Business Line articles from July 2001

Business Line archives from July 2001

India: BILT: A good tilt?
July 31, 2001... THE move of Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) to take the 87 per cent stake or a part of it in Sinar Mas held by BILT Paper Holdings may be viewed favourably from a long-term perspective. The fact that the deal would be priced at the same level...

India: IDBI net down to Rs 181.9 cr.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. INDUSTRIAL Development Bank of India (IDBI) has reported a lower net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2001, at Rs 181.9 crore compared to Rs 223.6 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2000. The operating profit...

India: UB net falls 65%.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. UNITED Breweries Ltd has reported a 65.28 per cent decline in net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 to Rs 1.67 crore as against a net profit of Rs 4.81 crore in the same period during the previous year. Net...

India: India Cements Q1 net up 105 pc, sales decline.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. INDIA Cements Ltd more than doubled its net profit despite a drop in sales turnover for the quarter ended June 30, 2001. For the April-June 2001 period, net profit stood at Rs 11.61 crore, a 105 per cent increase over...

India: Reliance Petro Q1 net up 52 pc on higher sales.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. HIGHER sales including exports pushed up the first quarter net profit of Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) by 52 per cent to Rs 456 crore from Rs 300 crore in the corresponding previous period. Sales in the three months ending...

India: 'Subramanyam made 3 phone calls to PMO'.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. A Shiv Sena MP, Mr Sanjay Nirupam, today dragged the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) into a controversy by alleging in Parliament that the US-64 scheme's investments in Cyberspace was preceded by "three phone calls" made by...

India: BoI can move to attach Ketan assets.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. THE Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has passed an order stating that Bank of India has the liberty to file an application for attachment of movable or immovable property of Mr Ketan Parekh and associates, a bank official said on...

India: Central Bank in pact to market LIC products.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. CENTRAL Bank of India has entered into an agreement with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for distributing the products offered by the latter. "We would be identifying 100 branches to start with from where we will...

India: TVS-Suzuki Q1 net skids 47 pc.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI: TVS-Suzuki reported a net profit of Rs 10.76 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 - 47.76 per cent lower than Rs 20.60 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Net sales declined to Rs 405.03 crore (Rs 446.64 crore)....

India: Tata Metaliks targets 20 pc growth in sales.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA, July 30. TATA Metaliks Ltd (TML) has targeted a 20 per cent increase in sales during 2001-2002 against Rs 108.38 crore achieved in 2000-2001. This follows the recently completed capacity expansion exercise. Dr T. Mukherjee, TML...

India: Sinha calls for downsizing; Sushma prefers rightsizing.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Information & Broadcasting Ministry is likely to submit its report on downsizing to the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, which is the deadline fixed by the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha. Highly placed Government...

India: No separate fund for reviving sick PSUs: Joshi.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Government today said that it would not be possible to create a separate fund out of the proceeds of disinvestment to rehabilitate some of the loss-making public sector undertakings. The Minister for Heavy...

India: Sundaram Fin net down to Rs 9.12 cr.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. SUNDARAM Finance Ltd reported a lower net profit of Rs 9.12 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2001, as against Rs 10.74 crore in the same quarter last year. Income from operations stood at Rs 117.04 crore (Rs 111.91...

India: Call conference on Dr Reddy's results.
July 31, 2001... HYDERABAD: Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (DRL) has announced that its board would take on record the financial results for the first quarter of the current fiscal ended June 30, 2001 at a meeting scheduled for July 31 after the close of the...

India: Advani-Oerlikon recasts board.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. ADVANI-OERLIKON today announced it had recast its board, appointing on it directors of 'varied industry expertise'. The new directors include Mr Gulu Mirchandani, Chairman and Managing Director, Mirc Electronics, Mr...

India: IVC to buy back shares after court approval.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. IL&FS Venture Corporation Ltd (IVC), the private equity investment arm of IL&FS, has decided to buy back its shares through a court-approved scheme. The company, which is primarily involved in management of private...

India: HPCL.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 204.06 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2001 against Rs 200.63 crore for the same period last year. Net sales stood at Rs 11,400.76 crore against Rs...

India: Aptech Q2 net falls 94 pc.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Aptech Ltd has reported a 94 per cent drop in net profit during the second quarter ended June 30, 2001. Net profit dropped to Rs. 2.2 crore from Rs. 37.12 crore. Total revenues fell 42 per cent to Rs. 79.8 crore from Rs. 138.18 crore....

India: Shiv Sena MP implicates PMO.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has once again been dragged into a controversy with a ruling Shiv Sena member today alleging in Parliament that the US-64 scheme's investments in Cyberspace Infosys was preceded by "three...

India: SC sets aside Andhra Pradesh HC's interpretation of ST Act.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Supreme Court today set aside a judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court interpreting Entry 24-B of the First Schedule to the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957. A three-judge Bench comprising Mr Justice...

India: Experts lament slow pace of mine automation.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA, July 30. EVEN as the global mining industry sees the "emergence of intelligent mines with complete automation" in another 50 years, the current state of mechanisation and automation in the domestic mines sector can be described as...

India: One-time rehab plan for loss-making CIL arms.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Government is working out a one-time financial rehabilitation plan for the three loss-making subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd (CIL) - Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Central Coal Fields Ltd (CCL) and Eastern Coalfields...

India: Jindal: At the wrong end of the stick.
July 31, 2001... HAS Jindal Aluminium opened the Pandora's box by releasing an advertisement on July 25 alleging favouritism by the Union Finance Ministry in fixing the import tariff for aluminium? Is Jindal's allegation that the tariff structure favours...

India: 'US-64 will comply with SEBI norms'.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. THE US-64 scheme will voluntarily comply with the norms of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) governing mutual funds from January 1, 2002 when the scheme is scheduled to become net asset value (NAV) based. ...

India: BOC India on growth path.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA, July 30. DESPITE improvement in performance in 2000-01 over 1999- 2000, the shareholders of BOC India Ltd, at the company's annual general meeting here today, could not extract any firm commitment from the management on dividend...

India: Wockhardt Q2 net zooms to Rs 22.7 cr.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Wockhardt Ltd has registered a 71 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 22.7 crore in the second quarter ended June 30, 2001 against Rs 13.3 crore in the same period the previous year. According to the Chairman, Mr Habil F....

India: TVS Electronics.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI: TVS Electronics Ltd has reported a 39 per cent drop in the net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2001, compared to the corresponding quarter previous year. For the six months ended June 30, 2001, the company has reported a...

India: Titan Industries.
July 31, 2001... BANGALORE: Titan Industries Ltd has registered a loss of Rs 14.61 crore in the first quarter. The company had made an operating loss of Rs 9.51 crore in the first quarter of the previous year before providing for the extraordinary profit of...

India: BEL.
July 31, 2001... BANGALORE: Bharat Electronics Ltd has reported a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs 13.50 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 against Rs 9.65 crore in the same period the previous year. Profit-before-tax stood at Rs 14. 59 crore, (Rs 10.10...

India: Arvind Mills.
July 31, 2001... Arvind Mills Ltd has contained losses in the first quarter ended June 30, 2001 to Rs 67.88 crore compared to a loss of Rs 94.9 crore for the period ended June 30, 2000. However, a debt restructuring package, to which the company has not...

India: Charminar Breweries.
July 31, 2001... HYDERABAD: Charminar Breweries Ltd (CBL) has registered a significant growth both in sales turnover and net profit for the first quarter of current fiscal year ended June 30, 2001. According to unaudited financial results, the company...

India: Natco Pharma.
July 31, 2001... HYDERABAD: Natco Pharma Ltd (NPL) has turned the corner during the first quarter of the current fiscal ended June 30, 2001 by posting a nominal profit of Rs 4 lakh as against a net loss of Rs 9.58 crore in the same period the previous year....

India: Vera Labs.
July 31, 2001... Vera Laboratories Ltd, the Hyderabad-based ailing pharmaceutical company, has recorded a steep rise in its losses for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 despite having registered a growth in sales turnover. According to the unaudited...

India: Channel to co-sponsor Lakme fest.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: The Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has announced that Channel V0 will be the official broadcaster as well as the co-sponsor of the Lakme India Fashion Week 2001 to be held in Mumbai. Channel V0 will broadcast six specially...

India: Raymond's Be: for the 'complete woman'.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. RAYMOND Ltd has launched an exclusive designerwear pret line under the brand name of Be:. The launch of Be: also marks the entry of Raymond into the women's ready-to-wear market. "After much thought, we have decided...

India: Precot Mills profits slide.
July 31, 2001... COIMBATORE: The sluggish market conditions for cotton textiles, especially for cotton yarn in the export market has pulled down the financial performance of Precot Mills Ltd, which has recorded a decline in its sales and also the net profit...

India: Exporters seek mandate to hire and fire.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) has suggested to the Second National Commission on Labour that managements should have the prerogative to take decisions on the retention of workforce in an enterprise....

India: Deferred tax eats into Indian Rayon profits.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. INDIAN Rayon & Industries Ltd has ended the April-June 2001 quarter with a flat growth in net profit at Rs 9.91 crore as compared to Rs 9.83 crore in the year-ago period. The company made a provision for deferred tax,...

India: Balrampur Chini changes tack.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA, July 30. INSTEAD of fresh acquisitions, sugar major Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd will now focus more on by-product utilisation to consolidate its leadership position in the industry. Addressing shareholders at the 26th annual...

India: Nirma.
July 31, 2001... AHMEDABAD: The Nirma Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 58.63 for the first quarter of the current fiscal, down 13.3 per cent from Rs 67.6 crore for the corresponding period last year. The quarter also saw the chemicals and detergent...

India: Adani Exports.
July 31, 2001... AHMEDABAD: Adani Exports Ltd (AEL) has posted a net profit of Rs 24.52 crore for the first quarter of 2000-01, down 11.5 per cent from Rs 27.71 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. The net sales also was down to Rs 614.28...

India: Ram Info Q1 hit by US slowdown.
July 31, 2001... HYDERABAD: The slowdown in the US markets has impacted the performance of Ram Informatics Ltd, a Hyderabad- based software solutions and IT training company. Ram Informatics has recorded total sales of Rs 2.41 crore and net profit of Rs...

India: Unichem Labs.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Unichem Laboratories has registered a 63 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 8.66 crore in the first quarter ended June, 30, 2001 as against Rs 5.31 crore in the corresponding period last year. Total income has gone up to Rs...

India: Innareddy Computer Q1 sales, net up.
July 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, July 30. INNAREDDY Computer Software Associates (India) Ltd (ICSA), the city-based software solutions provider, has reported a growth both in sales turnover and net profit for the first quarter ended June 30. According to the...

India: Silverline to trim staff, salaries.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. INTENSIVE rationalisation of employee strength and centres of presence as well as a longer second look at intended acquisitions are on the cards at Silverline Technologies Ltd, as it restructures and realigns strategies to...

India: Gartner sees good prospects for India.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. THE Asia Pacific IT services market will continue to grow at 25 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2004, according to Gartner's recent dataquest review. This indicates that there is continued growth in...

India: Eonour plans US buy; to change name.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. THE Chennai-based Eonour Software Ltd has shortlisted one company in the US and one in India for acquisition. While the acquisition of the US firm would be completed in 4-5 months, that of the Indian firm would be...

India: Posts 11 pc rise in Q1 net at Rs 4 cr.
July 31, 2001... The company has reported a net profit of Rs 4.01 crore on a turnover of Rs 15.31 crore for the quarter ended June 30. This figure represents a rise of over 11 per cent on the net profit of Rs 3.61 crore on a turnover of Rs 9.51 crore...

India: Annual tech norm upgrades must for e-sign authorities.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Government has stipulated that the digital signature certifying authorities (CAs) will have to update their technical standards at least once in a year to keep pace with new standards that may emerge internationally....

India: Moser Baer Q1 net up 48 pc.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. DATA storage media manufacturer, Moser Baer India Limited (MBIL), has announced a 48-per cent increase in its net profit for the first quarter of this fiscal at Rs 45.38 crore as against Rs 30.74 crore in the corresponding...

India: Re steady; gilts range-bound.
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI: THE rupee closed steady at 47.14/15 against the dollar as against Friday's close of 47.1350/14 in a lacklustre forex market on Monday. The currency opened the day at 47.1350/1425. "The month-end demand for the greenbacks that...

India: Short-term rates poised to move higher.
July 31, 2001... CORPORATE developments took precedence over economics in the overseas foreign exchange markets last week. News that an European company was given approval to buy a US pet food company propelled the dollar higher against the euro. This was...

India: Lord Krishna Bank in Hyderabad.
July 31, 2001... HYDERABAD: Lord Krishna Bank, a Kerala-based private sector bank, opened a fully computerised branch with ATM facility at Hyderabad on Monday, taking its network to 87 branches in 11 States. In a press communique issued here, the bank...

India: Most banks cruise thru Q1 despite slowdown concerns.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. THE first quarter seems to have been a profitable one for banks as a whole. A quick compilation of the numbers reveal that the net profits of 16 public sector banks grew at 20.51 per cent while profits of 11 old private...

India: Lending norms may be relaxed for FI-banks.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. THE Government and the Reserve Bank of India are planning to include the infrastructure sector within the definition of priority sector for financial institutions that decide to convert themselves into universal banks. ...

India: IOB net profit up 11 pc at Rs 60 cr.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI: Indian Overseas Bank reported a 11 per cent growth in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, at Rs 60.04 crore. This was after providing Rs 15.97 crore towards provisions and contingencies. Operating profit was at Rs...

India: Centre 'acutely' alive to groundwater depletion.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. DEPLETION of groundwater remains a formidable problem for the country as a whole and the Centre is acutely alive to this issue and circulated a model bill to the States setting out steps to arrest the fast running down of...

India: Cheque dishonour: Stay granted for Chennai industrialist.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. THE Madras High Court has stayed the criminal proceedings initiated in the Court of the VII Metropolitan Magistrate at George Town, Chennai, against a Chennai-based industrialist by a Chennai firm under the Negotiable...

India: Kerala move on turnover tax flayed.
July 31, 2001... KOCHI, July 30. THE Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed concern over the proposed move of the Kerala Government to implement turnover tax, saying that it would have serious implications on trade and commerce in the State....

India: TN small sector seeks effective credit delivery system.
July 31, 2001... MADURAI, July 30. THE eleventh State-level annual convention of the small and tiny industries of Tamil Nadu- STICON 2001- organised by the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) ended here on Sunday recommended evolution...

India: KARNATAKA: ST on UPS, medical equipment slashed.
July 31, 2001... BANGALORE: In a minor concession, the State Government has lowered sales tax on medical equipment and UPS from 10 to 4 per cent. The Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, also announced exemption of luxury tax on silk, tax...

India: Good response to Cossipore-T'bad Concor service.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA, July 30. THE dedicated container service between Cossipore and Tughlakabad introduced by the Container Corporation of India (Concor) this June has so far evoked reasonably good support from the trade, according to Concor sources. ...

India: 'No notification on palm oil import duty cut'.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. EVEN as market rumours are rife about the Government reducing the basic customs duty on crude palm oil by 10 per cent (from the existing 75 per cent), the Finance Ministry has confirmed that it has not so far issued any...

India: 'Sugar export may top 10 lt'.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. A TOTAL quantity of 8.11 lakh tonnes of sugar has been exported from the country from October 2000 till July 23, 2001, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Mr V Srinivasa Prasad, has said....

India: TN permits TKM-9 rice transport.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. THE Tamil Nadu Government has permitted farmers and traders to transport and sell TKM-9 variety of paddy and rice outside Tamil Nadu, and has lifted the levy obligation imposed on the variety, according to a State Government...

India: Divestment panel gets new life.
July 31, 2001... THE APPOINTMENT LAST week of a new chairman of the Disinvestment Commission after a lapse of over 20 months is but a feeble attempt to stop the drift in the policy of divestment that the Centre has been pursuing in the last seven- eight...

India: Decade of corporate churning and change.
July 31, 2001... THE internal and external liberalisation measures introduced over the last decade and the dramatic changes that have taken place in the international business environment have had a far-reaching impact on Indian business. The face of...

India: Competition law on the anvil.
July 31, 2001... PARLIAMENT is all set to consider the Draft Competition Regulation Bill shortly. From a regime of over-regulation we have moved to the opposite extreme of unregulated competition among national and multinational corporations. Time was when...

India: Farm credit: Banks must be more proactive.
July 31, 2001... THE Reserve Bank of India is on the threshold of preparing a policy perspective for the next 15 years, and another committee may be constituted to develop it. Thus, it is imperative to analyse the banking industry scene since the introduction...

India: Finolex Cables, Ashok Leyland score gains.
July 31, 2001... SOME good news for the bulls at last. Aided by a good performance by some of the index constituents in the April to June quarter, the bulls on Monday managed to gain some control over the market during the course of the day. The positive...

India: Reliance provides the spark.
July 31, 2001... DALAL STREET (Up 34.36) LED by Reliance Industries, key old-economy stocks rallied smartly scoring impressive gains and aided the Sensex to stage a smart recovery on Monday, the opening day of new settlement on the Bombay Stock Exchange...

India: Poddar Pigments okays buyback.
July 31, 2001... Book closure/Record date/Dividend Company, BC/RD, Date, Purpose. Accurate Exports BC September 3 to 7 AGM Ahmedabad Steelcraft BC September 18 to 28 10% Dividend Apar Industries BC September 17 to 28 10% Dividend & AGM Aplab...

India: 3 more banks commit Rs 850 crore to UTI.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. BARELY two days before the repurchase window of Unit Trust of India's (UTI) US-64 is to be reopened on August 1, the financial support package for the beleaguered mutual fund is taking firm shape, with several more banks...

India: Manu Chhabria here to meet kin.
July 31, 2001... BANGALORE, July 30. MR Manohar Rajaram Chhabria, Chairman of the Dubai- based Jumbo Group with diversified business interests in India, arrived in Mumbai today. Mr Chhabria is on a personal visit to meet his ailing parents and is likely...

India: RPG Life: Casting away agrochem.
July 31, 2001... THE proposal of RPG Life Sciences (erstwhile Searle India) to sell the agrochemicals division may augur well from a long-term perspective for the valuation of the stock. RPG Life Sciences has reached an agreement with ISAGRO SpA to sell the...

India: Colour TVs - LG sets the pace, but BPL still tops.
July 31, 2001... CHENNAI, July 30. IF you own an LG colour television (CTV), you possess the fastest-growing CTV brand in India, though BPL is still the most dominant brand by far. These are two of the salient findings of the latest edition of the Colour...

India: Is it curtains for Godbole panel?
July 31, 2001... MUMBAI, July 30. IT could be curtains for the Godbole renegotiations panel unless Enron clears its stand on whether it intends to continue with the Dabhol power project. "If Enron wants to be out of the project, there is no sense in...

India: ITDC may diversify to boost business.
July 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, July 30. EVEN as the disinvestment of Government equity in the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hotels gets underway, its newly-appointed Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Ashwani Lohani, plans to work towards...

India: CESC Q1 loss up at Rs 40 crore.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA: The RPG-controlled power utility CESC Ltd has reported an around 160 per cent increase in its net loss in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Despite higher sales of Rs 500 crore (Rs 479 crore), CESC reported a net loss of...

India: TVS Srichakra kickstarts designer tyres.
July 31, 2001... BANGALORE, July 30. NOW it is time for designer tyres. Especially, given the slump situation, automobile companies are now going that extra mile to be on top of customers' mind. TVS Srichakra, a TVS group company, has launched colour...

India: Ex-Chhabria man to head Bacardi unit.
July 31, 2001... BANGALORE, July 30. WHYTE & Mackay India Ltd, a 51:49 joint venture between Bacardi International and Radico Khaitan Ltd, has inducted Mr Shobhan Roy as its President. He joins the company from the Kishore Chhabria-managed BDA Ltd. ...

India: Tupperware eyes No 1 direct selling slot.
July 31, 2001... AGRA, July 30. WHEN a hardcore direct selling company splurges Rs 1.5 crore within three days flat in a "celebration of womanhood", it is time to sit up and take note. Tupperware India, wholly-owned subsidiary of the US- based Tupperware...

India: 'Textile industry should use risk-tackling tools'.
July 31, 2001... COIMBATORE, July 30. GLOBALISATION has rendered businesses risk-ridden and the domestic cotton and textile industry has suffered setback because the latter could not cope with the changes in the market place, according to the President of the...

India: Be prepared for tough times ahead, refractory sector told.
July 31, 2001... KOLKATA, July 30. THE Deputy Managing Director of Tata Steel, Mr F.A. Vandrevala, has stated that the steel and allied industries such as the refractory sector are in for more difficult times ahead. According to him, "things can and are...