Guj Ambuja net profit goes up 15.3 pc
Gujarat Ambuja Cement on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 150.47 crore for the financial year ending June 30, 1999, up 15.3 per cent, from Rs 136 crore in the previous financial year.

Jeans fading away?
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — Cotton trousers are steadily gaining ground in comparison to denims in India, says an ORG-Marg survey.

Guns silent, J&K to sell Kargil beauty
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — The Jammu and Kashmir Government is planning to woo foreign tourists and investments to boost the State’s economy and alter its perception in the Western world as a troubled State.

Easier now to buy airline tickets
JALANDHAR, Aug 4 — In a move likely to bring great relief to NRIs and a large number of foreign-bound passengers, all travel agents in Punjab catering to international traffic and affiliated with the International Air Traffic Association have been brought under the global standard billing settlement plan, thus giving passengers the facility to buy ticket of any airline from any IATA agent.

Software firm causes 9.21 cr loss to Govt
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — The CBI today said it has registered a case against a Delhi-based software company on the charge of causing a loss of Rs 9.21 crore to the government, including Rs 3.42 crore to VSNL.

Vatsa Corp in the dock
MUMBAI, Aug 4 — Vatsa Corp Ltd with 33 complaints pending against them topped the list of corporates with the maximum number of complaints pending against them at the National Stock Exchange for more than two months as on July 31, 1999.

PNB opens new branch
PATIALA, Aug 4 — PNB’s 486th branch in Punjab was inaugurated at Sewa Singh Thikriwala Nagar here today by Mr J.S. Bir, DC. Mr S.V. Shenoy, Sr. Regional Manager, said.

Guj Ambuja net profit goes up 15.3 pc

Gujarat Ambuja Cement on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 150.47 crore for the financial year ending June 30, 1999, up 15.3 per cent, from Rs 136 crore in the previous financial year.

The company also announced a final dividend of Rs 4.50, making it a total of Rs 7 per Rs 10 face value share for the latest financial year.

During the year, the company sold a total 5.91 million tonnes of cement, compared with 5.06 million sold in the previous year. In the last quarter of latest fiscal year (April-June), the company sold 1.7 million tonnes, as against 1.32 million tonnes during the same period last year.

According to Gujarat Ambuja, it exported just over five lakh tonnes of cement valued at Rs 73.2 crore as against 5.4 lakh tonnes valued at Rs 83.95 crore in the previous year.

Photography films and camera maker Kodak India has registered a 89 per cent jump in net profits at Rs 7.1 crore for the first half of company’s financial year 1999 as compared to Rs 3.7 crore for the corresponding period last year.

Net sales went up to Rs 288 crore for the half year ending June 30, 1999 as against Rs 262 crore last year.

Paramount Communications Ltd, the telecom and electric cable manufacturing company, has announced net profit of Rs 1.42 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 compared to Rs 32.56 lakh in corresponding period last year.

The company registered a 54 per cent increase in sales at Rs 24.82 crore during April-June this year as against Rs 16.11 crore last year.

Sona Kovo Steerings has posted a 68 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 183 lakh during the first quarter of the current fiscal against Rs 109 lakh in the same period last year.

The company has also recorded a 39.2 per cent increase in net sales to Rs 49.13 crore during April-June of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 35.28 crore in the same period of 1998-99.

Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd. has recorded an increase of 25 per cent in the net profit to Rs 3.5 crore for the first quarter of this fiscal over the last year’s figure of Rs 2.79 crore for the same quarter. The turnover touched Rs 41.31 crore, an increase of 17 per cent over the previous year’s figure of Rs 35.23 crore.

Bhushan Steels and Strips Limited has achieved a 48 per cent growth in turnover during 1998-99 as compared to the previous year.

The company has achieved a turnover of Rs 677 crore as against Rs 457 crore during 1997-98. Profit before interest, depreciation and tax stood at Rs 127 crore as against Rs 78 crore in the previous year — registering a growth of approximately 63 per cent.

Escorts Ltd, as part of its restructuring exercise and enhance shareholder value, plans to become a zero debt company in the next three years.

“The company plans to fully repay its loans of Rs 513 crore through internal accruals,” Escorts Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Nanda has said.

Escorts had announced in June this year that it would repay Rs 200 crore debt in the current fiscal and transform its balance sheet during the year.

Italian eye-wear major Luxottica will soon come out with an open offer to buy the shares held by public and institutions in Bausch & Lomb (India) following worldwide purchase of Bausch & Lomb Plc’s sunglass business.

“Luxottica will have to come out with an open offer to buy at least 20 per cent stake from the public since SEBI takeover code will get triggered once the deal is finalised in India,” Executive Director of Bausch & Lomb India, Shailendra Tandon said.

— Agencies, TNS

Are jeans fading away?
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — Cotton trousers are steadily gaining ground in comparison to non-cotton trousers and denims in India, according to survey conducted by ORG-Marg survey.

The findings point to the trend that people in India have begun to prefer light-weight trousers for comfort and neat look in comparison to rugged and thicker denim jeans.

Brand recognition came out as the top factor determining consumer choice in buying cotton trousers, followed by price range and fabric quality.

Beige came as the largest selling color in cotton trousers followed by khaki, navy blue, cream, black and grey in that order. The most selling price range came out to be Rs 800 to Rs 1,000. ( The price range of branded trousers otherwise starts from Rs 400).

The most selling styles was double pleats and three pockets while comfort fit came out to be the fastest moving among fits. Gabardine was the most selling fabric among cotton trousers. Among fabric washes, wrinkle-free trousers came out on top, while among waist sizes, 31 inch to 33 inch range was the largest selling, the survey conducted for fashion trade magazine, “Images Panorama”, said.

On an all-India basis, the months of June, July and August came out as the leanest months in sale of cotton trousers. On the other hand, the months of April, may, October, November and December registered very high sales.

Newport of Arvind Mills has emerged as the largest selling brand of cotton trousers in India, followed by Allen Solly (a brand of Madura Garments) and Lee Cooper.

Shapes, blackberrys, easies, freelook, TNG, Pepe and Numero Uno were the other top labels in that order in the top 10 largest selling brands in India.

Madura Garments with its three brands Allen Solly, Van Heusen and Louis Phillipe figuring in the top 20 list holds a substantial share in the cotton trouser market in India. The top 20 brands that have been reported in the survey were selected out of a total of 184 branded trouser labels selling in shops across the country in the Month of May this year.

Guns silent, J&K to sell Kargil beauty
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — The Jammu and Kashmir Government is planning to woo foreign tourists and investments to boost the State’s economy and alter its perception in the Western world as a troubled State.

With Kargil hitting the headlines and Islamabad’s propaganda on the State failing to cut ice with the international community, the State Government hopes that the time is ripe to project Jammu and Kashmir as a destination of the future.

To begin with, State officials plan to make Kargil a tourist hot spot and capitalise on the picturesque image that has been flashed all over the world during the last two months. “With the guns silent, the beautiful image of the hilly region is bound to sell”, State Government officials say.

The State Government also plans to project the Uri hydro power project, constructed by a consortia of Swedish companies, as a showcase to the world investors and convince them that things are not as bad as they appear.

The J and K Government got yet another boost when the Jammu Kashmir Power Development Corporation signed an Memorandum of Understanding with a major Norwegian consortium for construction of the 600 mw Sawalkote hydroelectric project. The consortium handling the $ 720 million (Rs 3000 crore) turnkey project is Statkraft Anlegg AS and Kvaerner Energy AS. The Norwegian consortium is expected to raise 85 per cent finance from both India and foreign lenders for the project.

The State Government in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs also plans to woo investments from Europe, the United States, Canada and South Korea.

The State Government has also entrusted power giant Skanska with the 360 mw Kishanganga project. The second phase of Uri hydroelectric project would also see the involvement of top power companies from abroad.

According to State Government sources, Jammu and Kashmir would also benefit from the general elections next month. Contrary to popular opinion that elections in the region would have to be postponed due to the Kargil conflict, the Election Commission is going ahead with its schedule.

The conduct of the general elections should send strong positive signals that democracy is ticking and alive in the State, an official said. With the Western world looking at India with new glasses, especially after the Kargil conflict, the polls would be looked as a sign of peace in the State.

Easier now to buy airline tickets

JALANDHAR, Aug 4 (PTI) — In a move likely to bring great relief to NRIs and a large number of foreign-bound passengers, all travel agents in Punjab catering to international traffic and affiliated with the International Air Traffic Association (IATA) have been brought under the global standard billing settlement plan (BSP), thus giving passengers the facility to buy ticket of any airline from any IATA agent.

“The BSP system will operate from August 16 this year as a single window clearing house enabling a travel agent to provide tickets of all airlines to his customers with the IATA providing these tickets to each agent on behalf of the participating airlines,’’ Kiran Yadav, Manager of the BSP programme of the IATA, told reporters here.

The BSP is a programme designed by the airlines and implemented by the IATA in 85 countries all over the world. In India, currently 34 airlines are participating in the programme.

“A special three-day training programme is also being held in Jalandhar to train travel agents, airlines staffers and general sales agents about the operation of the BSP system’’, said Dharampal Sondhi, President of the IATA Approved Agents Association, Punjab.

The State generates about Rs 200 crore of business annually in international air traffic with 70 per cent of it coming from the Doaba region with Jalandhar as its hub.

Passengers may look forward to computerised printed tickets at the premises of the agents themselves within a month as a fully networked computerised reservation system (CRS) is being put in place all over Punjab.

Software firm causes 9.21 cr loss to Govt

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (UNI) — The CBI today said it has registered a case against a Delhi-based software company on the charge of causing a loss of Rs 9.21 crore to the government, including Rs 3.42 crore to (VSNL).

VSNL had provided to the company, Nano Software Pvt Ltd at Sant Nagar, a 512 KBPS digital voice and data international private leased circuit (IPCL) on October 27 last year for transmission of digital data and voice over IPCL to a New York firm on point-to-point basis for the business of software export.

Using a unique modus operandi, the company allegedly misused the IPCL by interfacing it with PSTN of MTNL (98 telephones) of another firm, Connections Telemarketing, functioning from the same premises.

Some of the telephone numbers of Connections Telemarketing were generating on an average of 320 calls daily. The total loss to the Government was calculated at Rs 9.21 crore.

Vatsa Corp in the dock

MUMBAI, Aug 4 (PTI) — Vatsa Corp Ltd with 33 complaints pending against them topped the list of corporates with the maximum number of complaints pending against them at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for more than two months as on july 31, 1999.

The other companies with maximum complaints against them include Xedd Telecom Ltd (22), Sterlite Inds Ltd (10), Grapco Inds Ltd (9), Patheja Forgings & Auto Parts Manufacturers Ltd (8), Padmini Polymers Ltd (7), Motorol (I) Ltd (6), Videocon Int Ltd (6), Mafatlal Inds Ltd (5) and NEPC India Ltd (5), a list released by the NSE said here today.

PNB opens new branch
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, Aug 4 — PNB’s 486th branch in Punjab was inaugurated at Sewa Singh Thikriwala Nagar here today by Mr J.S. Bir, DC. Mr S.V. Shenoy, Sr. Regional Manager, said. This is the 24th branch in the district and seventh branch in Patiala city itself.

Mr S.K. Chawla, General Manager, who presided, said PNB has taken the lead in Punjab in opening “Tatkal Suvidha Kendras” where credit requirements of the public for housing, consumer durables and conveyance are expeditiously met. Mr Bir appreciated the contribution made by PNB towards every strata of society.

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New company
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — City-based Tandon Financial Consultants Ltd has floated a new company “Integrated Master Securities Ltd” to offer, for the first time in Chandigarh, depository services having live connectivity with NSDL, Mumbai.

Training award
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — Union Bank of India has bagged the prestigious Golden Peacock National Training Award for the year 1998. The award has been instituted by the Institute of Directors, Delhi. The bank got for the category “Training Provider”. The award was received by Mr V. Sridhar G.M. of the bank.

Demat
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — Corporation Bank has signed up with Central Depository Services (India) Ltd for dematerialisation of its shares.

Launched
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — The Mount Shivalik group has launched Stroh’s beer in Patiala. It was earlier launched in Chandigarh and other cities of Punjab. According to Mr Rajiv Bali, Deputy Managing Director, the response has been very very encouraging.