Page 50 - Companies

RITES, IRFC sign pact to work in transport infrastructure sector

Engineering firm RITES on Thursday said it has signed a pact with the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to explore possibilities of collaborating in the railway eco-system and transport infrastructure sector. In a statement, RITES said it will offer consultancy and advisory services and assist in ascertaining the financial & technical viability of projects, while IRFC will provide financial services to projects/ institutions that have got backwards and forward linkages with the Railways. "RITES Ltd signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to explore avenues of mutual collaboration in the railway eco-system and the transport infrastructure sector," it said. RITES Ltd Chief Strategy Officer Manobendra Ghoshal said RITES' consultancy prowess and IRFC's financial expertise will stimulate mega and critical projects and drive sustainable growth in the transport infrastructure sector. The strategic partnership, through knowledge ...

PowerGrid InvIT's consolidated net profit falls 10% to Rs 190 crore

POWERGRID Infrastructure Investment Trust on Thursday reported a 10 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 190.90 crore in the June quarter. The consolidated net profit of POWERGRID Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT) was at Rs 213.88 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2022, according to a BSE filing. Total income in the first quarter of the current fiscal declined to Rs 321.06 crore from Rs 331.38 crore in the same period a year ago. POWERGRID Unchahar Transmission Ltd, the investment manager to the PGInvIT, announced an income distribution of Rs 3 per unit to the unit holders for the June quarter. It will comprise Rs 2.03 per unit as interest, Rs 0.20 per unit as taxable dividend, Rs 0.24 per unit as exempt dividend, Rs 0.52 per unit as repayment of special purpose vehicle (SPV) debt and Rs 0.01 per unit as treasury income. The payment will be made by August 11, the filing said.

K'taka CM orders single-window system to solve mining lease firms' issues

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday directed officials to set up a single-window system to provide forest department clearances and address other issues related to mining lease companies. He said at a high-level meeting that ministers and officials of the Mining and Geology, Revenue and Forest Departments should hold a meeting every month or once in every two months to provide forest clearance and solve the problems faced by them. It was mentioned during the meeting that many applications were pending with the forest department and they could not be cleared because the mining lease companies did not carry out afforestation as mandated in the contract for want of an alternative land, a release put out by the Chief Minister's office said. For this, there are farmers in Arsikere and some other parts of the state who are willing to sell their agricultural land due to damage caused by elephants and other wildlife. The Chief Minister suggested that these mining firms be ...

Indian Energy Exchange net profit up by 10% to Rs 76 crore in June quarter

Indian Energy Exchange on Thursday posted a 10 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 75.82 crore in the June quarter on the back of higher revenues. The consolidated net profit of the company was Rs 69.12 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal, according to a BSE filing. Total income of the company rose to Rs 127.36 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 113.39 crore a year ago. The exchange's board has approved the re-appointment of Sudha Pillai and Tejpreet Singh Chopra as non-executive independent directors for another five years after their respective terms end next year. The current term of Pillai will expire on April 25, 2024 and that of Chopra on March 4, 2024.

Sunteck Realty Q1 sale bookings for properties up 16% to Rs 387 cr

Mumbai-based Sunteck Realty has reported 16 per cent increase in sale bookings of properties to Rs 387 crore for the first quarter of this fiscal year. Its sale bookings stood at Rs 333 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing by Sunteck Realty. During the last fiscal, the company had sold properties worth Rs 1,602 crore, up 23 per cent from Rs 1,303 crore in the previous financial year. Almost all real estate developers are reporting growth in sale bookings for the first quarter of this fiscal as demand continues to remain strong across all price categories despite rise in property prices and an increase in mortgage rate.

Ajmera Realty & Infra Q1 consolidated net profit rises 82% to Rs 21 crore

Ajmera Realty & Infra India reported an 82 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 21.07 crore in the June quarter. Its net profit stood at Rs 11.57 crore in the year-ago period, the company said. Ajmera Realty's total income rose to Rs 117.57 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, up from Rs 55.12 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Sales bookings dropped 44 per cent to Rs 225 crore in the June quarter from Rs 400 crore in the year-ago period. Ajmera Realty & Infra has presence mainly in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Venture capital firm Cactus Venture Partners invests $4 mn in Kapture CX

Venture capital firm Cactus Venture Partners on Thursday said it has invested USD 4 million (about Rs 33 crore) in software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based customer support automation startup Kapture CX. Founded in 2014, Kapture CX provides business solutions to automate customer support over call, e-mail, chat and social media for retail, travel, banking and financial services (BFSI) and consumer durable companies. "We are seeing a lot of demand from enterprises to enhance their customer experience. No one is happy with their customer support platform provider and large incumbents are struggling to meet the requirements of enterprise customers. "The bets we have placed on Gen AI capabilities and expansions in select international markets have paid off quite well. We intend to use this capital efficiently in growth markets we have identified," Co-Founders of Kapture CX Sheshgiri Kamath and Vikas Garg said. Kapture CX has operations in the US, UAE, Indonesia and the Philippines apart from

NAM India's profit after tax doubles to Rs 236 crore in Apr-June quarter

Nippon Life India Asset Management (NAM India) on Thursday said its profit after tax has doubled to Rs 235.7 crore in the June quarter. The company had reported a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 114.1 crore in the year-ago period, NAM India said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations rose 12 per cent to Rs 351.4 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 316.6 crore in the April-June quarter of the preceding financial year (2022-23). "We witnessed an improvement in overall market share, driven by gains across asset classes (barring liquid). Equity market share, which had been stable over the past few quarters, has now started to improve," Sundeep Sikka, ED and CEO of NAM India, said. NAM India is the asset manager of Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF). As on June 30, 2023, NAM India's assets under management were at Rs 4 lakh crore, including NIMF's assets base of Rs 3.14 lakh crore. Shares of Nippon Life India Asset Management settled 1.67 per cent higher at Rs 316.90

Harley-Davidson quarterly profit skids, outlook revised on production halt

Net profit fell to $178 million, or $1.22 per share, in the quarter, from $215.9 million, or $1.46 per share, a year earlier

Zydus gets USFDA nod to market cancer treatment generic injection

Zydus Lifesciences on Thursday said it has received approval from the US health regulator to market a cancer treatment generic injection in the American market. The company has received final approval from the USFDA for Plerixafor injection, which is used by patients with certain types of cancer to prepare them for stem cell transplant, Zydus Lifesciences said in a statement. The drug will be manufactured at the group's injectable manufacturing facility at Ahmedabad, it added. As per IQVIA MAT May 2023 data, Plerixafor injection single-dose vials had annual sales of USD 210 million in the US. Shares of Zydus were trading 4.39 per cent up at Rs 649.80 apiece on the BSE.

ArcelorMittal reports over 50% fall in net income in April-June quarter

Global steel giant ArcelorMittal on Thursday posted over 50 per cent decline in its net income at USD 1,860 million in the April-June quarter. The company had posted a net income of USD 3,923 million in the corresponding period of last year. The Luxembourg-headquartered integrated steel and mining company follows the January-December fiscal year. In a statement, ArcelorMittal said it has "recorded net income in 2Q 2023 of USD 1,860 million as compared to USD 1,096 million in 1Q 2023 and USD 3,923 million for 2Q 2022". ArcelorMittal's net income for January-June or first half of 2023 was also down manifold at USD 2,956 million as compared to USD 8,048 million in 1H 2022. Total steel shipments in the second quarter (April-June) of 2023 were 1.2 per cent lower as compared with 14.4 MT in 2Q 2022, and 1.7 per cent lower from 14.5MT in the first quarter of this year. ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aditya Mittal said: "We have delivered a strong set of financials in the fi

Zypp Electric allocates Rs 1.5 crore for buyback, first in EV industry

Zypp Electric said the allocation has been made to 15 employees who have been in the company for over a year

Together Fund announces new fund worth $150 mn; to focus on AI startups

Together Fund was founded by Girish Mathrubootham, (co-founder, Freshworks), Manav Garg, (founder, Eka Software) and Shubham Gupta, who used to lead SaaS deals at Matrix Partners India

Godfrey Phillips India's consolidated net profit rises to Rs 220.97 cr

Cigarette maker Godfrey Phillips India Ltd on Wednesday reported an increase of 68.61 per cent in its consolidated net profit to Rs 220.97 crore for the first quarter ended on June 2023. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 131.05 crore during the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal, Godfrey Phillips India said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 26.84 per cent to Rs 1,245.39 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 981.83 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Godfrey Phillips' total expenses were at Rs 1,036.06 crore, up 25.5 per cent in the first quarter of FY 2023-24. Its total income in the June quarter was Rs 1,298.08 crore, up 31.9 per cent. Its revenue from cigarettes, tobacco and related products was Rs 1,128.90 crore, up 28.7 per cent during the April-June period. While revenue from retail and related products was Rs 112.95 crore, up 8.08 per cent, as against Rs 104.50 crore in the first quarter of last fis

Air India aims to increase annual cargo capacity to 2 mn tonnes in 5 years

Air India on Wednesday said it is aiming for a 300 per cent growth in its annual cargo capacity to two million tonnes with non-stop connections to key export markets globally over the next five years. The belly capacity of the Air India fleet will grow significantly over the next few years, with the addition of new wide body aircraft this year and with most aircraft on firm order set to arrive from 2025, complementing India's manufacturing and export growth, according to a statement. This will have a cascading effect in generating greater employment prospects and boosting various business sectors, while supporting the economy, Air India said. The airline in collaboration with its joint venture partner SATS will make substantial capital expenditure for developing airport and logistics infrastructure. It is also exploring the possibilities of augmenting freighter capacity in collaboration with partners. Tata Group-owned Air India in June this year signed the purchase agreements to bu

DGCA suspends licences of two IndiGo pilots for violating safety norms

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the flying licences of two IndiGo pilots for violating safety norms as the aircraft they operated suffered a tail strike while landing at the Ahmedabad airport last month, according to a senior official. The senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday said the licence of the Pilot-In-Command (PIC) has been suspended for three months and that of the co-pilot for one month. An IndiGo aircraft operating the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad flight on June 15 had suffered a tail strike while landing at the Ahmedabad airport, following which DGCA had launched a probe into the incident. The regulator had also ordered grounding of the two pilot till investigation into the incident was completed. "On 15.06.2023, an Airbus 321 aircraft was involved in a tail strike while landing at Ahmedabad. DGCA investigation has revealed that the crew carried out the landing in deviation from established SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)," t

Sebi exempts 3 trusts from making open offer to Taj GVK Hotels shareholders

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday exempted three trusts from making an open offer to the shareholders of Taj GVK Hotels and Resorts Ltd after their proposed acquisition of a 49.44 percent stake in the company. The order came after three trusts -- Blue Moon Trust, Moonshot Trust, and Starlight Trust-- filed an application with the regulator in April 2023, and sought exemption from certain provisions of takeover regulations. The acquirer trusts have been set up as private family trusts for providing suitable succession planning between the members of the Gunupati Indira Krishna Reddy family. Under the proposed acquisition, Gunupati Indira Krishna Reddy, who is a promoter of Taj GVK Hotels, intends to transfer a total of 49.44 percent of her shareholding in the firm to the three trusts, according to a Sebi order. Once the transaction is complete, the acquirer trusts would collectively hold 49.44 per cent shares in Taj GVK Hotels. The proposed transaction triggers the open offer ..

Working with Pratt & Whitney amid latest engine probe, says IndiGo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation said on Wednesday it is working with Pratt & Whitney to assess any potential impact on its fleet, after a warning from the U.S. engine maker spooked global airlines.

Centre proposes to sell upto 5.36% from its 78.2% stake in Rail Vikas Nigam

The Indian government will sell a stake of up to 5.36% in state-owned Rail Vikas Nigam this week, in a deal that could fetch 13.3 billion rupees ($162.12 million), an exchange filing showed

Risk management platform Effectiv raises $4.5 mn capital in seed funding

Real-time fraud and risk management platform Effectiv on Wednesday said it has secured an additional USD 4.5-million capital in seed funding. It will be used to accelerate the company's growth in helping organisations fight financial fraud, it said. The latest funding round was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures and participation from Accel and angel investors. "Our product has resonated with our partners, especially when fraud is at an all-time high. We also recognise that the financial world is rapidly digitising, changing how consumers and organisations interact. "At the same time, advanced generative AI technologies are attacking organisations at a scale we have never seen," its CEO Ravi Sandepudi said. The platform -- which provides AI-driven solutions like payment fraud detection, customer and business onboarding verification and compliance management -- said it has experienced rapid growth since launching in 2022. The company has helped organisations process more than USD 27