Mahindra expands agri-business, acquires 38% in EPC Industrie
Mahindra & Mahindra announced the acquisition of EPC Industrie, a listed company which sells micro-irrigation equipment to farmers and plastic pipes to industrial consumers.
Category: Top News
Natco Pharma gets first-to-file on generic Tamiflu
Natco Pharma, an Rs 440 crore turnover pharmaceutical company, has challenged the US patent on Tamiflu held by Gilead Sciences, and licensed to F. Hoffmann-La Roche in 1996. Both Natco and Gilead announced this in separate statements. Natco said that the FDA has accepted its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for generic Tamiflu or oseltamivir phosphate.
Continue ReadingMundra Port & SEZ’s profit up 40%, stock down by 0.6%
Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone had a good quarter in December 2010. The company owns and manages a port and related infrastructure in Mundra, Gujarat, including a multi-product special economic zone. In end-December, it commissioned a 60 million tonne coal receiving terminal, which will contribute to revenues in forthcoming quarters. Some of its significant subsidiaries are Adani Logistics Ltd and Adani Petronet (Dahej) Port Pvt Ltd, whose results do not reflect here, as it has reported standalone results for the quarter.
Continue ReadingEicher Motors CV sales on a roll
Eicher Motors Ltd, maker of commercial vehicles and two-wheelers, reported a much better operating performance in the December quarter.
The company’s sales rose by 41% to Rs 1,235 crore, over the same period last year, on the back of higher vehicle sales and price hikes. The company had hiked prices of commercial vehicles in the September quarter by about 2-4% to compensate for higher raw material prices. On a sequential basis, sales rose by 13%.
Continue ReadingDr Reddy’s gets to launch Allegra D-24, stock up 2.7%
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories can now launch the generic version of Allegra D-24, an extended release version of blockbuster drug Allegra. It won a key case in the US courts which will allow it to go ahead with a launch, with the possibility of a compensation being awarded by the court, but with the risk of an appeal, which could see the matter well drag on further.
Continue ReadingAdani ties up Indonesian coal supply with Rs 7700 crore investment
Gujarat-based infrastructure company Adani Enterprises announced the contours of its investment into Indonesia, crystallising a preliminary agreement entered into in August 2010. It will invest about $1.65 billion or about Rs 7,700 crore, over a period of 4 years, to build a 250km railway line and port infrastructure to handle about 60 million tonnes of coal. The announcement is part of the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyno, visit to India, which includes signing of a number of business deals to further the nation’s economic growth.
Continue ReadingICICI Bank’s loan provisions halve, net profit up by 31%
ICICI Bank’s December quarter results were better than expectations, and it appeared to be benefiting from a phase, when rising interest rates result in better yields on loans, as the cost of funds rises with a lag. It has also managed to improve its asset quality during the quarter, which is a positive sign.
Union Bank of India’s net profit up 91%, over September quarter
Union Bank of India’s net profit growth continued to be affected by higher provisions for non-performing assets in the December 2010 quarter, rising by just 8.5% to about Rs 580 crore, compared to the same period a year ago. But the bank’s performance improved compared to the September quarter, with profit rising by 91%, chiefly due to a sequential decline in provisions.
Continue ReadingBHEL’s orders crawl, accounting policy change boosts profits
Engineering company Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, or Bhel, saw its order book rise by a meagre Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 158,000 crore in the December 2010 quarter, compared to the previous quarter. Order book position is a key variable for any engineering company, as future revenue streams are forecasted, based on the order book’s level and growth. There appears to be a slowdown in new projects, which was visible when Larsen & Toubro declared its results too, recently.
Continue ReadingWipro’s Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani quit, ending joint CEO structure
There were always questions on whether two men –or women- can co-exist at the top. One more answer to that never ending debate was added by Wipro. In 2008, Wipro appointed two people, Suresh Vaswani and Girish Paranjpe at the helm, as joint chief executive officers. This debate of joint leadership is best exemplified in large global corporations, with large operations in two continents, notably of Anglo-Saxon origins. Unilever Plc is another example which moved to a single line of command in recent years.
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