Carmakers call for clear plan after Delhi smog crackdown

A Supreme Court decision on Wednesday to alleviate the smog-choked capital has unsettled India's car industry, which says an uneven, haphazard policy makes it hard to plan investments and allows damaging regulatory arbitrage across states.


India's carmakers and dealers called for a clear, nationwide policy to combat air pollution, after a crackdown on diesel cars and trucks in New Delhi, which campaigners have vowed to extend to other cities. A Supreme Court decision on Wednesday to alleviate the smog-choked capital has unsettled India's car industry, which says an uneven, haphazard policy makes it hard to plan investments and allows damaging regulatory arbitrage across states. "To improve the air quality ... we must take a comprehensive view of various factors causing pollution," said Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman of Toyota Motor Corp's local unit. According to the World Health Organization, 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in India. To combat this, the government is debating policies including reducing cars in Delhi or offering cash to drivers who scrap old vehicles. But the government has yet to announce a holistic policy or target more difficult causes of pollution such as generators or even motorbikes, a family vehicle for millions of middle class Indians. Wednesday's decision, the Supreme Court said in its order, would not hit "the common man". New Delhi has one of the world's worst air pollution levels, but other cities such as Patna and Kolkata in India's east and Mumbai in the west also frequently register hazardous levels. On Thursday, according to measurements taken by the US Consulate, Delhi registered an air quality index of 393 - well over the 301 level that marks "hazardous" levels. But Kolkata was "very unhealthy" at 212 and Mumbai "unhealthy" at 172 - all higher than Beijing, which was at 151. "There needs to be a clearly laid out roadmap of what the government expects from the (auto) industry for the next 5-10 years, so companies get time to adapt and respond," said Mohit Arora, executive director at consultancy JD Power Asia Pacific.

PASSAGE TO INDIA

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at India's Center for Science and Environment said the decision to ban large diesel vehicles in Delhi would trigger similar moves elsewhere, making a comprehensive solution essential. "We need a national solution to the diesel problem," she said, adding that the government should either equalize the price of petrol and diesel or tax diesel cars at a higher rate until India adopts unified, stricter emission norms. Analysts say that among those who have the most to lose from India's haphazard policies are dealers selling cars made by Toyota, Mahindra & Mahindra, Daimler AG's and Tata Motors  ' luxury arm, Jaguar Land Rover, brands who make large diesel cars. Dealers in Delhi are already trying to send about 2,000 unsold - now banned - diesel vehicles to other dealerships in India or back to carmakers, said K.V.S. Rao, president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA). "This is just a trigger, a starting point," said Rao. For Rao, a bigger worry is the call for a tax on all diesel vehicles - to be heard by the Supreme Court on January 5.

Vedanta may stop mining ops in Goa amid transport disputes

"A section of truck owners' association is demanding a rate of Rs 17.63 per km while the mining firms, already reeling under the impact of a meltdown in iron ore prices and plethora of taxes, have offered to pay Rs 8 per km," the firm said in a statement.


Mining conglomerate Vedanta  said its arm Sesa Goa may suspend iron ore mining in Goa due to the ongoing dispute between the firm and truck operators. "A section of truck owners' association is demanding a rate of Rs 17.63 per km while the mining firms, already reeling under the impact of a meltdown in iron ore prices and plethora of taxes, have offered to pay Rs 8 per km," the firm said in a statement. If mining is suspended, this will be a huge set back to the mining operations in the state that had resumed only in August this year after Supreme Court lifted its 2012 ban, the statement added. "There is no point in mining the iron ore if it cannot be transported. So it is likely that mining operations in Goa will have to be suspended till a lasting solution is reached with transporters," Sesa Goa's A N Joshi said. At present, Vedanta is the only miner that has restarted operations in Goa. While 600 truck owners who have agreed to the rate of Rs 8 per km, they are facing trouble in transporting iron ore due to protests from other operators. The problem, which started in October, has aggravated and some of the truck operators carrying the iron ore have been reportedly attacked and their vehicles were damaged, Vedanta said. "When international iron ore prices were USD 110 a tonne, we were paying Rs 11 per km. When prices were USD 40 per tonne negotiations started at Rs 6.40/tonne/km. We agreed to Rs 8 when price had dropped to USD 32 a tonne ton. However, iron ore prices have now crashed to USD 20...," Joshi said. He added that the company is all trying to arrive at an amicable solution so that mining operations in Goa do not suffer. Given the continuous attacks on the trucks carrying the iron ore, the Goa High Court had ordered the state government to provide police security to the vehicles. Yet, attacks have continued, he said. "While miners have been grappling with truck owners on the transportation charges, their problems have been compounded by timing restrictions imposed by the high court. Thus, out of 24 hours, the iron ore trucks are permitted to operate for only 9 hours," Joshi rued. Mining activities in Goa were stopped in September 2012, following the Shah Commission report on illegal mining. In November 2013, Supreme Court allowed the state government to e-auction extracted iron ore lying at jetties and mining plots. Subsequently, in April 21, 2014, the apex court lifted the ban on iron ore activities in Goa with a cap of 20 million tonnes per year.  

Tata Motors only Indian firm on top-50 global R&D list

On the annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015, prepared by European Commission, Volkswagen is followed by Samsung, Microsoft, Intel and Novartis in the top-five.


Tata Motors  has entered the top-50 league of the world's biggest companies in terms of their research & development (R&D) investments, topped by German automaker Volkswagen. On the annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015, prepared by European Commission, Volkswagen is followed by Samsung, Microsoft, Intel and Novartis in the top-five. Tata Motors has moved up from 104th position last year to 49th now and has also shown the largest increase in R&D investments on the list. However, most of this R&D is at its UK subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover. In the expanded list of the world's 2,500 top R&D firms, there are a total of 26 Indian companies, as against 829 from the US, 360 from Japan, 301 from China, 114 from Taiwan, 80 from Switzerland and 27 each from Canada and Israel. There are 608 companies from the EU countries, including 136 from Germany, 135 from the UK, 86 from France, 42 from Sweden and 32 from Italy. India is overall placed at 15th position in terms of the number of companies on the list. Among other Indian companies, Dr Reddy's Laboratories is ranked 404th; M&M 451st; Reliance Industries  ; 540th; Lupin  624th; Sun Pharma  669th; Cipla  831st, and Infosys  884th. Other Indian firms on the list include ONGC  (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation), Tata Steel  , Wockhardt  , Cadila Healthcare  , Bajaj Auto  , Hindalco  , BHEL  (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd), Piramal Enterprises  , Wipro  , Helios and Matheson , HCC (Hindustan Construction Company), Ashok Leyland  , Apollo Tyres  , TCS  (Tata Consultancy Services), Suzlon Energy  , TVS Motor  , Force India, HCL Tech  and Glenmark  . While the top five companies globally have retained their respective positions, Google has moved up to the sixth spot (from 9th), while Pfizer  has moved to 10th (from 15th). Roche, Johnson and Johnson and Toyota are ranked 7th, 8th and 9th, respectively. Tata Motors stock price On December 21, 2015, Tata Motors closed at Rs 380.30, up Rs 2.10, or 0.56 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 612.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 279.15. The latest book value of the company is Rs 78.55 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 4.84.

SBI to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by tier-II bonds

The Committee of Directors' has authorised the bank to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by way of "issue of Basel III compliant Tier-II bonds, at par, through private placement", SBI said in a filing to the BSE.


Country's largest lender State Bank of India  (SBI) today said it plans to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by issuing tier-II bonds on private placement basis. The Committee of Directors' has authorised the bank to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by way of "issue of Basel III compliant Tier-II bonds, at par, through private placement", SBI said in a filing to the BSE. SBI said the amount may be raised in a single or more tranches and the coupon rate on the bonds may be decided at the time to actual issuance. According to a Fitch Ratings report, Indian banks need USD 140 billion capital to ensure full compliance with the Basel III norms by 2018-19. The Basel III norms are aimed at bolstering banks' resilience. Basel III capital regulations are being implemented in India with effect from April 1, 2013 in a phased manner.

Sun Pharma gets warning letter from USFDA over Halol unit

The warning letter follows inspection of the facility in September 2014 by US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspectors.

Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries  today said it has received a warning letter from the USFDA over violation of manufacturing norms in its facility at Halol in Gujarat. The warning letter follows inspection of the facility in September 2014 by US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspectors. "Post the September 2014 inspection, the USFDA has withheld future product approvals from the Halol facility. This situation may continue until all issues are resolved. Sun Pharma expects to request a re-inspection by USFDA upon completion of its remediation commitments," the company said in a statement. The firm and the Halol facility will continue to supply important drug products to meet its obligations towards the customers and the patients who use its drugs in the US and around the world, it added. "Sun Pharma will respond to this Warning Letter with a detailed plan within the stipulated time frame," it said. Commenting on the development, Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said," While our team is working hard to ensure that the commitments made to the USFDA in September 2014 are fully completed, we will continue to cooperate with the USFDA and undertake any additional steps necessary to ensure that the US agency is completely satisfied with our remediation of the Halol facility." He added, "We are pledged to being cGMP compliant and are committed to continuing to supply our customers and patients across the world with quality products that meet all specifications." Sun Pharma said it had responded to the USFDA inspection observations with a "robust remediation process that is still ongoing, with significant investments in automation and training to enhance its Quality Systems".

HUL to acquire Indulekha & Vayodha brand for Rs 330 cr

The acquisition is to strengthen HUL's leadership position in the personal care segment by providing an impetus to its presence in the evolving premium naturals segment, the company said in a statement.



FMCG major HUL  will acquire premium natural haircare brands Indulekha and Vayodha from Mosons Group for Rs 330 crore in order to strengthen its personal care business. The acquisition is to strengthen HUL's leadership position in the personal care segment by providing an impetus to its presence in the evolving premium naturals segment, the company said in a statement. "The deal envisages the acquisition of the trademarks Indulekha and Vayodha, intellectual property, design and know-how, for a consideration of Rs 330 crore, payable upon closing of the transaction and a deferred consideration of 10 per cent on the domestic turnover of the brands each year, payable annually for a 5 year period commencing FY18," it added. Launched in 2009, Indulekha has a strong presence in the southern markets of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and recently forayed into Maharashtra. It had a turnover of Rs 100 crore for the year ending March 2015. Commenting on the development, HUL CEO and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta said: "The acquisition of Indulekha brings to HUL a premium brand with strong credentials around Ayurveda that will complement our existing portfolio and strengthen our presence in the Hair Care category". The transaction is "subject to fulfillment of certain conditions" and both parties will work together to complete it over the next few months. "Mosons will continue to manage the business until the completion of the transaction," the statement added.

Cipla launches generic hepatitis C drug in India

Cipla MD and Global Chief Executive Officer Subhanu Saxena said, "The launch of Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir is a further step to facilitate the optimal treatment for patients suffering from genotype 1 hepatitis C virus."


Drug major Cipla  has launched generic tablets used for treating of hepatitis C under the brand name 'Hepcvir-L' costing Rs 25,000 for a bottle of 28 tablets in India. Cipla MD and Global Chief Executive Officer Subhanu Saxena said, "The launch of Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir is a further step to facilitate the optimal treatment for patients suffering from genotype 1 hepatitis C virus." The company's product is a generic version of the S-based drug maker Gilead Sciences Inc's Harvoni tablets. "Globally, the burden of Hepatitis C is around 185 million. About 12-18 million Indians are infected with this disease," it added. Hepcvir-L is the first once-a-day, fixed dose oral combination therapy that has been approved for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 patients, Cipla said. The company's current portfolio includes over 1,500 products across therapeutic categories. Cipla was trading at Rs 646.15, up 0.62 percent, on the BSE.

ASCI upholds complaints against Airtel, HDFC, others

Customer Complaints Council (CCC) of Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) upheld 13 complaints of misleading advertisements from personal and healthcare category, seven in telecom and broadband category and six in ecommerce category during the month.



Advertising industry watchdog ASCI has upheld complaints against 54 campaigns for misleading advertisements during September, including those of Bharti Airtel  , HDFC  and Flipkart. Customer Complaints Council (CCC) of Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) upheld 13 complaints of misleading advertisements from personal and healthcare category, seven in telecom and broadband category and six in ecommerce category during the month. The CCC has upheld five complaints against leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel, in which four was for promotions of its 4G services and one was for broadband service. "The claim offer of, 'Get the same data benefits as your 3G pack and enjoy superfast 4G speeds at no extra cost; Free 4G Upgrade' was found misleading by omission of a disclaimer qualifying that the benefits offered under retail plans are not available to users under corporate plans," ASCI said in its order. It also found the claim of unlimited calls, unlimited movies, unlimited music and loads of data, offered in Airtel-4G - My Plan Infinity as "false and misleading". In another matter, the ad regulator said: "The website mentions MyPlan infinity with Airtel-4G plan has many terms and conditions and the calls are capped at 5,000 minutes per month. Therefore the choice of the term 'unlimited' was incorrect. The claim, 'Unlimited Calling, only with Airtel 4G' was false and misleading". Similarly, Bharti Airtel's claim for its broadband services was found misleading. "The claim in the advertisement,'We at Airtel are giving away exciting surprises to all our broadband users' was misleading by omission of a disclaimer qualifying conditions under which the claim is tenable for the offer," CCC said. Private sector lender HDFC Bank failed to substantiate its claim of loan approval in 15 minutes. While, e-commerce firm Flipkart was also pulled up for two of its claims by ASCI. Flipkart had on its website claimed the (Maximum Retail Price )MRP of Tek-Tron velroc safety outdoor shoes as Rs 599, while actual printed MRP on the product was Rs 499 and offered on discounted price. "This distorts facts and is therefore misleading the consumers as to actual discount being offered," CCC added. FMCG major HUL  was pulled for its Lux Scented Gold offer and Dove Elixir. HUL's claim in the advertisement, "Pehli baar scented gold jewellery chupi hai hasaro lux mein" was considered misleading. HUL's another claim for hair oil Dove Elixir that "Coconut oil penetrates only through one layer in 30 minutes via visual representation" was also found to be "false and misleading". Godrej Consumer  Products was pulled for claiming its Godrej No 1 Soap as the purest soap after it failed to substantiate comparative data of purity of its product. Philips' TVC for modular switches, in which it had shown spraying of liquid on the switches was found violating the code as it was "a dangerous practice which is likely to encourage minors to emulate such acts in a manner which could cause harm or injury".

Tata Power signs MoU with Siberian Coal Energy Company

Tata Power Company Ltd has informed BSE regarding a Press Release dated February 23, 2015, titled "Tata Power signs MoU with Siberian Coal Energy Company to indentify and evaluate opportunities in energy sector".Source : BSE

Invest in Reliance Ind with 2 years view: Neeraj Dewan

Neeraj Deewan of Quantum Securities told CNBC-TV18, "In  Reliance Industries   though downside which can come now because of the news which is floating around, we are reading everyday that is very difficult to say where it will take a bottom but if one has a one to two years perspective there is an opportunity to invest in Reliance at these levels." The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 68.33 per share. (Dec, 2014). The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 12.46. The latest book value of the company is Rs 609.11 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.4. The dividend yield of the company was 1.12 percent. Disclosure: Reliance Industries has acquired management control of Network18, which owns TV18 Broadcast and moneycontrol.com.

Monnet Ispat & Energy wins coal block in Chattisgarh

Monnet Ispat & Energy  on Sundaybagged one coal block in Chhattisgarh on the last day of the auction, bringing down the curtains on the first phase of coal auctions that will fetch the states over Rs 1 lakh crore. "Monnet Ispat, highest bidder at Rs 2,619 (per tonne) for Gare Palma IV/7 (coal mine)," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup tweeted. In another tweet, he said, "Coal block auction releases a value of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Includes the benefit of around Rs 37,000 crore of tariff reduction." And further tweeted that "Rs 1.09 lakh crore of e-auction amount and Rs 12,800 crore to go to states in the next 30 years". The government was successful in selling all the 19 mines in the first lot of auction which began on February 14. Hindalco Industries   has bagged the maximum number of mines in the first phase of auction, winning three that includes two in Chhattisgarh and one in Jharkhand. In the entire auction, the lowest closing bid price was Rs 108 per tonne for the Gare Palma IV 2 & 3 coal blocks in Chhattisgarh won by Jindal Power Ltd, while the highest closing bid price was Rs 3,502 per tonne for Gare Palma IV/5 coal mine in Chhattisgarh alloted to Hindalco Industries. Gare Palma IV-7 mine in Chhattisgarh, earmarked for the non-power sector, was the most sought after one in the current lot put on auction in the first tranche. The mine was earlier alloted to Raipur Alloys & Steel Ltd (Now Sarda Energy and Mineral Ltd). The Coal Ministry had earlier shortlisted 12 technically qualified bidders for the mine. Besides Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd, other companies that were in the race for the coal blocks include Balco, Hindalco, JSPL and Jaiprakash Associates. Gare Palma IV-7 mines has extractable reserves of 52.98 million tonnes (MT). The second round of auction in which government has put on sale 21 mines will begin from February 25. After sale of 16 blocks, Swarup had said: "The e-auction amount is Rs 83,662 crore. But these blocks will also entail an income to the states by way of royalty which comes to Rs 12,801 crore". The companies that have bagged 19 blocks include Reliance Cement, GMR Chhattisgarh, Hindalco, Sunflag Iron and Steel , Jaiprakash Associates  , Jaiprakash Power Ventures, OCL Iron and Steel  , Bharat Aluminium, Essar Power MP, Jindal Power and UltraTech Cement

Working on new tractor platform called Dhruv: Pawan Goenka

Mahindra & Mahindra  has major plans to expand its tractor portfolio in India. The company first plans to launch the variants of its recently launched Arjun Novo tractor this financial year, followed by completely new platforms. In an interview to CNBC-TV18’s Alexander Mathew, Pawan Goenka, ED & President - Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, M&M, said the company is working on a brand new platform called Dhruv, which will be launched sometime towards the end of next year. “It is a platform that will give us a stronger presence in the horsepower segment. There’s another product that we're working on for a year later. So we would have three new platforms in the tractor segment, that’s on the Mahindra brand,” he said. On the Swaraj brand, Goenka said the company will have one launch in FY16. “And that will be a brand new tractor for Swaraj and an entry into a new segment,” he added.

After coal, spectrum auction may fetch over Rs 1 lakh cr

Based on the reserve price, the government estimated to garner over Rs 82,000 crore from the sale of radiowaves for providing 2G as well as 3G services. At the minimum or auction start price for the 2,100 Mega-Hertz band or 3G spectrum, government would garner at least Rs 17,555 crore


With telecom operators depositing a huge Rs 20,435 crore as earnest money for spectrum auction, government is set to garner over Rs 1 lakh crore from sale of radiowaves, after generating similar amount through sale of coal blocks. For the entire amount of spectrum put on auction, an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 12,000 crore could have been enough but telecom operators have deposited Rs 20,435 crore, which shows that fierce bidding is likely in the auction, official sources told PTI. "The EMD amount, which is the highest so far, shows that there is high demand of spectrum and we are looking forward to a successful spectrum auction," a Department of Telecom official said. Based on the reserve price, the government estimated to garner over Rs 82,000 crore from the sale of radiowaves for providing 2G as well as 3G services. At the minimum or auction start price for the 2,100 Mega-Hertz band or 3G spectrum, government would garner at least Rs 17,555 crore. The reserve price for auction of 2G spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 Mhz and 1800 MHz bands will fetch the government Rs 64,840 crore. With the record EMD, the final earnings could be more than Rs 1 lakh crore, sources said. Till Saturday, sale of 18 coal blocks to different companies through auction had generated an estimated over Rs 1 lakh crore for respective states. The official added that the quantum of spectrum is lower than last time, but the EMD is higher which raises hopes of garnering over Rs 1 lakh crore from auction scheduled to start from March 4. RJio has submitted the highest EMD of about Rs 4,500 crore, followed by  Bharti Airtel  Rs 4,336 crore,  Idea Cellular  Rs 4,000 crore, Vodafone Rs 3,700 crore,  Tata Teleservices Rs 1,500.25 crore,  Reliance Communications  Rs 1,175 crore, Uninor Rs 724.95 crore and Aircel Rs 500 crore, sources said. For last auction conducted in February 2014, government received EMD of Rs 8,759.75 crore from eight companies. In 2010, nine telecom companies jointly submitted EMD of Rs 3,515 crore for 3G auctions and 11 companies Rs 2,291.25 crore for broadband wireless access spectrum that can be used for 4G services. In November 2012 auction, government received EMD of Rs 3,382.5 crore from eight companies for spectrum auction. For CDMA auction conducted in 2013, the lone bidder Sistema Shyam gave EMD of Rs 613.75 crore.

Axis Bank appoints Srinivasan Vishvanathan as additional independent director

With reference to the earlier letter dated February 11, 2015 pertaining to intimation of appointment of Shri. Srinivasan Vishvanathan as an Additional Director with effect from February 11, 2015, AXIS Bank Ltd has now informed BSE that his appointment is as an Additional Independent Director. Accordingly, with the addition of above mentioned Director, the total Board strength of the Bank increases to thirteen Directors which include seven Independent Directors, including Shri Vishvanathan, the most recent addition.Source : BSE 

Sun Pharma maintains 13-15% FY15 topline guidance: CFO

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the company’s third quarter performance and the outlook going forward, Uday Baldota, CFO,  Sun Pharma  said they are hopeful of meeting the FY15 topline growth guidance of 13-15 percent and are not changing the guidance at the moment. The company has grown faster than the market in India and would be focused on research and development (R&D) spends going forward. Margins in Q3 were high on back of high Taro margins and because of few products in the US. The company is eagerly waiting for the Punjab & Haryana High Court (HC) approval for the  Ranbaxy nerger, said Baldota.

Feb 18, 2015, 01.15 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com Tata Motors up 2% despite weak JLR Jan sales; MS overweight

Shares of  Tata Motors gained 2 percent intraday on Wednesday even after its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sales were below estimates in January. Sales of the luxury brand declined by 5.44 percent to 36527 units in January as compared to 38631 units in the same month last year. “The reduction is more than explained by the sales run out of the Land Rover Freelander model while retails of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport will start this month in some markets,” the company said. However, Morgan Stanley remains overweight on the stock as it believes that current trends will reverse once new models start ramping up. The brokerage also believes that model transition led to weak JLR January sales. In the passenger vehicles category, the global sales last month were at 49,821 units as against 50,042 units in January 2014, Tata Motors said in a statement. At 13:01 hrs Tata Motors was quoting at Rs 583.00, up Rs 9.05, or 1.58 percent on the BSE

Mahindra offers proactive upgrade of airbag software

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has informed BSE regarding a Press Release dated February 17, 2015 titled "Mahindra offers proactive upgrade of airbag software in keeping with its customer-centric approach". Mahindra and Mahindra announced the upgradation of the side curtain airbag software on all the XUV500 vehicles manufactured on or before July 2014. Source : BSE

ITC to acquire J&J's Savlon and Shower To Shower brands

FMCG major  ITC  has entered into an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to acquire its brands, 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower', in India. This acquisition will be ITC's first purchase in the personal care segment. "The company entered into asset purchase agreements with Johnson & Johnson Ltd, India & Johnson & Johnson Pte Ltd, Singapore yesterday for purchase of 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' trademarks and other intellectual property, respectively, primarily for use in India," ITC said in a BSE filing. Savlon is an antiseptic brand while Shower To Shower is a personal care product brand. These agreements are subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory permissions as may be necessary, it added. During the third quarter ended December 2014, ITC reported 10.47 percent rise in net profit at Rs 2,635 crore as against a net profit of Rs 2,385.34 crore in corresponding quarter a year earlier. The Kolkata-headquartered firm's net sales increased by marginal 2.05 percent to Rs 8,800.22 crore as against Rs 8,623.11 crore in the same period last year. Earnings from the company's FMCG business, including cigarettes, increased by 4.23 percent to Rs 6,456.06 crore, while that from the non-FMCG business grew 0.31 percent to Rs 9,582.95 crore. ITC shares were trading 0.30 percent up at Rs 371.70 apiece during morning session on the BSE.



On February 18, 2015, ITC closed at Rs 392.50, up Rs 2.95, or 0.76 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 401.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 311.10. The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 11.91 per share as per the quarter ended December 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 32.96. The latest book value of the company is Rs 32.84 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 11.95.

Essar bags Tokisud North coal block for record Rs 1110/tn

Essar Power has won the Tokisud North coal block in Jharkand for Rs 1,110 per tonne. This is a record for blocks awarded to the regulated power sector. The block, which has reserves of 51.97 million tonne, was earlier allocated to GVK . Essar plans to use coal from the mine for its Mahan power plant. At the time of filing this report, bidding for Gare Palma IV/5 was still on. Bidding had reached Rs 2,050 per tonne, with bidders being Monnet Ispat , Balco, Hindalco , Sesa Sterlite  among others.

Controlling shareholders to sell $300m HeroMoto shares

Controlling shareholders of Hero MotoCorp Ltd  , India's biggest maker of motorcycles and scooters, plan to sell USD 300 million worth of shares later in the day, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. Brij Mohan Lal Om Prakash would sell nearly 7 million shares in India's biggest maker of motorcycles and scooters in open market transactions on Wednesday, the term sheet for the deal showed. The block deal if successful would pare the promoters' stake to 36.92 percent from 39.92 percent. The shares are offered at an indicative price band of 2,664 rupees to 2,720 rupees, the term sheet showed, a discount of as much as 5 percent from its Monday's closing price of 2,805 rupees. Kotak and Barclays are the bankers to the deal, the term sheet added.


On February 18, 2015, Hero Motocorp closed at Rs 2663.45, down Rs 142.8, or 5.09 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 3271.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 1907.00. The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 123.37 per share as per the quarter ended December 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 21.59. The latest book value of the company is Rs 280.43 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 9.50.

7 Sensex cos add Rs 53,841 cr in market valuation

While SBI, HDFC Bank, ITC, RIL, Infosys, Coal India and ICICI Bank made gains in market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday last, TCS, ONGC and HDFC suffered losses.

Led by  SBI  and HDFC Bank  , seven out of top 10 Sensex companies saw their combined market valuation rising by Rs 53,841 crore last week. While SBI, HDFC Bank, ITC  , RIL , Infosys  ,  Coal India  and  ICICI Bank  made gains in market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday last, TCS  ,  ONGC  and  HDFC  suffered losses. Among 10 Sensex toppers, the m-cap of SBI surged the most by Rs 12,467.77 crore to Rs 2,29,235.27 crore. HDFC Bank's valuation soared Rs 11,281.92 crore to Rs 2,66,838.24 crore and that of Coal India climbed Rs 8,432.35 crore to Rs 2,38,442.76 crore. The market cap of ICICI Bank jumped Rs 8,134.69 crore to Rs 1,99,225.69 crore and Infosys added Rs 7,700.51 crore to Rs 2,63,735.19 crore. ITC's valuation rose by Rs 3,639.95 crore to Rs 3,02,436.10 crore and that of RIL went up by Rs 2,183.97 crore to Rs 2,96,761.76 crore. On the other hand, ONGC lost Rs 9,453.82 crore to Rs 2,90,801.11 crore from its market valuation and that of TCS slipped Rs 7,315.85 crore to Rs 4,97,252.48 crore. Similarly, the m-cap of HDFC fell by Rs 1,729.65 crore to Rs 1,99,459.54 crore. In the ranking of top-10 firms, TCS retained its numero-uno position followed by ITC, RIL, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Infosys, CIL, SBI, HDFC and ICICI Bank. Over the past week, the benchmark BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 377 points at 29,094.93

GAIL to consider interim dividend on February 26, 2015

Gail (India) Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on February 26, 2015. Interim dividend for FY 2014-15, if so considered and approved by the Board in the meeting.



Gail (India) Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on February 26, 2015. Interim dividend for FY 2014-15, if so considered and approved by the Board in the meeting.Trading Window for dealing in securities of the Company shall remain closed for Directors and Designated Employees of the Company for the period February 19, 2015 to February 27, 2015.

Rs 7,500cr rights issue proceeds to go for CV launch: TaMo

Tata Motors   intends to utilise Rs 7,500 crore, which it plans to raise via a rights issue, to fund various activities, including introduction of more than 100 new commercial vehicles over the next three years and passenger vehicles on a new modular platform from FY 2016-17. The company, which is seeking shareholders’ approval through postal ballot for raising funds up to Rs 7,500 crore through a rights issue of ordinary shares, also intends to use the funds to expand in international markets. “The rights issue proceeds are expected to be utilised to finance a portion of the ongoing capital expenditure, including product development expenses; invest in subsidiaries to support future growth opportunities in India and abroad,” Tata Motors said in a filing to the BSE. The funds would also be used to strengthen capital structure by deleveraging the balance sheet to build financial flexibility; partly correct the accumulated mis-match between the long term sources and application of funds; meet issue expenses; and general corporate purposes, it added. Elaborating on the new product development plans in the commercial vehicle (CV) space, the company said major actions planned include “over 100 new products/ variants for domestic and international markets over the next three years, launch of the Ultra range of trucks and broadening the Prima portfolio for market competitiveness.” Besides, the company is looking to develop a product portfolio in the passenger vehicles segment until 2020, with the introduction of two or three new products each year. Other initiatives planned include eight improved and enhanced vehicles across five key brands over the next two or three years and “products offered on a new modular platform from FY 2016-17”. The company is also looking to enhance the purchase experience at dealerships and improved service quality. The Mumbai-based company is also looking to add more than 40 new products over the next five years in the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business. Further, it aims to increase the JLR manufacturing capacity in the UK, expand operations in China, Brazil and potentially other markets and de-risk the business by setting up its own engine plant in the UK. Besides, the company is looking at expansion of commercial and passenger vehicle operations in Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea as well as penetration of new export markets for India business, including Australia, Philippines and Vietnam. Tata Motors shares were trading 0.23 per cent up at Rs 590.50 apiece during afternoon session on the BSE.

Sesa Sterlite Q3 profit slips 15%, Cairn & tax costs hurt

London-listed Vedanta Resources Group company  Sesa Sterlite  beat street expectations on bottomline and operating front while topline was in line. Consolidated profit fell 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,587.5 crore, impacted by Cairn earnings, higher tax expenses, power & fuel and depreciation costs. However, forex gain, other income and lower finance cost led support to the bottomline. Consolidated total income declined 1.6 percent to Rs 19,219 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 19,523 crore in same quarter last fiscal, dented by lower oil & gas and copper revenue. Sesa's profitability is solely driven by  Hindustan Zinc  and  Cairn India  as the company owns 59.9 percent stake in Cairn and 65 percent in Hindustan Zinc. Even both these companies contribute around 75-80 percent of the total EBITDA of the company. Cairn India's profit dropped 53 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,350 crore and revenue plunged 30 percent to Rs 3,504 crore during the quarter due to lower realisation. Crude oil prices fell more than 50 percent since June 2014. Hindustan Zinc recorded a 38 percent growth in profit and 12 percent in revenue in Q3. According to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit was expected at Rs 1,480 crore on revenue of Rs 19,300 crore for the quarter. "Copper revenue plunged 11 percent to Rs 5,865 crore while zinc & lead (India) business clocked 14.6 percent growth at Rs 3,500 crore and aluminium showed 35 percent growth at Rs 3,502.5 crore compared to a year-ago period," said the company in its filing. Consolidated operating profit declined 6.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 6,147 crore and margin slipped 170 basis points to 32 percent in the quarter gone by. Analysts had estimated operating profit at Rs 5,880 crore and margin 30 percent for the quarter. Sesa earned forex gain of Rs 393.2 crore during the quarter. Other income increased 10 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 429 crore while finance cost declined 13 percent to Rs 1,329.3 crore. Tax cost for the quarter stood at Rs 477.6 crore against writeback of Rs 138.5 crore in same quarter last year. In Q3FY15, deletion, depreciation and amortisation expenses (including goodwill) jumped 16 percent on yearly basis to Rs 2,327.9 crore, power & fuel charges climbed 13.6 percent to Rs 2,105 crore and other expenses spiked 6.8 percent to Rs 3,927.2 crore.

Fresh slippages Rs 200 cr; to sell assets to cut NPAs: SBBJ

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur   is planning to sell some assets over the next couple of months to reduce NPAs on its books, Jyoti Ghosh, Managing Director said in an interview to CNBC-TV18. Ghosh said the bank’s restructured loan pipeline is around Rs 400 crore, and there were fresh slippages of around Rs 200 crore during the December quarter. The bank’s total NPAs and restructured assets stand at 13 percent of the loan book. In absolute terms, restructured assets for the financial year so far stand at Rs 256 crore. The bank took a hit on a loan account of around Rs 300 crore. The bank says its retail loan portfolio is under control. SBBJ’s third quarter net profit rose 7.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 163.4 crore, and net interest income rose 2.2 percent to Rs 747.6 crore. The bank's net interest margin stood at 3.47 percent.

Reliance: Clarification sought from Reliance Industries Ltd

The Exchange has sought clarification from Reliance Industries Ltd with respect to news article appearing in The Economic Times on January 29, 2015 titled "RIL and BP to Invest Rs.6K cr to Improve D6 Recovery." The reply is awaited.Source

NTPC Q3 profit rises 7.4% to Rs 3,074 cr, revenue flat

TPC's profit after tax grew 7.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,074 crore during October-December quarter. Steep fall in tax cost supported the bottomline but lower other income and higher finance cost restricted profit growth


NTPC  's profit after tax grew 7.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,074 crore during October-December quarter. Steep fall in tax cost supported the bottomline but lower other income and higher finance cost restricted profit growth. Net sales was almost flat at Rs 18,739 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 compared to Rs 18,779.4 crore in the year-ago period. Other income of India's largest power generation company fell 36 percent year-on-year to Rs 481.3 crore in the third quarter of FY15 while finance cost increased 16.6 percent to Rs 700.8 crore from Rs 601 crore during the same period. Tax cost was dropped 87.7 percent to Rs 112.8 crore during the quarter from Rs 918.2 crore in same quarter last fiscal. At 15:20 hours IST, the scrip of NTPC was quoting at Rs 143.65, up Rs 1.80, or 1.27 percent on the BSE.

HDFC Bank, Lupin up on hopes to rake in more foreign moolah

Shares of both  HDFC Bank  and  Lupin  jumped 2 percent intraday Thursday on hopes of raking in more foreign moolah. The private bank has got Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs’ (CCEA) nod to raise up to Rs 10000 crore via foreign investment and is allowed to limit foreign holding in the company upto 74 percent of the total paid-up capital. Brokerages are bullish on the private bank calling it a positive move. Jefferies maintains a buy rating on the stock with an increased rating of Rs 1255 per share. "With foreign limit at 74 percent  and foreign ownership at 73.4 percent, technically, the issuance can be slightly ahead of the 74:26 split. Management, however confirmed that they won't use this capital issue to issue more rupee shares to create foreign headroom. We concur, as the size of issue is unlikely to move the ownership needle much, even as greater FII ownership implies better price realisation (ADRs and FII board trades at a decent premium over local shares),” it says in a note. Nomura also reiterates a buy rating with hopes that Rs 10000 crore dilution will be 12 percent book value-accretive. "While at current Tier-1 levels of 11.8 percent (Q2FY15) there is no pressing need for a dilution, some pick-up in retail loan growth and higher threshold levels of equity capital under Basel III possibly explain a potential dilution," it explains. Meanwhile, Lupin touched record high at Rs 1539 per share as the CCEA has allowed itto increase in FIIs investment limit to 49 percent from 33 percent, which would result in foreign investment of around Rs 6099 crore in the country. At 10:39 hrs HDFC Bank was quoting at Rs 1,074.75, up Rs 16.65, or 1.57 percent and Lupin was quoting at Rs 1,537.30, up Rs 23.95, or 1.58 percent on the BSE.

Expect spreads, NIMs to remain stable going ahead: HDFC

Housing finance company HDFC   reported third quarter numbers which were bang in-line with estimates. Net interest income was up 14.4 percent year-on-year and profits saw an uptick of 11.5 percent. CNBC-TV18’s Ritu Singh caught up with Keki Mistry, vice-chairman & CEO, HDFC, after the earnings announcement. 

Russia's impact not fully played out in Q3: Dr Reddy's

Dr Reddy's Laboratories beat street expectations on both topline and bottomline but operating performance was below estimates. Consolidated net profit of the drug maker fell 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 574.5 crore, impacted by weak operational performance and higher R&D expenses.


Dr Reddy's Laboratories  beat street expectations on both topline and bottomline but operating performance was below estimates. Consolidated net profit of the drug maker fell 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 574.5 crore, impacted by weak operational performance and higher R&D expenses. Consolidated revenue grew 8.7 percent to Rs 3,843 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 3,533.8 crore in the year-ago period, driven by PSAI and global generics businesses. Discussing the numbers, Abhijit Mukherjee, COO of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, said the company has done well in Russia, posting a volume growth of 30 percent in local currency terms, and the whole impact of currency devaluation has not fully played out. He however feels the Russain market looks challenging currently.

 Q  Can you start by taking us through Russia because the decline was just about curtailed to a nine percent decline on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Can you just tell us what the on ground situation was and what is your expectation going forward? Do you think that the currency devaluation that we have seen is more or less factored in terms of your on ground operations? 

A: It is a very tough time in Russia although we have done very well. The volume growth has been very good in terms of local currency. We have grown by about 30 percent in Russia which has mitigated to a large extent the devaluation of the currency. Having said that the whole thing has not fully played out because there are some hedges which will run out by the end of the year and probably next year we will get little larger hit but the market overall we are doing quite well in terms of units as I said and which plays out in terms of mitigating part of the negatives because of the currency fall out.


 Q  So would that mean that Russia will continue to decline going into next quarter and maybe it could show a steeper                  decline than what you posted this quarter. Is that how we should read it?

A: In constant currency term it is very difficult to arrest the downfall. The Ruble which used to be in the range of Rs 33-34 per dollar is somewhere in the 60s and it is a massive change. Of course to a certain extent we are naturally hedged because it is a branded market but that doesn’t take away the whole impact. The thing which we will be looking forward to is robust growth in our business and some case to case price corrections in non-essential items which we will have to take. So, with that we will try and manage but certainly this is going to be a little challenging period overall but we are encouraged with our own performance in the market compared to a lot of other competitors.

 Q  82 percent growth is what you have reported on a YoY basis. Is Venezuela contributing a lot more and what have been        the other growth drivers in this market?

A: Yes, Venezuela has done extremely well. There are risks in this market but any risk is accompanied with opportunities as in life and we are doing the best of the opportunities at the moment in Venezuela because the brands are well accepted. There are a lot of companies who are nervous in terms of the country, the way it is panning out. We think that since medication is for the patients and we will continue to sort of deliver, we are backward integrated and hence our supply chain is well placed and we stay committed to the country. January 22 Nicolás Maduro Moros mentioned that food and pharma would probably fall in one category of currency exchanges; in Venezuela there are three different rates of currency. So, this would remain in one specific and the fact that food and pharma is clubbed in one group we take that as a positive. We stay committed to the country. Having said that, there are risks and there are challenges.

Coal India slips 4% as OFS opens; brokerages bet on it

Shares of  Coal India  slipped 4 percent in early trade on Friday as its offer-for-sale (OFS) opens today. The floor price of OFS is fixed at Rs 358/share, a discount of around 4.5 percent from Thursday closing price. The government will divest upto 10 percent stake via OFS, by selling 31.58 crore shares with an option to sell additional 31.58 crore share. Brokerages are mixed on the stock with Edelweiss upgrading it to buy with a target price of Rs 442 per share. It feels that volumes push and government’s sharp focus on doubling CIL’s production by FY20 will bring cheer to the stock. Edelweiss also says that saving from low diesel prices to aid margin expansion as every Rs 1/litre drop in fuel cost saves Rs 100 crore for Coal India. Nomura has a buy rating with a target of Rs 443 per share. "As has historically been the case, we believe Coal India may well consider declaring an interim dividend next month. As investors who buy stocks in the upcoming OFS would be allocated shares on February 2/3, prospects of an imminent interim dividend may well act as a sweetener,” Nomura says. However, JP Morgan is underweight on the stock with a price target of Rs 325 per share as given the stake sale there is less room for a repeat of last year’s dividend. “There is no explicit dividend policy in place and hence predicting dividend is difficult. However, the combination of a stake sale and potentially lower dividends should result in the stock being under pressure,” it says in a note. At 09:28 hrs Coal India was quoting at Rs 363.60, down Rs 11.55, or 3.08 percent on the BSE. 

BHEL commissions 600 MW Thermal Unit in Odisha

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has informed BSE regarding a Press Release dated January 29, 2015, titled "BHEL commissions 600 MW Thermal Unit in Odisha"

RBI Dy Guv welcomes Airtel, KMB tie-up

With speculation that a host of telcos, including the state-run BSNL, Vodafone and Telenor are interested in entering the differentiated banking fray, RBI deputy governor HR Khan also hinted that more such tie-ups might be in the works.



Welcoming the tie-up between country's largest mobile telephony player Bharti Airte l and  Kotak Mahindra Bank  for a payments bank, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor H R Khan has said such partnerships are crucial for the success of differentiated banks. "If they have cost effective framework, use mobile and telco network, then they (small finance banks and payments banks) can be successful, otherwise the space is becoming rather overcrowded (with commercial banks)," Khan said, addressing an event organised by ETNow last evening. The deputy governor also welcomed the deal between Airtel and KMB, saying the RBI has been pushing for such tie-ups for long. "We have been trying for tie-ups for quite some time, not many experiments have really fructified but one should be encouraged by this initiative. The commercial viability and the business proposition of banks, if married to distribution and technology of telcos, can work wonders for financial inclusion," Khan told reporters. With speculation that a host of telcos, including the state-run BSNL, Vodafone and Telenor are interested in entering the differentiated banking fray, Khan also hinted that more such tie-ups might be in the works. "I presume so. I am hopeful and the buzz I get is that quite a few people are excited both for the PB and SFB," he said, when asked about other partnerships. Under the KMB and Airtel tie-up announced yesterday, the banking entity will have 19.90 per cent stake in the payments bank, once it is granted the licence. The RBI kick-started the process of differentiated banking with the release of the final guidelines for small finance banks and payments banks. The last day for applying for interested parties has been extended till February 2 and the RBI has promised to eventually grant licenses "on tap." The PBs are aimed at encouraging savings and help with the remittances, while the SFBs will be small-ticket lending in a smaller area of operation.