Wipro Q3 net profit rises 41 per cent, revenues up 45 per cent
Bangalore: IT major Wirpo has reported profit growth of 41 per cent as revenues increased 45 per cent for the quarter-ended 31 December, 2006 over the corresponding quarter last quarter.

Wipro recorded a net profit of Rs765 crore on revenues of Rs3,979 crore for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2007 compared to a net of Rs543.5 crore on a revenue of Rs2,743.9 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Revenues from its global IT business grew 35 per cent on the company's guidance at Rs2,875.5 crore. On a sequential basis, the revenue growth in rupee terms was at 8.8 per cent, while volumes grew by 9.3 per cent. Earnings from domestic and Asia Pacific IT business were up 76 per cent to Rs700 crore. The consumer care and lighting business grew 36 per cent to Rs211 crore.

Wipro said growth in global software services revenue is expected to continue in Q4, while its margins are expected to be range-bound due to strong rupee and wage pressures as the company is implementing a salary hike for its onsite employees.

After the results the Wipro stock opened high on the BSE to touch an intra-day high of Rs 651, but reversed early gains on concerns on the Q4 margin outlook to close lower at Rs 634.

Lower attrition coupled with improvement in other operational metrics helped Wipro to largely offset the profitability pressures from wage increase and rupee appreciation.
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Wipro to hire 14,000 freshers
Wipro plans to hire more entry-level employees in the coming fiscal. The company will add about 14,000 freshers in 2007-08 and has already issued some 10,000 campus offers, according to Suresh Senapaty, the chief financial officer, Wipro.

Wipro is also planning to enhance the intake at Wipro Academy of Software Excellence (WASE) — where it converts science graduates into software professionals through in-depth technology training — to around 4,000 in the coming year from the present 1,700.

Revenues from Wipro BPO services grew 24 per cent to Rs 235.8 crore, while the profit before interest and tax increased 82 per cent to Rs 55.4 crore from a year earlier.
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Orascom says it has first right of refusal for Hutch
New Delhi: Egypt-based telecom operator Orascom which indirectly holds close to 10 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar through a 19.6 per cent stake in Hong Kong-based Hutchison, says it has first right of refusal in case the latter decides to sell equity in Hutchison Telecom International Ltd.

Sources in Orascom said HTIL would have to first check with the Egyptian company before it can execute a sale. Vodafone and Reliance have been contemplating acquiring a stake in HTIL directly instead of acquiring Hutchison Essar.

HTIL holds 67 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar. Sources also said that Orascom was willing to increase its stake in HTIL at the right price. Orascom's claims come as the Ruias' promoted Essar Group claimed right of first refusal in case Hutchison sells its stake in the Indian cellular company.

Essar's claims have however been refuted by Hutchison Telecom on grounds that the RoFR rested with Essar only in case the equity was being sold to Indian firms and not if it was sold to foreign bidders.

Orascom's claims could pose a block to other companies in the fray to acquire Hutchison Essar.
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Mittal on the prowl for acquisitions in oil and gas
New Delhi: International steel giant Mittal Group is now looking out for acquisitions in downstream ventures in India's oil and gas sector. Hectic parleys are said to be on between the Mittal Group and state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) for a stake in the latter's Bhatinda refinery in Punjab.

Oil India (OIL) has also shown interest in participating in the project. There has been some talk of Oil India, Mittal and HPCL combining to own a 26 per cent stake each in the project.

HPCL, scouting for a partner for the project for sometime now has been in talks with Saudi Aramco and Total of France to name a few.

According to market reports, Mittal might take a 49-per cent stake, while OIL is likely to get 15 per cent and HPCL, 36 per cent.

Once the equity structure is finalised, Mittal Investments and HPCL are likely to sign a joint venture agreement for the joint construction of the 9 million tonnes a year Bhatinda refinery, being built by Guru Gobind Singh Refinery Ltd.
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M&M hikes prices of Bolero, Scorpio
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has hiked the price of its utility vehicles Bolero and Scorpio. The company's flagship Scorpio will now be available at prices ranging from Rs8.33 lakh to Rs9.72 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).

The Bolero range will have a price hike of between Rs5,600 and Rs6,500 and will be available in the range of Rs6.31 lakh - Rs6.97 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).

This price hike will be effective from the last week of January 2007.

The company cited increase in input costs and other inflationary factors such as running cost of business operations as the reasons for the price hike. The price hike is limited to the flagship brands only and will not transcend down to the other models in the utility vehicle range.
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JB Chemicals plans SEZ in Gujarat
Mumbai: JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Gujarat, for the development and construction of the 325-acre SEZ at Panoli in Gujarat. The company plans to invest Rs115 crore in a pharmaceutical sector-specific special economic zone.

JBCPL plans to set up the SEZ to manufacture pharmaceutical finished formulations, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and their intermediates, as well as operate service activities related to research and development and contract manufacturing.

The construction of the SEZ is expected to be completed by 2009. The processing area of the SEZ will house 10-15 industrial units of both Indian and international companies from the pharmaceutical sector, in addition to JBCPL's own units.

Shares of the company rose 1.65 per cent to close at Rs101.90 on BSE.
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Star group to take 20-per cent stake in Music Broadcast
Mumbai: The Star group and India Value Fund (IVF) have reached an in principle agreement, under which Star will pick up 20 per cent stake in Music Broadcast (MBPL), the promoter of Radio City — an FM radio brand. The deal is subject to the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

At present, MBPL is jointly owned by IVF, which has 75 per cent stake in the company, and Radiovani, which has 25 per cent stake.
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Wipro to set up new switches unit in Uttaranchal
Bangalore: Wipro plans to start a new facility in Uttaranchal to manufacture switches in the next six months. The company is in the process of searching for suitable land in the area.

The company has doubled the capacity of its fatty acids manufacturing plant at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and is looking at setting up a lighting and switching unit in Baddi also.

Investments for the proposed expansion would be met from the already earmarked budget of Rs60-Rs70 crore for the current year.

For the December quarter, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting reported revenue of Rs211.4 crore, a year-on-year growth of 36 per cent and a profit before interest and tax (PBIT) of Rs26.2 crore, a year-on-year growth of 25 per cent. Wipro Consumer Care accounted for 5 per cent of Wipro's total revenue and 3 per cent of PBIT.
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NIIT Tech Q3 net rises 92 per cent
New Delhi: NIIT Technologies has reported a 92-per cent jump in profit-after-tax (PAT) at Rs34.6 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared with Rs18 crore posted during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. The company posted consolidated revenue growth of 47 per cent, at Rs231.5 crore from Rs157.4 crore in the previous year.

The solutions business contributed 94 per cent of the revenues at Rs217.3 crore for the quarter, while the BPO segment contributed the remaining 6 per cent at Rs14.2 crore.

In the latest quarter, the company accrued 50 per cent of its revenues from Europe, 33 per cent from America and 17 per cent from Asia Pacific including India.

The revenues from BFSI, transportation & travel, retail and manufacturing vertical grew to 81 per cent of the consolidated revenues. The company posted a record fresh order intake of $56 million during the quarter.
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Infotech Enterprises Q3 net up at Rs 20 crore
Hyderabad: Infotech Enterprises has posted a consolidated total income of Rs143.06 crore and a net profit of Rs20 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared with a total income of Rs 95.27 crore and a net profit of Rs11.80 crore posted during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Last fiscal, the company recorded a total income of Rs365.85 crore and a net profit of Rs40.25 crore.

The chairman and managing director of Infotech Enterprises, B V R. Mohan Reddy, said in a statement that the third quarter witnessed growth across verticals on the back of significant ramp-up in existing clients. While the existing clients contributed to 6.5 per cent of the sequential growth, the rest 2.5 per cent came from new customers and on account of exchange rate fluctuations.
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Virgin Mobile may enter Indian in tie up with Tatas
London: Virgin Mobile, promoted by British billionaire Richard Branson is planning to enter the telecom market in India through a tie-up with Tata Teleservices, a Tata Group company, according to reports in the British media.

Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Group is understood to be in talks with Virgin for granting the British firm an exclusive franchisee of Tata Teleservices.

The venture could begin operations as early as April and is expected to involve creating a business owned partly by Tata Teleservices.

Virgin Mobile, a virtual operator which does not have its own network, already operates in the US through a joint venture with Sprint. It is also present in Australia and France through a tie-up with Carphone Warehouse, a high street chain founded by Charles Dunstone.
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Ramsarup to raise $50 million
Kolkata: Ramsarup Industries that makes steel wire plans to raise $50 million (Rs220 crore) to fund its ongoing expansion plans. The amount would be raised through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts in one or more tranches.

The company's expansion at Kalyani and Durgapur is expected to help the company consolidate its position as the leading player in wire catering to the requirement of power and infrastructure sectors.
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VSNL eyes Rs 2000-crore SEZ in Delhi
Mumbai: Tata group company Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) plans to set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Delhi and has approached the Ministry of Commerce and Industry seeking approval for this.

The SEZ will focus on information technology (IT) and information technology-enabled services (ITeS). The company will also look at software exports from the zone, sources said.

VSNL intends to invest Rs2,000 crore over a period of time for the SEZ. The company has already committed an immediate investment of Rs200 crore, the sources added.

At present, the Tata company has 70 acres of land at Chattarpur and Greater Kailash in Delhi.
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