UPDATE 1- HCL Tech net up 3.7 pct, shares rise

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 29 (Reuters) – Software services firm HCL Technologies (HCLT.BO) said on Thursday its quarterly net income rose marginally as demand for outsourcing increased, sending its shares up by as much as 4 percent.

Net income rose 3.7 percent to 3.42 billion rupees for April-June quarter, while sales increased 18 percent to 34.25 billion rupees.

Indian software companies are benefitting from a pickup in after services spending in the U.S., the largest market for the sector, after the global economic downturn.

“With hedge losses almost behind us we would see further improvement in cash flows and continued strengthening of the balance sheet,” Anil Chanana, CFO, said in a statement.

HCL’s larger rival India’s NO. 1 IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) and third-largest Wipro (WIPR.BO) earlier reported street-topping performances, while No. 2 Infosys (INFY.BO) posted a surprise fall in quarterly profit.

HCL’s net income increased 6.9 percent on year to $73.6 million and revenue rose 21.5 percent to $737.6 million under US accounting norms. The EBITDA margin fell to 18.6 percent in the June-quarter from 22.1 percent a year ago.

US contributed 58.9 percent, Europe 28.5 percent and Asia Pacific 12.6 percent to HCL’s revenue in the June quarter.

Europe, which has been a cause of concern for most exporters in India and is the second-biggest market for the $60 billion Indian outsourcing sector after the United States, grew 4 percent over the March-quarter in terms of revenue for HCL.

Research firm Forrester said in a report this month that Europe’s volatile economic situation and uncertainty about corporate IT budgets would result in possible delays or cancellations of some outsourcing projects.

Custom application (industry solution) and Enterprise application services contributed together more than half of HCL’s revenue in the June quarter.

HCL, among India’s top five software services firm, added 6,428 employees in the June quarter taking its total headcount to 64,557, it said in a statement.

Rising outsourcing demand has seen Indian IT firms boosting hiring and raising staff salaries as they battle intensifying competition from global rivals such as IBM (IBM.N) and Accenture (ACN.N).

HCL’s net debt came down to $36 million as on June ’10 from $221 million a year ago.

At 9.51 local time, shares in HCL Technologies (HCLT.BO), which the market values at about $5.5 billion, were trading up 4.08 percent at 388 rupees in a flat Mumbai market.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Choudhary; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

((sanjeev.choudhary@thomsonreuters.com; +91 11 4178 1016; Reuters Messaging: sanjeev.choudhary.reuters.com@reuters.net))

((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) Keywords: HCL TECH/

(C) Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nSGE66R0DZ

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India mulls investing more in Air India-minister

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 25 (Reuters) – India’s government will consider putting more capital into state-run Air India if the national carrier improves its operational performance, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Sunday.

“The government has said based on performance parameters, it will look at inducting fresh equity,” Patel said.

The government put 8 billion rupees into Air India in the last fiscal year and has so far allocated 12 billion rupees in its current fiscal budget to help the airline reduce its losses and debt, which have been mounting.

Patel said Air India currently has working capital debt of 180 billion rupees.

The airline is currently going through a debt restructuring process as it looks to clean up its balance sheet with SBI capital managing its overall debt recast.

“The financial restructuring will also include reducing the cost of the debt. We have to replace the high cost debt with low cost debt,” Patel said.

The carrier will restructure the working capital loan through a mix of bonds guaranteed by the government over the next four years, Air India said in a separate statement on Sunday.

It also said it would raise additional capital from the sale of land and buildings or use them as security for fresh loans.

Air India Chairman Arvind Jadhav has said the airline, which incurred a loss of 54 billion rupees in the year to March 31, 2010, expects to pare its losses by around 75 percent this fiscal year.

The carrier said on Sunday it expected a 29 percent increase in its operating revenue as air traffic improves on a rebound in business travel.

Air India has said it has no plans to cut jobs. (Reporting by Aniruddha Basu; editing by Bappa Majumdar) (aniruddha.basu@thomsonreuters.com; +91-9819732516; Reuters Messaging: bappa.majumdar.reuters.com@reuters.net)) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India’s Wipro sees stable pricing environment

July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 23 (Reuters) – Wipro Ltd, India’s No. 3 software firm, expects a stable pricing environment and hopes to maintain its margins in the next 4-6 quarters, chief financial officer Suresh Senapaty told reporters on Friday.

Earlier Wipro (WIPR.BO) posted a higher-than-expected 31 percent rise in quarterly profit as global demand for outsourcing improved [ID:nSGE66K09K] ($1=47.1 rupees) (Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju; editing by Surojit Gupta)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India cabinet approves share sale in Power Grid

July 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 22 (Reuters) – India’s cabinet approved share sale in the state-run power transmission utility Power Grid Corp (PGRD.BO) on Thursday, a government spokeswoman said.

The Indian government plans to raise roughly $8.5 billion from share sales in state-run firms in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2011. [ID:nSGE64R0BK]

($1=47.3 rupees)

(Reporting by Nigam Prusty; editing by Malini Menon)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares up 0.3 pct; Reliance, L&T rise

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 20 (Reuters) – Indian shares rose 0.3 percent
on Tuesday led by gains in energy major Reliance Industries
(RELI.BO) and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro
(LART.BO), with mostly firmer Asian markets helping.

However, investors were cautious with a drop in U.S.
housing data showing cracks in the recovery of the world’s
largest economy.

Traders were watching foreign funds, who have moved $8.6
billion into Indian equities this year, for direction amid
concern a slower than expected global recovery could affect the
inflows.
By 11:11 a.m. (0541 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN was
trading up 0.34 percent at 17,989.12, with 19 of its components
gaining.

In the broader market, gainers were almost double the
number losers while 131 million shares changed hands.

“We are trading higher today looking at the strength in
Asian stocks,” said Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional
equities at Asian Markets Securities.

The MSCI’s measure of Asian markets other than Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was up 1.3 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei
.N225 shed 1.2 percent.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For a video on Asian stocks' performance, view show:

link.reuters.com/kap48m

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

The BSE index is up 3 percent so far this year on the back
of rebounding domestic economy, while most of its emerging
market peers have dropped.

Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the
main index .BSESN, climbed 0.6 percent to 1,062.50 rupees,
while Larsen & Toubro rose 1.1 percent to 1,912.80 rupees.

Sukhani said quarterly earnings would be the key driver for
the market in the near term.

HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) was up 0.2 percent at 2,055.25 rupees,
a day after the private-sector lender reported its strongest
profit growth in more than a year and highlighted more gains
for the booming industry on robust loan demand. [ID:nSGE66I0EL]

“Quality of earnings continues to improve on the back of
margin expansion, loan book growth, and provisioning pressure,”
Edelweiss said in a note.

“We continue to like the bank’s attractive franchisee and
overall improvement in metrics.”

The stock is just 2.6 percent of its record high hit last
week.

Iron ore exporter Sesa Goa (SESA.BO) rose 1.6 percent after
its consolidated net profit for the June quarter trebled.
[ID:nSGE66J05M]

The share was also helped after a senior government
official told Reuters on Monday India had no plans to curb iron
ore exports. [ID:nSGE66I0EY]

Tata Steel (TISC.BO), the world’s seventh-largest producer
of the alloy, and rose non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite
Industries (STRL.BO) rose 1.1 percent each, while aluminium
maker Hindalco (HALC.BO) gained 0.9 percent.

The sector was supported by gains in regional peers. The
resources index for Asian shares other than Japan
.MIAPJMT00PUS was up nearly 2 percent.

The 50-share NSE index , or Nifty, was up 0.3
percent at 5,402.40.

“We see Nifty to be rangebound between 5,300-5,450 in the
near term due to mixed cues from overseas,” Sukhani said.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* MindTree (MINT.BO) shed 5.2 percent to 539 rupees after
its quarterly results disappointed investors, dealers said.
[ID:nWNBS0515]

* Cairn India (CAIL.BO), a unit of Cairn Energy (CNE.L),
was up 0.3 percent at 316.15 rupees as crude oil prices rose
toward $77 a barrel.

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 3.3 million shares

* Ramsarup Industries (RASW.BO) on 1.6 million shares

* Unitech (UNTE.BO) on 1.6 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee report [INR/]
* Indian bond report [IN/]
* Dollar hovers near lows, eyes on Japan policymakers [FRX/]
* Oil gains towards $77 on expected U.S. inventory drop [O/R]
* Asia shares rise, yen strength in focus [MKTS/GLOB]
* Wall St up on tech, but IBM, TI fall after the bell [.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India’s BHEL gets $567 mln order for power plant

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 19 (Reuters) – Indian energy equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL.BO) said on Monday it got an order worth 26.65 billion rupees ($567 million) for setting up a 1,200 megawatts thermal power plant from Dainik Bhaskar Power Ltd. ($1=47 rupees) (Reporting by Pratish Narayanan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares turn positive on earnings optimism

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 19 (Reuters) – Indian shares recovered from early lows on Monday morning, on optimism over quarterly earnings and a newspaper report Etisalat was close to buying a stake in Reliance Communications (RLCM.BO), the no. 2 mobile operator.

At 10:20 a.m. (0450 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN was up 0.03 percent at 17,961.03 points, with 16 components advancing. It had declined as much as 0.6 percent early.

The 50-share NSE index was barely changed at 5,394.10.

Reliance Communications was up 2.2 percent at 191.30 rupees after a Financial Times report Emirates Telecommunications (ETEL.AD) (Etisalat) was close to buying 26 percent stake in the Indian firm. [ID:nSGE66I05B] (Reporting by Ami Shah)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India’s L&T gets $81 mln contract from ONGC

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 14 (Reuters) – Indian construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (LART.BO) said on Wednesday it had won a contract worth 3.76 billion rupees ($81 million) to refurbish an offshore rig for state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO). ($1=46.7 rupees) (Reporting by Prashant Mehra)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares drag as Infosys disappoints

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 13 (Reuters) – Indian shares were trading 0.1 percent lower on Tuesday, led by technology stocks, as investors ignored a guidance upgrade by Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) and concentrated on a rare drop in its June quarter earnings.

Weak Asian shares also added to the negative sentiment, led by Chinese stocks which fell 2 percent on reports Beijing will not ease tougher property measures any time soon. [MKTS/GLOB]

Shares in Infosys, which scaled new peaks in the last two sessions, were down 3.1 percent, after it said net profit in the June quarter fell to 14.9 billion rupees ($318 million) from 15.3 billion rupees a year ago. [ID:nSGE6680B5]

“People will now adjust their expectations for other IT majors like TCS and Wipro,” said Tejas Doshi, head of research at Sushil Finance.

“The share prices of IT companies had run up on a lot of expectations … probably more than what was warranted.”

By 11:14 a.m. (0544 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index .BSESN was trading down 0.12 percent at 17,915.33 points with 13 of its components declining.

The benchmark which had rallied 81 percent in 2009, is up 2.6 percent so far in 2010.

Investors will watch out corporate earnings for April-June for cues in the near term.

“We expect a 22 percent to 25 percent growth in earnings for Sensex companies for the June quarter,” said Deven Choksey, managing director and CEO of KR Choksey Shares.

“The direction for guidance is also likely to be positive.”

Foreign funds have invested $7.1 billion in Indian equities so far in 2010, after a record inflow of $17.5 billion in 2009.

Other software majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) were down 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.

Leading mobile operators Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) and Reliance Communications dragged lower on continued concerns of margin erosion due to lower tariffs and growing competition.

The stocks were down 1.7 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Lenders continued to gain on expectations of better loan demand as the economy grows.

Late last week, Trade Minister Anand Sharma told Reuters India’s gross domestic product growth is expected to return to “9 percent plus” this year, led by strong corporate performance and rising savings levels. [ID:nSGE6680FV]

Top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) was up nearly 1 percent while private sector rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) rose 0.5 percent each.

Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO) climbed 1.7 percent.

In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers in a ratio of 1.4:1 in a volume of 130 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was down 0.1 percent at 5,377.20 points.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* CMC (CMC.BO), which offers customer services like IT solutions and system integration, was up 2.4 percent at 1,520.05 rupees as it reported late Monday its June-quarter consolidated net profit was 464.5 million rupees [ID:nSGE66B0H6].

* Unichem Laboratories (UNLB.BO) rose 2.3 percent to 480 rupees after the drugmaker said on Monday said it will consider a stock split at its board meeting scheduled on July 22. [ID:nWNBS0473]

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* Suzlon Energy (SUZL.BO) on nearly 5 million shares

* Idea Cellular (IDEA.BO) on 1.7 million shares

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 1.5 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH * For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net * Indian rupee report [INR/] * Indian bond report [IN/] * Euro steady after retreat, Greek auction eyed [FRX/] * Oil slides with equities;U.S. inventories seen mixed [O/R] * China stocks slide on property, weigh on Asia [MKTS/GLOB] * Wall St ekes out gain as caution rules before results [.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR (Reporting by Ami Shah; editing by Malini Menon)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

INTERVIEW-UPDATE 2-ENIL to turnaround after outdoor biz sale

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Recasts, adds comments, details, share price) MUMBAI, July 9 (Reuters) – Entertainment Network (India) Ltd (ENIL.BO) expects to swing to profit in FY11 after selling its loss-making out-of-home unit helping it strengthen its balance sheet and focus on core operations, a senior official said. ENIL, which operates the Radio Mirchi network of radio stations, said it was selling Times Innovative Media Ltd, in which its holds 83.4 percent, to parent Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd for 1.18 billion rupees, including debt. [nBMB010939]

The company, which had posted consolidated losses over the past two years, expects to register a net profit of 350-400 million rupees in FY11, said Dalpat Jain, assistant vice president, strategic finance and investor relations.

“This out-of-home unit was incurring losses in traditional and airport terminal businesses. There were uncertainties about new orders and it needed additional capital. The overall dynamic was not looking attractive,” Jain said over the telephone.

Its outdoor business has presence in all segments including street furniture, transit, large formats and digital screens.

In 2009/10, the firm’s consolidated net loss narrowed to 153 million rupees from 603 million in FY09 while net sales was mostly steady at 4.2 billion rupees.

Two of its large contracts – Delhi and Mumbai airports – are due to expire this month, Jain said adding that though it has won the bid for Delhi terminal, ENIL was not keen on investing fresh capital as it wanted to save cash for radio expansion.

ENIL will now be left with the radio and event management businesses after the stake sale. It radio business posted a net profit of 180 million rupees on a standalone basis in FY10 while event management broke even during the year, Jain said.

After the sell-off and debt repayment, the company expects to get cash of 750 million rupees, which it will use to boost expansion and growth in radio business, he added.

Indian media and entertainment industry is heading for several such mid-sized deals in coming quarters as loss-making operators look to consolidate around core-segments while regional players try to expand. [nSGE66503X] [nSGE6610CU]

“Radio is a highly operating leverage business. Majority of the revenue flows to bottomline. For phase 3 expansion we will need capital. So we will conserve this cash for now,” he said.

The firm plans to bid during the Indian government’s phase 3 roll-out of radio frequencies. Radio operators are expecting additional allocation of frequencies and opening up of current affairs and news content to private radio operators.

SHARES SLUMP

Investors, however, gave a thumbs down to the deal, saying ENIL sold its business, which was expected to grow at a faster pace and contribute meaningfully to the topline, cheap.

Analysts said this is not a fair price for the business which was expected to be a significant growth area for the company.

“It’s a value destruction for shareholders. Because the company created momentum for this business earlier and now are selling it at a dismal valuation,” said a Mumbai-based analyst who did not want to be named.

Morgan Stanley India was the adviser to the deal.

Shares of ENIL rose nearly 15 percent in the last 3 months helped by prospects of new contracts from major airports in the country, analysts said.

At 12.35 p.m., shares of the firm were down 11.82 percent at 207 rupees in a firm mumbai market.

(Additional reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

((nandita.bose@thomsonreuters.com; tel: 91 22 6636 7374; Reuters Messaging: nandita.bose.reuters.com@reuters.net))

(If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

expected more delhi mumbai airport contracts Keywords: ENTERTAINMENT/STAKE SALE

(C) Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nSGE66805O

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-India’s Bharti surges over 10 pct after stock upgrade

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 9 (Reuters) – Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO), India’s leading mobile operator, rose more than 10 percent on Friday to its highest level in nearly three months after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock citing stable call tariffs.

India, the world’s fastest-growing mobile market, is signing up new mobile subscribers at a monthly average of 16 million, but call prices have fallen to as low as 0.4 U.S. cents a minute amid stiff competition in the crowded 15-operator market. Credit Suisse, which upgraded Bharti to “outperform” from “neutral”, said tariffs had been stable in the last eight months and high cost for 3G mobile spectrum had crimped mobile operators’ ability to go for further price war.

At 11:16 a.m. (0546 GMT), the stock was trading 8.7 percent higher at 305.25 rupees, after rising as much as 10.4 percent to their highest since April 15. The stock is still down 5.7 percent so far this year.

Rival Reliance Communications (RLCM.BO) was up nearly 3 percent at 193.30 rupees, while the Mumbai market .BSESN was trading 1 percent higher. Reliance Communications and the main index are up 13 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, in 2010.

India’s three biggest carriers — Vodafone’s (VOD.L) India unit, Bharti and Reliance — each won key licences in May to offer 3G services in Delhi and Mumbai — the biggest markets in the country.

The auction yielded the Indian government $14.6 billion in revenues, nearly twice what it had expected. [ID:nSGE64J07X]

“Revenue market shares are steady, high auction prices could force most players to avoid competitive actions and regulatory risks could be exaggerated,” Credit Suisse analysts wrote in the research report.

“Reasonable valuations could protect downside and lead to a favourable risk-reward profile. We are, therefore, turning positive on the sector.”

Bharti, which completed its $9 billion acquisition of African operations from Kuwait’s Zain (ZAIN.KW) last month, trades at 13 times its one-year forward earnings compared to 14 times in Reliance Communications, according to Starmine data. ($1=46.8 rupees) (Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-Infosys shares hit record high ahead of earnings

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BANGALORE, July 9 (Reuters) – Shares in Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO), India’s second-largest outsourcer, rose almost 2 percent on Friday to a record high on optimism about quarterly earnings next week.

“Infosys is expected to outperform its forecast and upgrade its full-year outlook; plus it is good fundamentally,” said Harit Shah, IT analyst with domestic brokerage Karvy Stock Broking.

By 10:41 a.m. (0511 GMT), Infosys was up 1.5 percent at 2,869.40 after hitting 2,879.90, outpacing a 1 percent rise in the main stock index .BSESN.

Most analysts expect Infosys, which reports June quarter results on Tuesday, to raise its revenue growth guidance in dollar terms for 2010/11 to 17-19 percent from 16-18 percent given in April.

“We expect robust results from Tier 1 IT vendors to demonstrate the underlying demand strength,” Macquarie said in a note.

Analysts expect the rupee’s 3.3 percent fall against the U.S. dollar in the June quarter to partially offset the impact of salary hikes and euro volatility for exporters such as Infosys, which generates more than half its sales from the United States.

Shares in Infosys, which has a market value of about $35 billion, currently trade at a price to earnings multiple of 25-27, according to calculation by Reuters.

“The valuation is expensive,” said Shah, who has a ‘market performer’ rating on the stock with a 12-month target of 3,025 rupees. (Additional reporting by Ami Shah in MUMBAI; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharanan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India’s Bharti up about 9 percent after stock upgrade

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Shares in Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO), India’s leading mobile operator, rose nearly 9 percent on Friday after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral.

At 10:10 a.m. (12:40 a.m. ET), the stock was trading up 8.4 percent at 304.50 rupees, after hitting 305.65. In comparison, the main Mumbai market .BSESN was up 1 percent.

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares rise 1 pct; telecoms, techs lead

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 9 (Reuters) – Indian shares extended gains to 1 percent on Friday morning, with telecom stocks and IT firms leading the gains.

Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) rose as much as 1.9 percent to a record high of 2,879 rupees ahead of its quarterly earnings on Tuesday.

Leading telecom firms Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) and Reliance Communications (RLCM.BO) rallied as much as 8.2 percent and 2.8 percent respectively, after Credit Suisse upgraded Bharti to “outperform” from “neutral” and Reliance Communications to “neutral” from “underperform”.

At 10:01 a.m. (0431 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN was up 1.04 percent at 17,834.45 points, with 28 components advancing.

The 50-share NSE index was up nearly 1 percent at 5,348.60. (Reporting by Ami Shah)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Infosys shares hit record high ahead of earnings

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Shares in India’s Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) rose 1.8 percent to a record high of 2,876 rupees on Friday morning, ahead of its quarterly earnings on July 13.

“We expect robust results from Tier 1 IT vendors to demonstrate the underlying demand strength,” Macquarie said in a note.

It expects Infosys to raise fiscal year 2011 U.S. dollar revenue growth guidance to 17-19 percent from 16-18 percent.

At 9:29 a.m. (11:59 a.m. ET), Infosys was up 1.7 percent, outpacing 0.9 percent rise in the main stock index .BSESN.

(Reporting by Ami Shah)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 2-India’s Reliance Natural plunges after share swap deal

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 5 (Reuters) – India’s Reliance Natural (RENR.BO) shed more than a quarter of its value on Monday, after a deal to fold into sister firm Reliance Power (RPOL.BO) valued the company at $1.5 billion, or 31 percent below its Friday closing price.

The companies, both controlled by Indian billionaire Anil Ambani, said on Sunday Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) shareholders would receive one Reliance Power share for every four they hold. [ID:nSGE663015]

Reliance Natural lost a May ruling by India’s highest court in a gas supply dispute with Reliance Industries (RELI.BO), controlled by Anil’s elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, the world’s fourth-richest man.

Analysts say there was no reason for Reliance Natural to exist independently following the court’s verdict as it would not receive gas at a cheaper rate than the government-approved price.

“The merger was a given, it was just a matter of time,” said Sonam Udasi, head of research at IDBI Capital.

“RNRL was just a shell company, and after the court verdict, it couldn’t have sold gas at a lower price, so it had to be absorbed,” he said.

Based on Friday’s closing price of Reliance Power and the number of outstanding shares of Reliance Natural, the deal values Reliance Natural at about $1.5 billion, or about 43.80 rupees a share, compared with its closing price of 63.65 rupees on Friday, according to Reuters calculations.

By 0609 GMT, shares in Reliance Natural were down 27.3 percent at 46.25 rupees, after falling to 45.50, their lowest since May 21. Reliance Power was up 2.5 percent at 179.60 rupees, after climbing to 189.80, its highest in more than a year.

About 5.6 million shares were traded in Reliance Power, more than double the stock’s average trading volume over the past 30 days. About 10.9 million shares of Reliance Natural were traded versus with their 30-day average trading volume of 12.9 million.

Reliance Natural had wanted Reliance Industries to honour a private deal between the brothers, struck when the Reliance empire was split, to supply it with 28 million standard cubic metres of gas for 17 years at $2.34, about half the government-set price.

India’s Supreme Court ordered the companies to renegotiate the agreement at the government-approved price.

Late last month, Reliance Natural and Reliance Industries said they signed a revised gas supply agreement, but did not disclose details. [ID:nSGE65O09O]

The gas is critical for Anil Ambani’s power business, including projects being built by Reliance Power. Reliance Power went public in early 2008 in a $2.9 billion IPO — India’s biggest — but has never risen above its issue price.

“RNRL’s share in CBM (coal-bed methane) blocks, and proposed coal supply logistics and shipping business plans, are still nascent and will not contribute materially to earnings of the merged entity in the medium term,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note. The merger would dilute earnings at Reliance Power, the note said.

Reliance Industries operates the country’s biggest gas find, in the D6 block of the Krishna Godavari basin off India’s east coast. The government determines who gets the gas from the field and at what price. (Additional reporting by Ami Shah and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ING insurance unit to invest $51 mln in India

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 1 (Reuters) – The Indian insurance unit of Dutch financial services firm ING (ING.AS) plans to invest 2.4 billion rupees ($51 million) in 2010/11 to fund expansion in the country, it said on Thursday.

“We have a huge opportunity in this market and we are committed to see this business grow,” ING Insurance management board member Tom McInerney said in a statement.

Last week, ING sold all of its 3.1 percent stake in India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.BO) for $175 million as part of the Dutch firm’s ‘back to basics’ programme announced in April 2009, which included a planned 8 billion euros in asset sales. [ID:nSGE65N07R]. ($1=46.7 rupees) (Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-India’s Maruti shares fall as June sales disappoint

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) – Shares in top Indian car maker Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.BO) fell as much as 3.1 percent after sales growth in June slowed from the previous month, partly due to a 6-day shutdown of its plants for maintenance work.

Total June sales at Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T), rose 17.3 percent from a year earlier to 88,091 units, but was below growth of 28 percent in May when the company sold 102,175 units.

At 0517 GMT, shares in Maruti were down 1.6 percent at 1,401.50 rupees after hitting 1,380. The Mumbai market .BSESN was down 1.1 percent.

“The shutdown is one of the reasons for the drop in volume. The market is reacting negatively because investors realise sales are tapering,” Vaishali Jajoo, an auto analyst at Angel Broking, said.

“The monsoon season is also usually not good for automakers, so we could see this trend for a quarter,” she said.

A lack of festivals tends to keep buyers away during the June-September monsoon season in India, Jajoo said.

Maruti’s domestic sales in June rose 17.9 percent to 72,812 units, while exports grew 14.6 percent to 15,279 units. (Reporting by Pratish Narayanan; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India Pantaloon Retail to raise 4 bln rupees

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 29 (Reuters) – Pantaloon Retail (PART.BO), India’s largest listed retailer, on Tuesday said it would raise 4 billion rupees ($86 million) by issuing convertible warrants to founders at 400 rupees each.

Cyclical Consumer Goods

Each warrant is convertible into one share within 18 months from the date of allotment, the retailer said.

($1=46.5 rupees)

(Reporting by Janaki Krishnan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-Godrej Consumer launches $87 mln via QIP -sources

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 29 (Reuters) – Personal care products maker Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GOCP.BO) on Tuesday launched a $87 million share sale to institutions, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.

The issue has an option to be raised to $130 million, they said.

Godrej is selling shares to institutions at 345 rupees per share, sources said adding that the issue is likely to be closed by evening.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.BO) and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) are the bankers to the issue. (Reporting by Nandita Bose and Indulal P.M.; Editing by Surojit Gupta) ((nandita.bose@thomsonreuters.com; tel: 91 22 6636 7374; Reuters Messaging: nandita.bose.reuters.com@reuters.net)) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts