Page 460 - Business Finance

Iran says neighbours exaggerating oil capacity

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh on Wednesday claimed two neighbouring countries were "exaggerating" their production capacity to reassure markets after the US ended sanction waivers for buyers of Iranian crude. Zanganeh also said Washington's stated aim to bring Iran's oil exports "to zero" was "an illusion". The White House announced last week it would end from Thursday oil purchase waivers granted to Iran's main customers -- including China, India and Turkey. Since then, Zanganeh claimed, "two of our neighbouring countries constantly try to reassure the market, by issuing statements and by exaggerating their surplus capacities". These countries which he did not name were trying to signal to the world that "there would be no problem facing global supplies as Iranian oil goes off the market". It's "an exaggeration", Zanganeh said, speaking at an oil and gas conference in Tehran. "World affairs are not as simple as America and some of its supporters and instigators think. ...

Thousands of Jaypee lenders, homebuyers vote on sole bid by Suraksha Realty

Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency proceedings after the NCLT had in 2017 admitted the application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of debt-laden firm

Charged with govt nod, NBCC asks Jaypee Infratech RP to reconsider offer

Hours after getting the government approval for its revised offer to acquire troubled realty firm Jaypee Infratech, state-owned NBCC Ltd on Wednesday asked the court-appointed resolution professional to reconsider its bid and asserted it is prepared to take all necessary steps to protect its interest. The Committee of Creditors on April 26 had rejected the NBCC bid, terming it conditional and without the necessary approval from the government. The lenders had approved voting on a rival bid from Mumbai-based Suraksha Realty, backed by Sudhir Walia of Sun Pharma group. Gujarat-based conglomerate Adani Group has also expressed interest in bidding for the realty firm, which has been in financial trouble after defaulting on loans but has a huge portfolio of housing projects and land parcels worth thousands of crores in the national capital region. In a regulatory filing, NBCC said it has got the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and other concerned ...

Hyundai Motor India's overall April sales down 1.6%

Automobile major Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) on Wednesday reported a marginal decline of 1.6 per cent in its overall sales, including exports for April 2019.

Rahul's arguments on GST demolished: CAIT

Reacting to the April's GST collection the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Tuesday said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi was wrong in saying that GST was not in the interest of traders.

Coal India April output rises 1 pc to 45.29 million tonne

Coal India Ltd (CIL) Wednesday said its coal production in April 2019 rose by 1 per cent to 45.29 million tonne as compared with 44.86 million tonne year ago. Coal offtake during April rose 2.6 per cent to 52.35 million tonne as compared with 51.02 million tonne in the year-ago period, CIL said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. The production and offtake figures are provisional, the company said. South Eastern Coalfields and Mahanadi Coalfields, subsidaries of the company, were the major contributors to the monthly production by generating 11.11 million tonne and 11.74 million tonne of coal, respectively.

L&T buys V.G. Siddhartha, CCD's stakes in Mindtree

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bought around 20 per cent stake of V.G. Siddhartha and Cafe Coffe Day (CCD)'s stake in Mindtree through block deal worth around Rs 3,200 crore.

Maruti, Hyundai sales drop in April

The country's top two carmakers, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) and Hyundai Motor India, began the new fiscal on a negative note reporting a decline in their domestic sales in April. While MSI reported an 18.7 per cent fall, Hyundai posted a decline of 10.1 per cent in domestic sales in the first month of the 2019-20 fiscal. MSI, which has over 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicles segment, sold 1,43,245 units last month. It had sold 1,72,986 units in the year-ago period. Hyundai registered sales of 42,005 units in April in the domestic market against 46,735 units in the year-ago period. MSI's sales of mini cars comprising Alto declined by 39.8 per cent during the month at 22,766 units as compared with 37,794 units in April last year. Similarly, sales of compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, were down 13.9 per cent at 72,146 units as against 83,834 units in April last year, the company said. Mid-sized sedan Ciaz sold 2,789 .

SBI links interest rates to RBI's repo rate

Public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday became the first Indian bank to link its saving and loan interest rates to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s repo rate.

OYO to acquire Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group for $415 mn

In line with its aim to become a global market leader, India's largest hotel chain OYO will acquire Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group for $415 million.

Maruti sales dip 19% in April;Honda sales up 23%

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported 18.7 per cent decline in its domestic sales in April, beginning the new fiscal with a slump. The auto major, which has over 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicles segment, sold 1,43,245 units last month. It had sold 1,72,986 units in the year-ago period. Sales of mini cars comprising Alto declined by 39.8 per cent during the month at 22,766 units as compared with 37,794 units in April last year. Similarly, sales of compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, were down 13.9 per cent at 72,146 units as against 83,834 units in April last year, the company said. Mid-sized sedan Ciaz sold 2,789 units as compared to 5,116 units in the same month a year ago. Utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga were however up 5.9 per cent at 22,035 units as compared to 20,804 units in the year-ago month. The company's exports in April were up by 14.6 per cent

Britannia Industries Q4 net up 11.28% at Rs 294.27 cr

Britannia Industries Wednesday reported an 11.82 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 294.27 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2019. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 263.16 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, Britannia Industries said in a regulatory filing. Total income during the period under review stood at Rs 2,860.75 crore as against Rs 2,581.93 crore in the year-ago quarter, it added. Commenting on the performance, Britannia Industries Managing Director Varun Berry said, "We continued the momentum in the base business through distribution expansion, heightened innovation and cost-efficiency programmes." He further said that in line with its goal to become a 'Total Foods Company', Britannia has launched new categories. For the fiscal ended March 2019, the company's net profit was at Rs 1,155.46 crore as against Rs 1,003.96 crore, up 15 per cent. Total income from operations for FY19 was at Rs 11,261.12 crore as against Rs ..

Swiggy, Subway response sought for charging bag fee

A consumer commission, here on Wednesday, issued a notice to online food delivery platform Swiggy and fast food restaurant chain Subway for charging around Rs 100 for a carry bag.

Jaypee Infratech insolvency: NBCC gets govt approvals for revised offer

The government Wednesday cleared NBCC's revised offer to acquire Jaypee Infratech under the insolvency process, days after a panel of lenders rejected the bid of the state-owned company for want of requisite approvals. NBCC in a filing to BSE said that various government departments have conveyed their approval to the revised offer for taking over Jaypee Infratech. It remains to be seen if Jaypee Infratech's interim resolution professional Anuj Jain will allow NBCC to participate in bidding process now as voting began on Suraksha Realty's resolution plan on April 30. The Housing and Urban Affairs ministry has "communicated its approval with concurrence/consultation with Department of Expenditure, NITI Aayog and DIPAM for takeover of Jaypee Infratech Ltd by NBCC", the filing said. Sources had earlier told PTI that the state-run construction major has received approvals from the Department of Expenditure and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for its ...

BlackBuck raises Rs 1,050 cr in funding round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Accel

BlackBuck, an online marketplace for trucking, Wednesday said it has raised USD 150 million (about Rs 1,050 crore) in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and Silicon Valley-based Accel. Wellington, Sequoia Capital, B Capital and LightStreet were the other new investors who participated in the funding round, the company said in a statement. The latest round, which takes the total quantum of funds raised by the company to over USD 230 million (about Rs 1,610 crore), also saw participation from existing investors Sands Capital and International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, the statement added. BlackBuck plans to deploy these funds to penetrate deeper into the national freight transportation market, investing heavily in technology, boosting product and data science capabilities. "As part of this round, the employees at BlackBuck have access to liquidating 25 per cent of their total vested stocks at the current stock price of the company. .

DCM Shriram Q4 profit jumps nearly 6-fold at Rs 293 cr

DCM Shriram Wednesday reported nearly six-fold jump in net profit at Rs 293 crore for the fourth quarter of last fiscal. Its net profit stood at Rs 51 crore in the year-ago period, the company, which is into chemicals, sugar, fertiliser and seed businesses, said in a regulatory filing. Net revenue from operations rose 21 per cent to Rs 1,888 crore from Rs 1,566 crore in the year-ago period. During 2018-19, net profit increased 35 per cent to Rs 906 crore from Rs 670 crore in the year-ago period. Net revenues rose 13 per cent to Rs 7,771 crore in the last fiscal from Rs 6,900 crore in 2017-18. The company's net debt increased to Rs 1,265 crore at the end of the last fiscal from Rs 653 crore at the end of the previous year. "All our projects and initiatives for achieving scale, strengthening integration, costs reduction and rationalization of unviable activities have further strengthened our operating and returns profile," DCM Shriram Chairman & Sr MD Ajay Shriram and Vice Chairman .

Odisha registers 73 per cent polling in 4 phases

Odisha Chief Electoral Officer Surendra Kumar Wednesday said an average of 73.08 per cent of 3.18 crore voters exercised their franchise in the four-phase polling of Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. The highest voting of 78.89 per cent in Lok Sabha polls was recorded in Nabarangpur seat while the lowest of 59.60 per cent was registered in Bhubaneswar constituency. The highest (86.83 per cent) and lowest (43.04 per cent) voter turnout in assembly elections were recorded in Kotpad and Bhubaneswar Central constituencies respectively, Kumar told reporters. Polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections were held in Odisha in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. While 73.76 per cent votes were polled during the first phase, the voter turnout in the second and third phases was recorded at 72.56 per cent and 71.62 per cent respectively. In the last and fourth phase, 74.50 per cent polling was registered in the state, Kumar said.

VECV sales flat in April at 3,961 units

VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, Wednesday reported sales of 3,961 units in April, nearly flat on year. The company had sold 3,960 units in April 2018, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) said in a statement. Eicher branded trucks and buses recorded total sales of 3,882 units in April as compared with 3,940 units in the year-ago month, down 1.47 per cent, it added. In the domestic market, sales of Eicher branded trucks and buses were at 3,663 units last month, up 8.05 per cent from 3,390 units sold in the same month a year ago, the company said.

NBCC gets approvals for revised Jaypee Infra bid

State-run construction giant NBCC has received all the required approvals from ministries and government departments to bid for and acquire the debt-laden Jaypee Infratech, sources told IANS on Wednesday.

Royal Enfield sales dip 17 pc in April

Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, Wednesday reported 17 per cent decline in total sales at 62,879 units in April. The company had sold 76,187 units in April last year, it said in a statement. Domestic sales stood at 59,137 units last month as compared with 74,627 units in April 2018, a dip of 21 per cent. International sales, however, rose over two-fold to 3,742 units in April from 1,560 units in the same month last year, it said.