Saturday, October 23, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Saturday, October 23, 1999 |
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PF officers asked to redress
grievances |
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Stop auction of SSI units
in border belt CII to hold mega fair from October
29 50 per cent import duty on wheat
likely Cepham Organics penalised |
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Company
results show economic recovery NEW DELHI, Oct 22 — A buoyant stock market, relatively stable rupee,a low rate of inflation and good half-yearly financial results of corporates has strongly indicated towards an upswing of the economy. While in anticipation of a new era of stable politics,the country’s premier stock index, BSE Sensex, crossed the 5,000 mark barrier for the first time in its history,the half-yearly results of corporates are a reflection of the market sentiment in the real sector which is showing strong signs of an economic upturn. A study of the corporate results show that the rate of growth in sales and profits is significantly higher in the second quarter of the current fiscal than the earlier quarter ( June ended). Analysts predicted that the current bull run was in expectations of a stable Government at the Centre and its sustainability would depend much on the performance of the Government in the first few weeks and the second quarter results of corporates which were expected to flow in a weeks time. “The first 30 days of the new Government would be extremely important”, the President of CII, Mr Rahul Bajaj had then said. The robust performance in the just concluded quarter is seen from the rise in profitability ratios of the companies. A study of 109 companies showed that opening profit margins (excluding other income) moved up to 15.4 per cent and gross profit margins rose to 14.4 per cent. The sample companies — accounting for 23.28 per cent market capitalisation — registered a 22.4 per cent growth in sales and 25.5 per cent rise in net profit over the corresponding period of the previous year. Analysts said that with
the inflation touching historic low levels, it was only a
matter of time before the real sector of the economy
actually started looking up as there is always a time lag
between the movements in the financial and the real
sector.
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PF
officers asked to redress grievances CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — Mr M.L. Meena, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-I Punjab and U.T. of Chandigarh took a review meeting of all Officers-in-charge of Sub-Regional Offices in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Bathinda and Sub-Accounts Office, Jalandhar, to review the work performance of the Punjab region. He asked the officers to give importance to computerisation and told the officers about details of new softwarde programmes like CACRs, CRAMs, and cheque writing software etc. He also stressed the
importance of speedy redressal of grievances of poor
subscribers and directed the officers to ensure that
regular monthly Lok Adalats on the 10th of every month
should be organised. He also advised them to organise
seminars on the 20th of every month in which both
employers and employees should be invited to participate
and discuss their problems.
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Stop
auction of SSI units in border belt AMRITSAR, Oct 22 – A delegation of Amritsar Industries Association led by Mr Sudhir Mehra, Vice President met Ramesh Inder Singh, Principal Secretary/Director Industries and Commerce and Sarvesh Kaushal Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and presented to them a memorandum on the plight of the small scale industrial units. The delegation said that the main reason for the closure of these SSI units is the policies of the Government and the uncooperative attitude of the banks which are reluctant to advance any loan to SSI units. Mr Mehra said the Punjab Government should constitute a State level BIFR Board to deal with all sick units. The RBI guidelines for lower interest rates and NPA cases should be implemented in true spirit. The association requested the Government to take immediate steps to prevent the auction of the SSI units and discuss the matter with the Central Government. Mr R. I. Singh assured
the delegation that all necessary steps will be taken to
revamp the crippling SSI units. |
CII to
hold mega fair from October 29 CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — CII is organising a mega fair at the Parade Ground from October 29 to October 31. It will include an auto show, IT Carnival, an interior and construction material exhibition titled Inbuild’99 — three simultaneous exhibitions — said Mr I.S. Paul, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council at a press conference here today. Inbuild’99 is being sponsored by Hudco. Exhibitors include Godrej and Boyce, Kitply, Berger Paints, L and T, Sun Ceramics and Hudco. Mr Paul said more than 100,000 persons will participate in the mega event. Chief Ministers of Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh will also speak on the economic issues of the regional importance at one of the sessions on October 30 and will have interaction with the industry members attending the seminar said Mr Paul. CII is also planning to hold two exhibitions — textile exhibition (Texcon’99) and Woolex’99 (Exhibition on wool and winter wear) — simultaneously from December 2 to December 6. Mr Paul, expressed hope that the Punjab Government would soon roll back its free power and water supply for agriculture sector in larger interest of the State. Piyush Bahl, Director
CII (Northern Region) said power reforms initiated by the
Haryana Government should be further strengthened and
emulated by other States to improve availability of
power. |
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MUMBAI, Oct 22 (PTI) — The net profit of VSNL dipped by 4.66 per cent to Rs 701.7 crore during April-September, 1999, due to the increased competition and slowdown in the economy. The fall was largely on account of net profit in the second quarter of 1999-2000 sliding to Rs 346.6 crore from Rs 424.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. VSNL Chairman and
Managing Director S K Gupta claimed the sustenance in the
net profit reflects the efficiency of the company to work
under strenuous conditions, thus improving the
performance of the company. However, VSNL’s
operating profit, excluding other income, during the
1999-2000 first half has risen by 9.96 per cent to Rs
888.8 crore from Rs 808.3 crore in the corresponding
period last year.
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ITC net profit jumps 14.67 per cent ITC Ltd reported a net profit of Rs 206.74 crore in the second quarter of current financial year which was 14.67 per cent higher compared to Rs 180.29 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal. Board of Directors of the company after a meeting to consider second quarter result disclosed that during the first half of the current fiscal net profit stood at Rs 400.32 crore against Rs 350.08 crore last year. Net sales during the quarter increased to Rs 944.48 crore from Rs 863.03 crore after payment of Rs 1011.47 crore (Rs 1036.90 crore last year). Gross profit during the quarter increased by more than 20 per cent to Rs 359.61 crore (Rs 297.07 crore) after interest payment last year of Rs 32.22 crore (Rs 42.71 crore last year). Godrej Soaps: Godrej Soaps Ltd reported a net profit of Rs 39.51 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal as against a loss of Rs 8.73 crore in the corresponding period last year. Income from operations for the quarter includes profits on sale of 18.42 lakh shares in Godrej Sara Lee Ltd amounting to Rs 50.93 crore, the company said after a board meeting here. Hind Petroleum: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has reported a 10.07 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 479.41 crore in the first half of 1999-2000 against Rs 435.44 crore in the same period last year. Gross turnover during April-September 1999 was up by 16.75 per cent to Rs 14,510.86 crore with the second quarter contributing Rs 7,423.15 crore, the public sector oil major said in a release. The gross turnover in the second quarter was lower than net sales on account of net pool claim of Rs 167 crore as against net surrendered in the same period last year. Sundram Fastners: Sundram Fastners announced a whopping 69 per cent jump in profits at Rs 23.33 crore for the second quarter of the current financial year on sales worth Rs 115.93 crore. Net sales during April-September touched Rs 115.93 crore from Rs 82.74 crore a year ago, largely due to the revival in commercial vehicle segment and the economic recovery, Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Krishna told reporters here. TPL net up: M.A. Chidambaram group company Tamil Nadu Petroproducts (TPL) reported a 65 per cent spurt in net profits for the second quarter of 1999-2000 at Rs 13.2 crore on a sales income of Rs 114.14 crore. Post-tax profits spurted to Rs 13.2 crore from Rs 8.01 crore in April-September last year, a company statement said. Goodyear: Goodyear Tyre and Rubber on Friday said an inability to meet demand in North America contributed to a fall in third quarter net income to $ 97.2 million from $ 185 million in the same period last year. Earnings per share were 61 cents, beating Wall Street expectations of 49 cents but well below the $ 1.17 earned in the July-to-September quarter of 1998. GAIL: Gas Authority of India (GAIL) presented a dividend of Rs 246.58 crore to the Government for the year 1998-99. The cheque was presented by the Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL C.R. Prasad to the Petroleum Minister Ram Naik here, an official release said. The dividend is at 35 per cent on the Government equity of Rs 704.50 crore. GAIL had paid dividend at 20 per cent to the Government during 1997-98. Hind Copper: Hindusthan Copper Limited has managed to reduce its net loss by almost 50 per cent to Rs 41.68 crore during the quarter ended September 30, 1999 against Rs 83.06 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous year. Net sales came down to Rs 111.78 crore from Rs 192.91 crore last year while other income remained more or less stable at Rs 2.10 crore. Gross loss stood at Rs 36.40 crore against Rs 77.79 crore in the same quarter previous year after interest payment of Rs 12.72 crore (Rs 18.18 crore). Grasim Ind: Grasim Industries, part of the Aditya Birla group, announced a sharp 50 per cent hike in its net profits at Rs 134 crore for the first half of its financial year 1999-2000, from Rs 89.1 crore a year ago. Its sales for the half year were at Rs 2,118 crore, up 17.21 per cent from Rs 1,807 crore a year ago. Its net profit in the second quarter was Rs 74.8 crore, up 82.6 per cent from Rs 40.9 crore in the previous year. The company’s sales were Rs 1,025 crore, up 14 per cent from Rs 899 crore last year. Voltas: Voltas Ltd reported a net profit of Rs 5.5 crore in the first half of the current accounting period as against a loss of Rs 8.4 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. During the six months ended September 30, 1999 the company posted a lower sales of Rs 546.3 crore as against Rs 677.3 crore in the same period of last year. However, gross profit during the second quarter of the current fiscal was 10.65 per cent lower at Rs 10.9 crore. CMC: CMC
Limited announced a 48.9 per cent increase in net profits
for the first half of the current fiscal year over the
corresponding period of the previous year. Net profit for
the first half of the current financial year stood at Rs
4.05 crore and revenue stood at Rs 182.63 crore
registering an increase of 23 per cent over the
corresponding period of the previous year. — TNS,
agencies
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50 per cent import duty on wheat likely NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — Government has proposed a hefty 50 per cent duty on wheat to discourage imports in the wake of burgeoning buffer stocks, Food Ministry officials said today. “Imposition of 50 per cent duty on wheat imports has been proposed as a measure to check the rising import by millers in the South at a time when the country is faced with a situation of plenty,” officials said. Currently, duty-free import of wheat is allowed under open general licence even though the WTO bound duty is 100 per cent. “We have only the option of raising duty as the country has already agreed to remove quantitative restriction,” they said. The ministry has also prepared a Cabinet note detailing other alternatives to reduce the huge wheat inventory. The proposals include a 50 per cent increase in wheat allocation to families below poverty line (BPL) from the existing level of 10 kg per month through the Public Distribution System (PDS). The increased allocation for BPL families would also include rice in anticipation of a record rice procurement during the 1999 kharif season. Wheat stocks on
government account is estimated to be 50 per cent higher
than the statutory limit of 11.6 million as on October 1. |
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NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — A Delhi Consumer Court has penalised pharmaceutical company Cepham Organics Ltd for its failure in returning depositors’ money on maturity and directed it to return the same with interest. Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-VI has ordered Cepham to return the maturity amount of the depositor alongwith a penal interest of 18 per cent from the date of maturity till final settlement. The order was issued by
the court ex parte. The forum also directed the company
to comply with its order within 60 days of passage. |
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