Page 3740 - Business Finance

Banking services hit as employees' strike continues for 2nd day

Banking services were hit across the country for the second day today as about 10 lakh bankers continued their strike to protest a "meagre" 2 per cent salary hike offered by Indian Banks Association (IBA) -- the management body. Today is the last day of the two-day strike being observed by the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation consisting all nine unions of the banking sector. Banking operations are likely to become normal from Friday. UFBU has claimed that the strike is "total success" as the employees have "enthusiastically participated in the strike in all banks and in all branches". According to reports received by UFBU from various states and centres like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna, Nagpur, Jammu, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Agra, Ambala, and Trivandrum, employees have enthusiastically participated in the strike in all banks and branches. There are about 85,000 branches of 21 public sector banks .

HGS Q4 net up 13 pc to Rs 48 cr

Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) today said its net profit has increased by 13.1 per cent to Rs 48.2 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. This is after the impact of an exceptional item of Rs 12 crore on account of the company's UK business. The company had registered a net profit of Rs 42.7 crore in the January-March 2017 quarter. HGS saw its revenue from operations growing 6.8 per cent to Rs 1,003.8 crore as against Rs 940 crore in the January-March 2017 quarter. For the full FY18 fiscal, net profit grew 7.2 per cent to Rs 192 crore, while revenue from operations was up 3.7 per cent to Rs 3,849.3 crore. "Although there has been softening of EBITDA margins in FY2018 due to performance of the UK and India Domestic business, PAT for FY2018 grew by 7.2 per cent due to lower depreciation, interest and tax costs," HGS CEO Partha DeSarkar said. He added that the company had some large wins from new logos especially in the second half of the fiscal that will provide a strong base for ..

Muted demand drags down zinc futures by 0.12 pc

Zinc prices softened by 0.12 per cent to Rs 212.05 per kg in futures trading today as speculators cut their bets amid easing demand from industries in the spot market. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, zinc for delivery in May month shed 25 paise, or 0.12 per cent to Rs 212.05 per kg in business turnover of 254 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in June month contracts eased by 20 paise, or 0.09 per cent to Rs 212.75 per kg in 142 lots. Analysts said offloading of positions by participants owing to slackened demand from consuming industries in the physical market mainly weighed on zinc prices at futures trade.

Treebo acquires events and activities company Events High

Budget hotel brand Treebo today said it has acquired Events High, a marketplace for experiential events and activities, for an undisclosed amount. Events High offers customers information on, and ability to book activities like treks and hikes, cooking classes, dance classes, concerts, heritage walks and nightlife in eight cities, including Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata and Goa. "The acquisition is in alignment with the company's mission to become a travel network by delivering experiences. Besides these eight cities, we are planning to expand Events High experiences to all major tier-I cities. We want to offer our customers a complete holiday experience," Treebo co-founder Sidharth Gupta told PTI here. The events and activities segment is estimated to be USD 180 billion globally and USD 5 billion in India. Post the acquisition, Treebo has absorbed the entire Events High team. Experiencing local activities is a core part of people's travel plans. Moreover, with nearly 100 per .

Global Markets: Asian stocks rebound, euro pulls off lows as anxiety over Italy recedes

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks rebounded from a two-month trough on Thursday and the euro enjoyed a respite after sinking to its lowest in 10 months as the political turmoil in Italy that roiled global financial markets showed signs of easing.

Aluminium futures up 0.13% on positive spot cues

Aluminium prices rose 0.13 per cent to Rs 153.05 per kg in futures trade today as speculators built up fresh positions, tracking a firm trend at the spot markets on rising demand. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in May month edged up by 20 paise, or 0.13 per cent to Rs 153.05 per kg in business turnover of 90 lots. The metal for delivery in June contract was trading higher by a similar margin to Rs 154.25 per kg in 29 lots. Analysts said fresh positions created by participants after pick up in demand from industries in the physical market influenced aluminium prices in futures trade.

GMR's Q4 net down 94 percent at Rs 4.87 cr

GMR Infrastructure Limited today said its consolidated profit after tax was at Rs 4.87 crore down by nearly 94 per cent when compared to the same quarter previous fiscal. The company reported Rs 78.77 crore profit during Q4 of FY17. According to a filing with BSE, the company saidthe total income for the quarter under discussion was down by 23 per cent to Rs 2,235 crore against Rs 2902.5 crore in the same quarter in FY17. For the full year 2017-18 was at Rs 9274.3 crore against Rs 10039 crore during the previous year. The company suffered Rs 1114.6 crore against Rs 347.5 crore in 2016-17, GMR said.

Bank strike continues for 2nd day in Maharashtra

Banking services in Maharashtra are likely to be affected today too as bank employees continued their nationwide strike for the second day protesting a "meagre" 2 per cent wage hike offered by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), representing management. Nearly 60,000 employees and officers from 12,000 branches of various public banks, old generation private sector banks, foreign lenders and regional rural banks are on a two-day nation-wide strike since yesterday. United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body of nine unions under which bank employees are protesting, claimed that the first day of bank strike was a 100 per cent success. "All banking services were crippled as bank branches were closed. ATMs also dried up after few hours as currency chests were closed," UFBU's convener (Maharashtra) Devidas Tuljapurkar claimed. According to an estimate by industry body Assocham, the two-day nation-wide bank strike might impact Rs 20,000 crore worth of customer transactions. In its

Kellton Tech's Q4 profit up 57 per cent to Rs 22.3 cr

Kellton Tech Solutions Limited,a city-based IT services organisation today said its net profit for the quarter ended March 31 was up by 57 per cent to Rs 22. 3 crore against Rs 14.1 crore during the same quarter in FY 17. According to a press release issued by the company, total revenue was Rs 215 crore during the quarter under review, up 28.7 per cent. The total revenues in Q4 last fiscal was Rs 167 crore. ChairmanandWhole-time Director, Kellton Techm, Niranjan Chintamsaidthe year ended on a positive note. "With investments in leadership development, brand building, technology, and innovation, we are now the trusted digital transformation partners for our clients. This year leveraging our expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, Cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT) we will deliver innovative solutions for our clients, sustaining growth and improving shareholder value," he said. Total revenue was Rs 7,86 crore for FY18 as compared to Rs 6,18.5 crore in FY17 ...

Market breadth turns negative

Key benchmark indices trimmed gains in morning trade after an initial upmove triggered by positive Asian stocks. At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 48.93 points or 0.14% at 34,955.04. The Nifty 50 index was up 8.95 points or 0.08% at 10,623.30. The Sensex was trading below the psychological 35,000 level after hitting an intraday high above that level in opening trade.

Strong global growth but risks persists-OECD Economic Outlook

However, the outlook also underlines that significant risks posed by trade tensions, financial market vulnerabilities and rising oil prices loom large, and more needs to be done to secure a strong and resilient medium-term improvement in living standards.

GMR Infra's March-qtr net loss narrows to Rs 819.53 cr

GMR Infrastructure today reported narrowing of its standalone net loss to Rs 819.53 crore for the quarter ended March 2018. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 2,478.78 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Total revenue in the quarter under review stood at Rs 321.29 crore as compared to Rs 272.47 crore in the year-ago period, GMR Infrastructure said in a regulatory filing. During the quarter, the company reported provision for diminution in value of investments and advances in subsidiaries of Rs 662.50 crore as against a provision of Rs 2,357.68 crore made in the last quarter of 2016-17. GMR Group has interests in airport, energy, transportation and urban infrastructure. The stock was trading 2.47 per cent lower at Rs 17.80 apiece on BSE.

Gold prices edge higher on weaker dollar, trade tensions

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Thursday, as the dollar eased from 6-1/2-month highs hit earlier this week, with prices further supported by concerns over U.S.-China trade.

Orient Cement calls off deal to acquire 2 units from Jaypee

CK Birla Group firm Orient Cement has terminated the agreement to acquire two entities, Bhilai Jaypee Cement and Nigrie Cement Grinding Unit, from Jaypee group firms for a total consideration of Rs 1,946 crore. On May 31 last year, Orient Cement had signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), for acquisition of 74 per cent equity shares of Bhilai Jaypee Cement Ltd from JAL. A business transfer agreement (BTA) was also signed between Orient Cement, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (JPVL) and JAL, for acquisition of Nigrie Cement Grinding Unit, as going concern from JPVL. "Under provisions of the SPA and the BTA, either party is entitled to terminate the agreement if the closing does not take place within expiry of 12 months from date of execution of the SPA and the BTA. "Since the closing has not been achieved within said period of 12 months, the company has terminated the SPA and the BTA with notice to other parties," Orient Cement said in a regulatory ..

ICICI Bank slips after ordering probe into whistle-blower's allegations

ICICI Bank fell 1.49% to Rs 281 at 9:36 IST on BSE after the bank said that it will start an enquiry into whistleblower complaint.

Re-Engagements To Begin For Indo-EU FTA Shortly: Commerce Secretary

Ms. Teaotia informed that in the past a great deal of stock taking had already happened between the India and EU and several issues relating to proposed FTA were addressed to get a fair stock taking exercise needed.

Board of Prime Focus approves issue of debt securities upto Rs 500 cr

At meeting held on 30 May 2018

Orient Cement terminates share purchase agreement and business transfer agreement

For acquisition of Bhilai Jaypee Cement and Nigrie Cement Grinding Unit

Market gains on positive Asian stocks

Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 127.46 points or 0.37% at 35,033.57. The Nifty 50 index was up 47.25 points or 0.45% at 10,661.60. The Sensex hit intraday high above the psychological 35,000 level in opening trade.

ONGC gains after good Q4 results

ONGC rose 0.98% to Rs 175.65 at 9:23 IST on BSE after net profit rose 36.3% to Rs 5915.12 crore on 10.4% increase in net sales to Rs 23969.83 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017.