Page 3038 - Business Finance
Adrenalin eSystems launches AI-based HR chatbot 'Sara'
Software solutions company in Human Resources automation, Adrenalin eSystems Ltd has unveiled an Aritifical Intelligence based HR chatbot "Sara" aimed at serving the needs of customers and employees. The 'chatbot' is another milestone in Adrenalin's exciting journey of delivering transformative digital HR. "Sara uses natural-language chatbot functionality. This helps employees leverage their mobile devices to execute tasks without having (the need) to enter the application portal," city-based company said in a statement. "Adrenalin has always been at the forefront of innovation; as pioneers in the Digital HR space we constantly seek ways to surpass expectations," company, Managing Director and CEO, Sridhar Ganesh said. "Our partners are increasingly embracing mobility and the onus is on us to deliver innovative solutions that redefine the benchmarks in terms of being relevant, convenient and remarkable," he said.
Record-breaking performance by RSP in July, 2018
Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) today said it has notched up its best-ever performance for any month in all major areas during July 2018. During the month, the plant produced 3,38,126 tonne of hot metal, 3,20,009 tonne of crude steel and 2,87,373 tonne of saleable steel, creating all-time-best-records on all the three important fronts, RSP said in a statement. This splendid performance in July has also helped the plant register its highest ever production performances in the first 4 months of any fiscal, it said. In the April-July 2018 period, RSP made 12,70,361 tonne of hot metal, which is the best-ever performance and also an increase of 25.3 per cent over the corresponding period last year (CPLY), it said. Blast Furnace-5 has made a record contribution of 9,28,150 tonne in this achievement, which is also a growth of 21.76 per cent over CPLY. Similarly the total crude steel production in the period was 11,86,076 tonne, which is a rise of 21.8 per cent over last year. The ...
Mfg states showing lesser revenue shortfall: Sushil Modi
The Chairman of GST Implementation Committee Sushil Modi today said that revenue shortfall of manufacturing states was lower than the consuming ones despite GST being a destination-based tax. "It is surprising to see the manufacturing states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and few others were experiencing a lesser shortfall in GST (Goods and Services Tax) revenue collection despite being manufacturing states," he told reporters here. For Maharashtra, the shortfall was 2 per cent, while for Tamil Nadu it was 3 per cent, he said. For consuming states like West Bengal, the shortfall was 10 per cent while for Uttar Pradesh it was 8 per cent and Bihar at 30 per cent, he said on the sidelines of an Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) event here. The manufacturing states were apprehending that they would lose revenue as GST was a consumption-based tax. "It is due to the huge base of the services sector in the manufacturing states and the shortfall they face .
IFC invests $25 mn in Mahindra Rural Housing Finance
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested Rs 160 crore or USD 25 million in Mahindra Rural Housing Finance. The company will use the proceeds to give loans to low-income borrowers in villages, a release said today. Last month, IFC had committed USD 100 million in Mahindra Financial Services to increase loans to farmers for buying tractors, commercial vehicles, and other equipment for modern farming. According to a National Real Estate Development Council estimate, housing shortage will touch 114 million units by 2022, of which 68 million will be in the rural areas. Mahindra Rural Housing Finance has 85 per cent of its portfolio in rural areas, with an average loan size of only USD 1,200. Its customers include farmers, micro-entrepreneurs, and salaried class in the unorganised sector. "This association with the IFC will help us capitalise on the great growth opportunities in rural housing," said Ramesh Iyer, vice-chairman of ...
Swiggy acquires Scootsy to strengthen restaurant network
Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy today announced its acquisition of delivery platform Scootsy to strengthen its restaurant network and help expand to newer cities. The acquisition of Mumbai-based Scootsy is in line with the plan of Swiggy to provide a superior consumer experience and the widest choice for consumers, a press release said. "It (the acquisition) will extend the breadth and selection of the existing network of 40,000 restaurants of Swiggy by increasing the number of its dining places," the release said. "As Swiggy brings with it a conducive eco-system and the right resources for expansion, the acquisition will also enable it to propel its foray into four or five major cities in the coming months," it added.
Gold slips, silver rebounds on muted demand
Gold prices went down by Rs 75 per 10 grams at the bullion market here today following a weak global trend coupled with muted demand from local jewellers. While, silver prices recovered by Rs 20 per kg owing to renewed offtake from industrial units. Standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) declined by Rs 75 to close at Rs 29,590 per 10 grams from its Wednesday's finish of Rs 29,665. Pure gold (99.9 per cent purity) also fell by a similar margin to settle at Rs 29,740 per 10 grams as compared to Rs 29,815 yesterday. However, silver (.999 fineness) rose by Rs 20 to end at Rs 37,890 from Rs 37,870 earlier. Globally, gold prices held steady after an upbeat assessment of the US economy by the Federal Reserve and new trade tensions between Washington and Beijing boosted the dollar and the US bond yields. Spot gold was flat at USD 1,215.81 an ounce in an early trade. In other precious metals, silver was trading flat at USD 15.35 an ounce.
Global Markets: Bond yields, stocks fall as trade fears spread to Europe
LONDON (Reuters) - Fears of an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China spread from Asian markets to Europe on Thursday, triggering a fall in bonds yields and stocks while a batch of disappointing corporate results also weighed on sentiment.
Mahindra Logistics' Q1 net up 61%
Mahindra Logistics today reported a 61 per cent increase in consolidated net income at Rs 24 crore for the three months to June on a revenue of Rs 928 crore, which grew 9 per cent. The company attributed the better show to higher gross margins across different industry verticals driven by focus on operational efficiencies and better revenue mix coupled with other income. The bottomline was driven by the warehousing vertical and other value-added activities, the firm said in a release. Pirojshaw Sarkari, chief executive of Mahindra Logistics, said, "Profit growth was significantly higher because of expansion in gross margins, increase in other income and nil strategic consulting fees compared to last year." "We remain buoyant on the logistics sector potential and will continue our endeavour to shape the industry and expand our business," he added Mahindra Logistics is a portfolio company of Mahindra Partners, which is the USD 1-billion private equity division of the ...
Fund raising via QIP drops 85 pc to Rs 4,100 cr in Q1 FY19
Funds mobilised by Indian firms through issuance of shares to institutional investors tumbled by a whopping 85 per cent to nearly Rs 4,100 crore during the first quarter of the current fiscal in comparison to the year-ago period. During April-June of 2017-18, the firms had mopped up Rs 28,055 crore. According to the data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital garnered by the listed companies through qualified institutional placement (QIP) route stood at Rs 4,070 crore during the June quarter of the financial year 2018-19. This is 85.49 per cent less than the amount raised by the companies in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. While in April 2018, the firms garnered Rs 1,862 crore and the amount mopped up by them in May and June 2018 stood at Rs 1,008 crore and Rs 1,200 crore, respectively. The funds were mobilised for business expansion, refinancing of debt, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes. QIP is an ...
Manpasand Beverages Q1 net at Rs 36 cr
Fruit drinks manufacturer Manpasand Beverages today reported 1.30 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 36.37 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 35.9 crore during the year-ago period. Total revenue stood at Rs 340.06 crore in the reported quarter. It was Rs 392.94 crore in April-June 2017, the company said in a BSE filing. It said revenue from operations is not comparable with the corresponding year-ago quarter due to implementation of GST from July 1, 2017. "Issues unrelated to operations caused some spill-over and impacted our business in June. Despite this challenge, we managed to perform relatively well and kept ourselves focussed on expansion and product development. Operations are now back to normal and we continue to be confident about our growth plans," Chairman and MD Dhirendra Singh said. In May this year, the company's statutory auditor Deloitte Haskins & Sells resigned ahead of a board meeting scheduled for May 30 for ...
Cognizant Q2 net profit down 3 pc at USD 456 mn
IT services firm Cognizant today posted 2.97 per cent dip in net profit to USD 456 million for the second quarter this year. The company had posted a net profit of USD 470 million in the year-ago period, Cognizant said in a statement. Revenue rose to USD 4 billion in the April-June 2018 quarter from USD 3.6 billion in the year-ago period. The US-based company follows January-December as its fiscal year. For the third quarter, the company expects its revenue to be in the range of USD 4.06 billion to USD 4.10 billion. Its full year revenue is forecast to be in the range of USD 16.05 billion to USD 16.30 billion. "As our second-quarter results confirm, we're making solid progress on our plan to accelerate our shift to digital services and solutions, Cognizant CEO and Vice Chairman Francisco D'Souza said. The company remains confident of its ability to invest for growth and achieve its financial targets, he added. "Year-over-year non-GAAP operating margin expansion reflects strong ...
Benchmarks hit fresh intraday low
The key indices extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 310.61 points or 0.83% at 37,211.01. The Nifty 50 index was down 90.25 points or 0.80% at 11,255.95. Domestic shares mirrored losses in global stocks as US-China trade worries resurfaced.
DCB Bank allots 89,840 equity shares
Under ESOP
Uganda's Cipla Quality Chemical Industries says plans IPO, listing
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan drugmaker Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Ltd said on Thursday it plans an initial public offering and a listing on the East African country's stock exchange.
BSE's MF platform registers transaction worth over Rs 50,000 cr in Apr-July
Leading stock exchange BSE today said its mutual fund distribution platform has witnessed an over two-fold jump in number of transactions to 98 lakh with a total value of Rs 50,400 crore in first four months of the ongoing fiscal. The platform -- BSE Star MF -- had processed 37.71 lakh transactions amounting to Rs 33,190 crore in the April-July period of 2017-18, the exchange said in a statement. Currently, BSE StAR MF contributes over 26 per cent of total financial transactions. "BSE StAR MF has experienced a growth of 154 per cent in first four months of financial year 2018-19 with over 97.73 lakh orders were process amounting to Rs 50,400 crore," the exchange noted. The exchange's platform has a distribution network of over 13,500 registered members and more than 2 lakh member associates on its network across the country. Besides, it is adding over 2,000 mutual funds distributors per month. According to the bourse, the simplicity and robustness of BSE StAR MF exchange ...
Piramal Finance invests Rs 300 cr in M3M India's project, to infuse Rs 550 cr more
Piramal group firm Piramal Finance has invested Rs 300 crore in a mixed-use project of realty firm M3M India and has committed to put in Rs 550 crore more fund. The project 'M3M 65th Avenue' is being developed on Golf Course Extension road at Gurgaon, the developer said in a statement. "Piramal Finance has committed Rs 850 crore in our project M3M 65th Avenue, out of which Rs 300 crore has already been invested," M3M Director Pankal Bansal said. The association with Piramal, with their expertise across real estate and infrastructure fund management, would further enable the company to deliver an excellent value proposition for all our stakeholders, he added. To bring the highest level of professionalism, M3M said it has appointed Mace Group Ltd, a global consultancy, and construction firm headquartered in London, for construction management. Close to 10 million sq ft area was developed by M3M during the last 12-18 months and about 10 million sq ft area will be developed by the company
ONGC first-quarter profit misses estimates
(Reuters) - India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Thursday posted a lower-than-expected first-quarter standalone profit, hurt by higher expenses.
HEG Apr-Jun net profit at Rs 770 cr
Graphite electrode maker HEG today reported a net profit of Rs 770 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The company had incurred a loss of Rs 8.43 crore during the same period a year ago, HEG, part Rs 8,157 crore LNJ Bhilwara Group, said in a statement. Graphite electrodes are used to melt scrap in electric arc furnaces to produce new steel. During April-June 2018, the firm's revenue from operations jumped over seven-fold to Rs 1,587.38 crore from Rs 213.71 crore in the year-ago quarter. Its expenses during the said period were at Rs 418.71 crore, higher from Rs 221.26 crore in April-June 2017. The company's plant located at Mandideep near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh is the largest single-site integrated graphite electrode facility in the world, it said. Shares of the company today ended 0.36 per cent down at Rs 4,327.05 apiece on BSE.
MOIL Q1 net up 16% at Rs 113 cr
The country's top manganese ore producer MOIL today posted 16 per cent rise in standalone net profit to Rs 113.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2018-19, on the back of lower expenses. It had posted standalone net profit of Rs 97.7 crore in the year-ago period, MOIL said in a filing to BSE. However, the total income of the company in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal declined to Rs 360.98 crore, over Rs 381.66 crore in the year-ago period. The total expenses of the company dropped to Rs 191.38 crore, over Rs 232.87 crore in the year-ago period. MOIL produces and sells different grades of manganese ore. At present, MOIL operates 10 mines, six located in the Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra and four in the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.
HDFC Bank allots equity shares under QIP and ADR Offering
Pursuant to the QIP and the ADR Offering, the paid up Equity Share capital of the Bank stands increased to Rs. 5,41,72,03,812 consisting of 2,70,86,01,906 Equity Shares.