GMT, after trading as high as $106.85 a barrel earlier in the session. The contract was on track for gains of nearly 2 percent for the week. 

U.S. crude rose 90 cents to $98.24 a barrel, after trading as high as $98.45 a barrel. 

The spread between the two benchmarks widened to $8.39 a barrel. 

Indian rupee opens at 61.60 per dollar; slips 38 paise

 The rupee dropped to its weakest level in five months on Friday morning, weighed down by geo-political tensions around the globe with concerns about the continuation of foreign fund inflows into local debt and equities also hurting sentiment.the partially convertible rupee was at 61.60/61, after  hitting 61.70, its lowest since March 5.

Asian shares tumbled as investors sought out safe-haven assets on growing fears that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could sap global growth, extending losses after U.S. President Obama said he had authorized air strikes in Iraq.

Gold gets safe-haven boost as US authorises air strikes in Iraq

Gold climbed to 2-1/2-week highs on Friday after U.S. President Barack Obama authorised air strikes in Iraq and the metal looked set to snap a three-week losing streak as global geopolitical tensions spurred safe-haven demand. 

Bullion also got a boost from a drop in Asian share prices on growing fears that conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East could sap global growth. 

Obama said he had authorised limited U.S. air strikes to blunt an onslaught by Islamic militants in northern Iraq and begun military air-drops of humanitarian supplies to besieged religious minorities to prevent a "potential act of genocide". 

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a 14-month low and the dollar slipped against the safe-haven yen, showing increasing risk-aversion in financial markets. 

Spot gold hit $1,316.80 an ounce, its highest since July 21, and at 0324 GMT was up 0.2 per cent on the day at $1,315.80. 

The metal has gained 1.7 per cent this week, its first increase in four weeks and the best week in seven. U.S. gold 

was up about $5 at $1,317.70. Gold was boosted earlier in the week after U.S. and European equities slumped due to the tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine. 

Moscow banned imports of most food from the West on Thursday in retaliation against sanctions against it over Ukraine, a stronger-than-expected response that isolates Russian consumers from world trade to a degree unseen since Soviet days.