TVS Motor plans Rs200-cr capex
Chennai: TVS Motor Co is planning a capital expenditure of over Rs200 crore this year. Half of the expenditure, of about Rs100 crore will be spent on the company's new plant in Himachal Pradesh while the other half would go into a three-wheeler project. Company officials said the plant in Himachal Pradesh was expected to begin production in the second quarter of this year and the company hoped to make about 100,000 vehicles this year. The plant would have a capacity of about 25,000 vehicles a month.

The company's three-wheeler project was also on schedule and the product would be launched before the end of this financial year.

K.N. Radhakrishnan, president, TVS Motor Co, said the company had almost completed the construction of its Indonesia plant and product testing was in progress. The company would launch a step-thru vehicle from this plant by the end of this year. The plant would have a capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year.

Company officials said TVS Motor has reported a lower net profit this quarter because of higher raw material cost and increased investment in its brands. Material cost increased by Rs30 crore, of which the company absorbed a part through value engineering, leaving unabsorbed a net cost increase of 1.5 per cent, which was sought to be made up through a price increase effected in June. The strong sales in the first quarter were boosted by motorcycle sales, which accounted for 233,506 units, a 32 per cent growth over the previous quarter, compared to the industry average of 24 per cent.

The company said its share of the motorcycle market increased by 0.8 per cent to 13.4 per cent at the end of the first quarter.
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TCS in software JV with Chinese firms
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to invest $14.7 million to float a joint venture company in China. The company has signed a shareholders' agreement with three Chinese firms and US company Microsoft Corporation. TCS has also signed a $33 million customer relationship management (CRM) deal with Saudi Telecom Company, which is to be executed over an 18-month period.

The Chinese firms in the JV are Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Development Company, Uniware Company and Tianjin Huayuan Software Area Construction and Development Company. The JV will set up China's first industrial scale software company, which will be located at Beijing's Zhongguancn Software Park, he said.

TCS, which is foraying into Chins through a subsidiary, TCS Asia Pacific that will commence operations by September this year, already has a presence in that country. It will merge its existing operations (mainly sales) with the JV at a later stage.

The company's initial investment of $12.6 million will be scaled upto $14.7 million over a period of time. The company will also increase its headcount to 5,000 in the next four year period, from the present 500.

TCS will hold 72.22 per cent stake in the venture, while the Chinese firms holds a 27.28 per cent stake. Later, Microsoft will be offered a 10 per cent stake by the partners, after which TCS' stake will fall to 65 per cent and that of Chinese partners by 25 per cent.
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Nagarjuna Const gets Rs720-cr order from Sultanate of Oman
Hyderabad: Construction major Nagarjuna Construction Company has received an international order of Rs720 crore from Sultanate of Oman for setting up a road project at Muscat. A press release from the company quoted managing director, AR. Raju as saying that the road project involves dualisation and realignment of AI-Amerat Quriyat Road at Muscat in Sultanate of Oman. The project would be completed in three years.
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PSL bags Rs488-cr worth of contracts
Mumbai: PSL has bagged the `Dabhol-Panvel pipeline' project from GAIL worth Rs218 crore. Apart from this, it has received an order for the `Bisalpur-Jaipur Water Pipeline Project' from L&T/ECC, Chennai, for supply of coated pipes worth Rs270 crore. PSL will supply GAIL with a 551-km, 30-inch continuous pipeline system from Dahej to Dabhol. The Bisalpur-Jaipur Water Pipeline Project' is funded by ADB and is being implemented by Rajasthan State Government.

Shares of PSL rose from Rs194.94 to Rs199.95 on the BSE.
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Spentex buys Uzbek spinning firm for $81mn
New Delhi: Spentex Industries has acquired Uzbek spinning firm Tashkent-To'yetpa Tekstil LLC for $81 million (around Rs350 crore). The latter, that will become Spentex' wholly-owned subsidiary will be renamed as Spentex Tashkent Toytepa LLC, and will give Spentex a factory in each of the Uzbek cities of Tashkent and To'ytepa with a combined total of 220,000 spindles and 236 looms, bringing the parent's overall capacity to 570,000 spindles.

Mukund Choudhary, Spentex's managing director, said the Uzbek Government had offered tax concessions and a 15 per cent discount on raw cotton. The acquisition also gives Spentex the advantage of Uzbekistan's proximity to the Eastern European markets, he added.

The company is also moving into the woven cotton fabric business for the first time with its newly acquired Uzbek looms.

He said with this acquisition, Spentex had become India's largest yarn manufacturing company and this had been the first direct investment by an Indian company in Uzbekistan.

Choudhary also said the firm was negotiating to buy a 100,000-spindle state-run yarn factory in Egypt. Spentex had also recently acquired Indo Rama Textiles and Amit Spinning Industries. Recently, Citigroup Venture Capital International Growth Partnership Mauritius increased its stake in the company to 32 per cent.
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Godrej Industries Q1 net zooms 75 pc
Mumbai: Godrej Industries has reported an upbeat 74.81 pc jump in net profit at Rs16.52 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, (Q1FY07) when compared with Rs9.45 crore for Q1FY06.

Net sales for the quarter stood at Rs160.69 crore, 12 pc lower as compared to Rs182.76 crore for the corresponding quarter last year.

Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Industries said: "The results are not comparable as the foods business was sold with effect from 31 March 2006. This quarter we have acquired 100 pc stake in Nutrine Confectionery, the market leader in the confectionery business through Godrej Beverages and Foods, one of our associate companies. We have also augmented capacity, made strategic investments in group companies and chemicals business and increased our focus on exports which is expected to improve the operating and financial performance going forward."
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ABB Q2 net up 65 pc
Mumbai: ABB has reported a massive 65 per cent rise in net profit at Rs71.90 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006 as compared with Rs43.61 crore in Q2FY06.

According to a release issued by the company to the BSE, the company's total income increased to Rs989.52 crore from Rs672.99 crore in Q2FY06.

"ABB is making steady progress on its charted growth course with the wind in our sails as we create value for our customers through technology, innovation, domain expertise and execution capabilities. At the same time, we continue to increase our productivity, strengthen our resource base, sharpen delivery systems and continue to remain focused on operational efficiencies", said Ravi Uppal, vice chairman & managing director of the company after announcing the company's second quarter and half yearly results.
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Simplex to construct airport terminals in Rajasthan
New Delhi: Simplex Infrastructures, one of India's leading infrastructure companies, has received two projects worth Rs 110.37 crore from the Airports Authority of India for the construction of new airport terminal buildings at Jaipur International Airport (worth Rs63.73 crore) and Maharana Pratap Airport, Udaipur (worth Rs46.64 crore).

The company's order book currently stands at Rs4,700 crore.

The Udaipur airport has been projected to be completed by the end of this year, while the Jaipur airport would take 18 months to complete.

The scope of work for Simplex will include the construction of the terminal buildings at both the airports, including a sub-station at the Udaipur airport.

Both the jobs comprise civil, architectural, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, fire detection, fire fighting & fire suppression system, a public address system, CCTV system and all allied works.

Incorporated in 1924, Simplex Infrastructures. is one of the largest infrastructure solutions providers today, with more than eight decades of successful operations and a current turnover of Rs1345 cr.

Simplex has completed more than 2000 successful projects in India, including the Howrah Bridge, Supreme Court, Reliance Jamnagar, Jamshedpur and Burnpur Steel Plant.
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