Delphi & Varroc ties-up for OE market in India
DELPHI Corp and India’s Varroc group has announced a strategic alliance to build motorcycle catalysts for the Indian motorcycle original equipment (OE) market.
Delphi has a long history in the global design and production of motorcycle catalysts while Varroc manufactures parts for motorcycle and passenger car equipments such as plastic-moulded components, engine valves, forgings, starter motors and electronic ignition systems.
The alliance - Varroc Exhaust Systems Pvt Ltd - will enable harnessing of their respective expertise, facilities and resources to set up a motorcycle catalyst manufacturing plant in the Varroc facility in Pune and help meet current motorcycle emissions standards in India.
Delphi will provide the catalyst technology and manufacturing equipment.
SAIL approves new slab cluster for Bhilai
THE board of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has approved the proposal for setting up a new slab caster with associated facilities for second steel melting shop (SMS II) at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) with an estimated cost of Rs 520 crore.
The new single-strand slab caster is expected to have a capacity of eight lakh tonnes per annum (TPA) that would help the plant to produce value added/special quality of steel besides ensuring higher utilisation the converters.
The installation of the slab caster with associated facilities such as RH degasser and ladle furnace will further augment Bhilai Steel Plant’s capabilities to produce high quality plates and rails conforming to the stringent specifications for Indian Railways. The addition of a new caster along with associated facilities for secondary refining to the existing facilities of three slab casters, one combi caster and one bloom caster, will enable the shop to enhance steel production.
Ranbaxy gets temporary FDA nod
RANBAXY Laboratories Ltd has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market glimepiride tablets, 3 mg and 6 mg used for treatment of diabetes.
The total annual market sales for Aventis Pharmaceuticals’ Amaryl tablets were $336.6 million. Glimepiride is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to lower the blood glucose in patients with non-insulin-dependent (Type II) diabetes mellitus whose hyperglycemia cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone.
HM-Mitsubishi to expand business in India
MITSUBISHI Motors Corporation of Japan one of the biggest brands in the automobile segment is all set to expand its operations in India jointly with Hindustan Motors Ltd.
Hindustan Motors now makes Mitsubishi’s Lancer sedan and assembles the Pajero sports utility vehicle, at its plant on the outskirts of Chennai. According to the agreement the two companies will work together in “driving forward MMC (Mitsubishi Motors Corporation) business strategy in India“. Hindustan Motors is also expected to explore the possibilities of supplying Mitsubishi with automotive parts made in India.
Hindustan Motors would start producing another model in the Lancer range in January 2006. Hindustan Motors would also add other Mitsubishi models such as Pajero, Outlander and Grandis to its line up of imported built-up models. All these brands would be sold through Hindustan Motors’ sales network. In 2004, Hindustan Motors sold about 2,200 units of the Lancer and Pajero.
Reliance buys AMP Sanmar
Reliance Life Insurance a susbsidiary of Reliance Capital Ltd. has bought AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Company.
The proposed acquisition is expected to mark the immediate entry of Reliance Capital Ltd. into the exciting growth area of life insurance in one of the world’s fastest growing and most under-served markets. Reliance Capital Ltd. already has a subsidiary, Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd, which is present in the non-life insurance business.
AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Company is a joint venture of AMP, Australia and the Sanmar group. Headquartered in Chennai, it has over 90 offices in India, 9,000 agents, and more than 900 employees. The decision to sell the company was taken consequent to AMP’s intention to exit the insurance business in India.
Salora goes international
Salora International Limited has announced a strategic supply and distribution agreement with a leading Malaysian company to distribute its range of TEAC brand consumer electronic gadgets in India.
The product range includes plasma TVs, CTVs, LCD TVs, digital audio and video systems, computers and communication products. Salora has also signed up with a Korean company to distribute their popular ‘iRiver’ MP3 players in India. The ‘iRiver brand‘ has 18 models of MP3 players, which will be available between the price range of RS 5,000 to RS 20,000.
Hindustan Lever posts profit for q2
India’s top consumer goods maker, Hindustan Lever Ltd., has reported a forecast-beating 17 percent rise in quarterly profit on improved sales and claimed that it was ready to fight to stay the market leader.
In its second quarter to end-June, the brand’s net profit rose to 3.0 billion rupees from 2.56 billion a year earlier. Sales rose more than 10 percent to 28.36 billion rupees, also beating a median forecast of 27.82 billion.
Hindustan Lever had seen net profit slide for five consecutive quarters on high raw material costs and sluggish sales. It was also caught in a price war in detergents and shampoos with the local arm of Procter & Gamble last year. But it has since raised product prices, relaunched some brands, and benefitted from tax changes and fiscal benefits for new plants in some states.
HC dismisses Ranbaxy’s plea against overpricing
Government of India is getting closer to nailing India’s largest drug maker Ranbaxy for allegedly overcharging consumers on its anti-bacterial drug Roscilox from the late 90s. The Delhi High Court had dismissed a petition from Ranbaxy challenging the government move to recover Rs 4.65 crore, saying the city-based company circumvented the law and frustrated its objectives.
After a series of discussions with the government explaining why it will not pay, Ranbaxy chose to file the petition last month after the drug price watchdog National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) launched a fresh recovery drive. Ranbaxy tried to avoid payment saying it did not own the drug, while the government claimed that Ranbaxy manufactured it through its erstwhile subsidiary Hyderabad-based Oscar Laboratories Ltd which was amalgamated into Ranbaxy in 1999.
Ranbaxy continued to make the antibiotic after the amalgamation and had printed the brand name on its price list to the dealers. Ranbxy held that the Oscar Lab had exemptions available to small scale manufacturers, which the court said, is limited to the subsidiary as Ranbaxy was not a small scale company.
Raymond to focus on branding
Raymond Limited, India’s leading textile and apparel brand, has decided to sharpen its focus on the branded garments business segment with a view to boost market share and profitability. The company will significantly increase the number of its exclusive branded garment stores in major Indian cities in the current year in addition to the multi-brand outlets.
Raymond has four readymade garment brands in the domestic market - Park Avenue, Parx, Manzoni and an exclusive prêt-a-porter line of ready-to-wear designer clothing Be. Currently, Mumbai-headquartered Raymond earns a large chuck of its revenue from the flagship textile business and the branded apparel segment accounts for a small portion of its portfolio.
Raymond proposes to invest Rs.8 billion in the current year to expand its business interests in both Indian as well as international market. Raymond plans to increase the number of its exclusive Park Avenue brand stores for formal readymade garments and accessories for men by more than 12 in as many months within India. The Rs.20-billion Raymond Group has business interests in fabrics, readymade garments, designer wear, denim, cosmetics and toiletries, engineering files and tools, prophylactics, and air charter operation.
ITC posts profit for q1
ITC, India’s biggest tobacco brand and owner of the nation’s second-largest hotel chain, posted a 20 percent gain in first-quarter profit, helped by tax savings and higher occupancy at its hotels. Net income in the three months to June 30 rose to 5.58 billion rupees, or $128.3 million, from 4.65 billion rupees a year earlier.
Sales of cigarettes account for almost 58 percent of total revenue. ITC owns WILLS one of the top brands of cigarattes in India. ITC’s net sales gained 25 percent to 22.69 billion rupees in the quarter that ended June 30. Gross sales increased to 39.61 billion rupees from 33.39 billion rupees in the year-earlier period. ITC’s food, garment, stationery, match and incense-stick business posted sales of 5.63 billion rupees in the year that ended March 31, 2005.
Lotte India reports loss for q1
Lotte India Corporation Ltd has reported a net loss of Rs 1.29 crore on sales and services of Rs 30.26 crore for the first quarter of 2005-06 which ended June 30, 2005 against a net profit of Rs 30 lakh on sales and services of Rs 24.98 crore for the corresponding quarter in 2004-05.
Lotte India made a net profit of Rs 1.17 crore on sales and services of Rs 120.11 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005.
ONGC restores 70% normal gas supply
OIL and Natural Gas Corporation has restored about 7.2 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of gas supplies from the Mumbai High fields. This is about 70 per cent of the normal gas supply.
The restoration of supply has been done from Bombay High South, which had earlier dropped to 20 per cent after the Bombay High North, a key oil facility, was destroyed in a fire on Wednesday evening. The Mumbai High fields produced 11 mscmd of gas and 2.6-lakh barrels of oil per day prior to the accident. Arrangements have been made to supply gas by bypassing the destroyed facility.
ONGC hopes to restore gas supplies to normal production in a few weeks, while 70 per cent of the lost oil output is likely to be restored in four weeks. There are no storage facilities on the process platform. As part of the continuous process, crude oil collected from the wells is processed and dispatched by pipelines.
SBI & LG join hands
State Bank of India Card and LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd. (LGEIL) the two mega brands in the banking and electronics segment respectively have got together to launch the
LG - SBI credit card.
The LG - SBI card is India’s first CO-branded credit card for the consumer appliances industry and can be used at more than 200,000 outlets in India and more than 30 million outlets around the world displaying the Visa logo. The LG - SBI card will leverage the extensive national distribution networks of both LG and SBI Card to drive penetration.
Designed as a customer loyalty and rewards program, the LG - SBI card combines all the well-known features of State Bank of India card with a series of exclusive rewards, benefits and promotional offers from LG Electronics India for the CO-branded cardholder.
Catch now enters cola market
The Rs 800-crore DS Group — makers of Baba tobacco products and Catch salts — is all set to compete directly with the cola majors like Coca-Cola and Pepsi in India with a range of aerated soft-drinks under its flagship brand, Catch.
DS Group has started test marketing the brand in Delhi and Mumbai markets. Available in cola, orange and lemon flavours, the aerated drinks are being sold in 200-ml PET bottles. The new range of aerated beverages, are being produced and bottled at DS Group’s existing facility which makes flavoured water under the Catch Clear brand.
DS is foraying in the Rs 7,000-crore soft drink market when Coke & Pepsi are sharpening their focus on non-cola brands.
TVS Motor launches Victor GX
TVS Motor Company is to strengthen its branding in the 125 cc motorcycle segment with the launch of 110 cc Victor GX this quarter. The new launches are part of TVS Motor’s overall growth plan that includes a plant to make step through vehicles in Indonesia and three-wheelers.
The product basket at the entry level segment would also see an addition shortly with the launch of another variant of its entry level brand, StaR. The new vehicle will be slightly more expensive than the last version of StaR, and take the number of vehicles under the StaR brand to three.
In the Indian market, TVS Motor aims to increase its marketshare in motorcycles- its mainstay to 18 per cent from the current level of about 13.7 per cent.
Satyam loses Senior Vice President to Scicom
Scicom Infotech has announced the appointment of Mr. Neeraj Nityanand as President of the brand’s US operations and Global Head of Sales and Marketing. Mr. Nityanand joins Scicom from Satyam Computer Services one of the leading brands in the Information Technology segment. Mr. Nityanand will be primarily responsible for the creation of a new generation of outsourcing business models for products and services in the technology and R&D space.
Mr. Nityanand’s experience spans over 20 years in engineering and executive level management positions in multiple energy and high technology brands in R&D, production, finance, sales and marketing and international business development. Prior to joining Satyam, Mr. Nityanand was President and Managing Director of Unocal Bharat Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Unocal Corporation, a global integrated oil & gas company, overseeing all exploration and production (E&P) and gas marketing activities in India.
Mr. Nityanand received his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur, MS in Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science and an MBA, both from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
Hari is brand ambassador of GAIL
World junior Champion, Grandmaster P. Hari Krishna who clinched the recent Grandmaster Tournament in China has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador of GAIL (India) Limited.
With the sponsorship of GAIL India, Hari Krishna has been consistently improving his performance in domestic and international tournaments, which has ultimately resulted in his highly inspiring victory in China. This win should approximately earn Hari Krishna 23 points and taking him into the 2660s in ELO ratings.
Indian Rayon posts 16.6% growth
Indian Rayon, a major Aditya Birla Group brand, has reported a turnover of Rs. 485.08 Crores for the quarter ended 30th June 2005, a growth of 16.6% vis-à-vis Rs. 416.12 Crores achieved in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
While all businesses registered a good growth, Garments and Insulators have been the major contributors. Profit before Tax and exceptional item at Rs. 46.59 Crores is higher by 50.6%, driven by the Textiles, Insulator and Carbon Black business.Net profit for the year at Rs. 30.75 Crores against Rs. 20.87 Crores in the corresponding quarter of previous year is higher by 47.3%.
Indian Rayon has paid Rs. 0.68 Crores towards a VRS at its Rayon division. In the corresponding quarter of the previous year the brand had made an exceptional profit of Rs. 4.16 Crores on the Sale of its Global Export division (Rs. 4.01 Crores) and other investments (Rs. 0.15 Crores).
Blue Star reports 40% rise in profit
Blue Star a leading brand in the fmcg sector has reported a 40% growth in net profit to Rs50.5mn with the total income of Rs2.30bn for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 representing a growth of 29% over the corresponding period last year. Earnings Per Share increased to Rs2.80 from Rs2.01. New order inflow grew a significant 41% to Rs3.36bn.
Blue Star has bagged several orders during the quarter including orders from big brands like RMZ Infinity, Bangalore; Nicholas Piramal, Baddi; Merryl Lynch, Mumbai; Wipro, Gurgaon; E-City, Lucknow; Tech Park One, Pune; IIT, Chennai; Mastek, Mumbai & Pune; Hewlett Packard India, Mumbai & Bangalore; Amity University, Lucknow; Airtel, Bangalore and Marina Mansion, Dubai.
It may be recalled that Blue Star had reported a net profit of Rs391.6mn on a total income of Rs9.30bn for the year ended March 31, 2005. The brand continued its trend of attractive dividends by declaring a dividend of 100%.
Big brands loose professionals to ADAE
Anil Ambani led Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) has started picking up top notch professionals from the industry. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises has hired professionals from both private and public sectors in the last one month. These professionals are being hired to lead in the areas such as branding, marketing, information technology (IT), technology development, and human resource development.
These professionals have been selected from big corporate brands like Bharti Tele-ventures, Airtel Enterprise Services, and Nokia. Public sector from where the professionals were hired include NTPC, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).
Gautam Doshi, an eminent chartered accountant has joined the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises as group president and he will be a key member of the leadership team . Sanjay Behl joined Reliance Infocomm as head of branding. Rajeev Batra joins the team as vice president-Information Technology (IT) .Nalini Gupta, joined Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises as marketing advisor-chairman’s office. Ramachandran, a professor at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) was recently appointed as directors on the board of Reliance Infocomm Ltd (RIC).
Dr Reddy’s plans to sell Goa facility
DR REDDY’S Laboratories Ltd one opf the leading brands in life saving drugs segment has announced its plans to dispose of the finished dosages facility at Goa. The decision was taken by the company board at its meeting this week to take on record the unaudited financial results for the first quarter of current fiscal ended June 30, 2005. The board plans to seek shareholders’ approval through postal ballot on the decision.
At present, Dr Reddy’s has seven finished dosages facilities. Of this, five are located in India and two in the UK. The brand also has six active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) facilities in India - all of which were USFDA inspected.
The Goa facility had commenced commercial operations only around six months ago. The decision to dispose of the formulations facility located at Goa was an outcome of the brand’s reassessment of its formulations manufacturing strategy and the taxation strategy.
SBI reports 15.54% rise in profits in Q1
State Bank of India has reported a 15.54 per cent increase in net profit in the first quarter of 2005-06, despite a substantial increase in provisions against bad loans and losses in securities trading. The reported rise in net profit is a result of higher interest income and lower operating.
State Bank of India has earned a net profit of Rs 1,222.83 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 against Rs 1,058.40 crore in the year-ago period. Total income increased to 10,742.85 crore (Rs 9,205.29 crore). Net interest income rose by 19.88 per cent to Rs 3,541.34 crore (Rs 2,954.07 crore).
Net interest margin (NIM) improved to 3.14 per cent from 2.99 per cent. Gross advances increased to Rs 2,20,523 crore (Rs 1,66,387 crore). Deposits have registered a 13.76 per cent growth at Rs 376,141 crore (Rs 330,648 crore). In Q1 2005-06 , retail advances had grown by Rs 2,771 crore against Rs 1,382 crore in the year-ago period. Housing loans increased by Rs 1,861 crore to Rs 26,849 crore. Home loans constitute 54.55 per cent of SBI’s retail advances.
Hygiene eyes Rs.19 Cr. turnover in 2005-06
Hygiene Wear International Limited, an Indore-based brand in the baby diapers and nappy pads segment, eyes a turnover of Rs 19 crore in 2005-06 in India which was Rs 12-crore in 2004-05.
Hygiene Wear International Limited, has a tie up with US-based Braco Manufacturing Co. which manufactures a range of diapers and nappy pads under the brand name ‘Koochees’. Hygiene occupies a 15 per cent market share in India, and in north India the brand enjoys a 27 per cent market share.
Apart from its regular products, Hygiene Wear also markets ‘adult diapers’ product for diabetics, paralytic and other bed-ridden patients. Hygiene exports its products to the Unietd States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Cameroon, Seychelles, Algeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Mahindra launches MaXX Pik Up FB
Mahindra and Manhindra (M&M), India’s market leader in utility vehicles, has launched its indigenously designed engineered brand new utility vehicle, the MaXX Pik Up FB in Ahmedabad this week.
With the launch of this vehicle, the Mahindra and Mahindra eyes to consoliadate its position of a leading brand in the segment with a market share of over 65 per cent in India from the current level of around 63 per cent. Mahindra and Mahindra aims at a market share of over 75 per cent in Gujarat from the current level of around 70 per cent.
MaXX Pik Up FB comes with flat cargo box, which opens all three sides for effortless loading and unloading. The single wall cargo box affords the vehicle, the highest payload of 1160 kilogrammes in its category, while the 63 HP DI Turbo diesel engine is fuel effecient, the powerful nine-inch booster brakes, rigid from suspension, radial tyres all afford more safety. The vehicle will sport the white, green and maroon colours and is being launched across India. The price of vehicle ex-Ahmedabad is Rs 4.23 lakh.
Karthikeyan is brand ambassador of ESPN-Star
The speed master of India Narain Karthikeyan has been signed as the brand ambassador of ESPN-STAR Sports. The leading sports channel in India and world over has also secured five-year rights to telecast live the Formula One World Championship in India.
Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN-STAR Sports will broadcast live and exclusive coverage of all 19 championship races of F1 from 2006 till 2010 season. Karthikeyan has been roped in to promote the No.1 brand.
ESPN-STAR Sports has also signed Narain Karthikeyan for promoting and building F1. He will be an integral part of the channel’s plan to promote motor sports in India. Karthikeyan, currently racing in the F1 championship, will participate in various on-ground promotional events, including screenings, road shows to be organised in selected cities across India.
Bharati plans $ 1bn. investment in India
One of the most well known Telecom brand of India, Bharti Tele-Ventures (BTVL) has announced huge plans about expanding their position in the Indian market. The telecom major is aiming to invest around USD 1 Billion in the various services under the Airtel brand name during the current financial year. This is around a 15% improvement over the investment Bharti Tele-Ventures made last year, which came to around USD 875 million.
The major part of this investment from Bharti Tele-Ventures would go into expanding the mobile business, which in return brings the brand its maximum revenues. Rest of the investment would be used for expanding the company’s fixed line telephony service. Bharti provides telephone and broadband services through this line of business and is expanding at quite a hectic pace in the Indian market.
Airtel happens to be the biggest GSM based mobile service provider and it would like to continue dominating this segment of the Indian market while it faces strong competition from Hutch and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. Essar recently made big inroads into this market when they purchased BPL Mobile for a record price for this field in the history of Indian Mobile Telephony.
Leatherman launched in India
LEATHERMAN, the American multi-utility tool brand has been launched in India and announced a strategic tie-up with Young India Films, a Chennai-based company, according to which Young India is now the exclusive distributor for the brand.
According to the marketing strategy deeveloped by Young India Films the sales executive and enitre range of brand is just a phone call away. Soon there will be an exclusive Leatherman store at one of the upmarket shopping areas in Chennai and in a few high-end stores. By the year end the range will be available in the othermajor cities of India.
A Leatherman compact utility tool is for everyone - be it a software engineer, automobile engineer, traveller, trekker or a do-it-yourself enthusiast. The utility tool range starts at Rs 2,500 and goes up to Rs 9,500. Some of the popular range that is available in India is the Core, Wave, Juice, Squirt, Fuse and the Super Tool 200.
Colavita launches Extra Virgin Olive oil
Colavita Italy, one of the world’s largest olive oil brands, recently announced the launch of authentic Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and “Colavita Pasta” in India. Colavita has introduced the three grades of Olive oil, namely “Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil” - a Certified Authentic Product of Italy, “Colavita Pure Olive Oil”, and “Colavita Pomace Olive Oil”, and several variants of pasta, including “Colavita Penne Rigate”, “Colavita Spaghetti” and others
“Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil” is the most superior quality of Olive Oil, derived from the finest Italian Olives. The brand has a firm hold in the Indian Olive Oil market. Colavita products are now available in select retail stores across India. The company has successfully launched its products in cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Pune, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, and Hyderabad, and is planning to further expand into other cities as well..
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that has found Colavita to be in compliance with the ISO 9002 quality system. It is available in packs of 250 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre, and 5 litres, and is priced at Rs. 160, Rs. 290, Rs. 540, and Rs. 2200
Oracle plans to buy Citbank’s share in i-flex
After having courted IBM, i-flex has finally drawn Oracle’s attention for a strategic investment. The US software brand is said to be focussing on Citibank’s 44% stake in i-flex.
Oracle is all set to invest Rs 3,000 crore for investing into buying out a majority holding in i-flex. It is expcted that major software brand Oracle would end up owning i-flex solutions entirely, in next 12 to 18 months.
The 5,000-strong i-flex posted a turnover of Rs 1,139 crore and a net profit of Rs 232 crore during fiscal 2004-05. Year-on-year, its revenues have been growing over 30%. On Tuesday, i-flex scrip closed at Rs 880.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), showing a loss of Rs 28.40 (3.12%). The 30-share BSE sensitive index gained 47 points to close at 7,552.77.
Rains affect production at Asahi India’s Taloja
THE production work at Taloja factory of one of the leading brands in glass segment in India, Asahi India Glass’s near Mumbai has been completely stalled due to unprecedented rainfall in the State. Water has flooded key electrical and oil utilities causing energy starvation at the plant.
While the actual cost of repair is unknown, it is estimated that the brand will take three to four weeks to bring the furnace back into production mode. This will have a substantial cost in terms of loss of sales and the consequential profits. Asahi Inda has decided to do a `hot repair’ of the furnace.
This unprecedented halt in production is expected to affect Asahi India’s performance in the financial year 2006, in the approximate range of Rs 20-25 crore operating income, which is a preponement and not an extra expense. Started in 1987, Asahi India Glass Ltd, manufacturer of automotive safety glass and float glass, is a joint venture between the Labroo family, Asahi Glass Co Ltd of Japan and Maruti Udyog Ltd.