Market winces as RBI cracks the whip

Across-the-board selling forced all BSE sectoral indices to finish in the red. The market was extremely volatile throughout the session. A hawkish stance taken by the RBI during the review of its annual monetary policy and the Federal Reserve's meeting scheduled later today, soured the mood on the bourses.

The 30-shares BSE Sensex lost 121.04 points (0.85%), to end at 14,090.92. It had opened higher, at 14,219.38, and surged to a high of 14,269.31 in early trade. The benchmark index had also plunged to a low of 14,045.61. It fluctuated a sharp 223.70 points for the day.

The S&P CNX Nifty slipped 41.75 points (1.01%) to 4,082.70.

The market-breadth ended negative as small-cap and mid-cap stocks remained under pressure. For 1,706 shares declining, 939 advanced and 43 remained unchanged. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 5099 crore.Among the 30-Sensex pack, 19 declined while the rest advanced.

Tata Steel was mauled. It was the top loser in the Sensex. The scrip plunged 11.10% to Rs 461.80, on high volumes of 58.66 lakh shares. The stock also plunged to a low of Rs 461.10, down from the day’s high of Rs 510.

Tata Steel has offered Corus' investors 608 pence per share in cash, topping a final bid of 603 pence from Brazilian Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN). The 608 pence per share that Tata Steel will pay values Corus at around seven times its forecast of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2006, well above the multiple Mittal Steel paid for Arcelor. Mittal Steel had paid 4.6 times the latter's historic EBITDA.

Tata Steel posted 41.1% growth in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 1063.75 crore, on 21.4% growth in net sales to Rs 4469.98 crore. Both the bottom line and top line growth were as per market expectations.

Hindalco (down 3.24% to Rs 174.85), HLL (down 3% to Rs 207.45) and Wipro (down 2.66% to Rs 614), were the other losers.

ONGC was down 1.39% to Rs 901.90. It reported a stronger-than-expected 20% growth in net profit in the December 2006 quarter at Rs 4668.31 crore (Rs 3887.76 crore). The growth was mainly due to a fall in ONGC's subsidy sharing burden.

Cement maker Gujarat Ambuja Cements was the top gainer, up 1.78% to Rs 137, as 12.56 lakh shares changed hands on BSE.

Reliance Energy (REL) gained 1.60% to Rs 514, on a volume of 5.26 lakh shares. REL has bagged power projects worth about Rs 4,150 crore in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Haryana Power Generation Coporation awarded a contract for two units of 600 Mw each on a turnkey basis to REL. The Rs 3,763 crore project will be executed by the company's Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) division.

The second contract of Rs 395 crore has been awarded by Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Nigam for balancing plant package of 500 Mw Parichha extension project.

ITC rose 0.93% to Rs 174, after reporting 33.6% growth in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 717.40 crore, from Rs 536.83 crore during the year ago period. The net profit was at the top end of analysts' expectations. Net sales rose 23.8% to Rs 3165.57 crore (Rs 2556.04 crore), which was also in line with estimates.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 1.52% to Rs 1360.75. It had advanced to a high of Rs 1390. As many as 11.82 lakh shares changed hands in the RIL counter.

Metal stocks had a difficult time on the bourses. The BSE Metal index tanked 476.44 points (4.88%), to 9,283.61. The foremost loser was private sector steel giant, Tata Steel, which was down over 10%, as the final offer of $11.3 billion made by it for Europe's Corus is believed to be expensive. A lot of brokerages have downgraded the stock following this event.

Other metal stocks to suffer included Hindalco (down 3.24% to Rs 174.85), Sesa Goa (down 3.14% to Rs 1885.50), Jindal Stainless (down 4.02% to Rs 123), SAIL (down 4.02% to Rs 108.50), Saw Pipes (down 0.23% to Rs 460), NALCO (down 1.67% to Rs 230), Hindustan Zinc (down 6.25% to Rs 713), and Ispat Industries (down 1.35% to Rs 16.09).

The tide turned for banks after the RBI’s monetary policy was announced, albeit briefly. But the rot set in as time elapsed. The BSE Bankex was down 0.45%.

Centurion Bank of Punjab (down 4.11% to Rs 36.15), Canara Bank (down 2.88% to Rs 239.20), Vijaya Bank (down 2.70% to Rs 48.65), ICICI Bank (down 2% to Rs 936.50), State Bank of India (down 1.75% to Rs 1135.15), Bank of India (down 1.68% to Rs 190.55), Karnataka Bank (down 1.65% to Rs 170.20) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.38% to Rs 466.50) lost heavily.

Autoline Industries settled at Rs 257.95, over its IPO price of Rs 225 per share. The stock debuted at Rs 261.15 on BSE. The scrip also struck a high of Rs 282 and a low of Rs 252.25. As many as 57.62 lakh shares changed hands in the counter.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) lost 2.88% to Rs 899. Its Q3 December 2006 net profit increased to Rs 241.68 crore, compared to Rs 233.45 crore during Q3 December 2005. Total income increased during the same quarter to Rs 2617.30 crore (Rs 2247.45 crore).

Balrampur Chini plunged 6.84% to Rs 67.30, after its Q1 December 2006 net profit declined to Rs 19.18 crore compared to Rs 39.89 crore in Q1 December 2005. Net sales rose to Rs 337.11 crore (Rs 286.78 crore).

Tata Power rose 0.30% to Rs 612. Its Q3 December 2006 net profit was up 23% to Rs 280.14 crore from Rs 228.04 crore in Q3 December 2005. Net sales slipped 2% to Rs 1200.51 crore (Rs 1224.77 crore).

Trent advanced 1.30% to Rs 815, after reporting a 67% surge in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 10.71 crore (Rs 6.42 crore). Net sales went up to Rs 121.82 crore (Rs 95.16 crore).

Monsanto India dropped 10% to Rs 1501.60, after reporting 31.6% fall in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 14.29 crore (Rs 20.88 crore). Net sales declined 18.7% for the same period to Rs 70.72 crore (Rs 86.96 crore).

Gillette India surged 3.88% to Rs 925, on reporting 85.4% net profit growth in the December 2006 quarter. Gillette India reported 85.4% surge in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 27.71 crore (Rs 14.95 crore). Net sales rose 13% to Rs 131.22 crore (Rs 116.09 crore). The company’s board also declared a liberal interim dividend of Rs 10 per share.

Thirumalai Chemicals plunged 15% to Rs 156, on reporting a net loss in the December 2006 quarter. Thirumalai Chemicals reported a net loss of Rs 1.36 crore in the December 2006 quarter compared to a net profit of Rs 1.60 crore in the December 2005 quarter. Net sales rose 54.5% in the same period to Rs 110.23 crore (Rs 71.33 crore).

UTI Bank advanced 6% to Rs 534. Ratings agency Standard & Poors on Tuesday (30 January) raised the rating on the private bank.

Gujarat Apollo Equipment jumped 8.31% to Rs 228.80, after it reported 48% growth in net profit in the Dec-2006 quarter to Rs 4.80 crore (Rs 3.25 crore). Net sales rose 14% to Rs 33.88 crore (Rs 29.67 crore).

Along with the announcement of Q3 results, the company’s board also recommended a 1:2 bonus issue (a bonus share for two existing ones) on Tuesday (30 January 2007). The company also said it will pursue listing on National Stock Exchange (NSE) on completing the proposed bonus issue.

Areva T&D India jumped 11.41% to Rs 1184.50, on reporting 108.9% surge in net profit for the December 2006 quarter. Areva T&D India reported 108.9% surge in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 32.22 crore (Rs 15.42 crore). Net sales jumped 15.7% to Rs 400.70 crore (Rs 346.19 crore). The company’s operating profit rose 96.5% to Rs 56.10 crore (Rs 28.54 crore). Sales of continuing business rose 35.4% to Rs 400.70 crore in the Dec-2006 quarter from Rs 295.75 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation jumped 9.60% to Rs 425.20, after reporting a sharp rise in net profit for the December 2006 quarter. The company's net profit surged to Rs 52.65 crore from Rs 1.35 crore in the December 2005 quarter. The surge in net profit was due to a change in deprecation policy. The company's balance sheet shows a credit of Rs 16.98 crore for depreciation in the December 2006 quarter. Net sales rose 17.6% in this period compared to Rs 132.79 crore in the year ago period.

The Nikkei share average dropped 0.61% on Wednesday, as Sony Corp and TDK Corp declined after raising their profit forecasts more cautiously than investors had expected. The Nikkei was down 106.77 points, at 17,383.42.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reviewed its annual monetary policy and found the rate of bank credit growth "clearly excessive." Bank credit is growing at a robust 30%.

The RBI, therefore, hiked its repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5%. The statement, which was very much on expected lines, left the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and reverse repo rate unchanged at 5.5% and 6%, respectively. The central bank also kept the bank rate unchanged at 6%.

The central bank said its monetary stance will be to ensure price stability and anchor inflation expectations. The RBI said its objective is to bring inflation as close as possible to 5.0-5.5%. Governor Y V Reddy reiterated RBI's committment to adapt to evolving global and domestic situations, which impact inflation and growth.

The central bank added liquidity management will be given top priority in the remaining part of the year. It said it would use all policy instruments at its disposal to regulate money supply.

The government on Wednesday revised upwards its 2005/06 gross domestic product growth estimate to 9% from an earlier 8.4%. Manufacturing output growth was revised to 9.1% for the year to March 2006, from the earlier 9%. Growth in farm output for 2005/06 was pegged at 6% compared to an earlier estimate of 3.9%.

Even the Federal Reserve officials meet later today, and may leave the overnight lending rate unchanged at 5.25%. Fed officials say controlling inflation is a priority than preventing any possible economic weakness.

US stocks rose on Tuesday as a 5.5% jump in oil prices to nearly $57 a barrel sparked a rally in the energy sector, while shares of Motorola Inc gained after investor Carl Icahn said he wanted a seat on Motorola's board.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.53 points, or 0.26%, to end at 12,523.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 8.20 points, or 0.58%, to finish at 1,428.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 7.55 points, or 0.31%, to close at 2,448.64.

Oil notched up its biggest gain in 16 months on Tuesday, as funds poured fresh cash into the market because of cold US weather and OPEC supply cuts. US crude was trading at $56.71 a barrel early on Wednesday.

Metal scrips ravaged

Metal stocks were going through hell on the bourses. The BSE Metal index had tanked 428.07 points (4.39%), to 9,331.54. Private sector steel giant Tata Steel, down nearly 10%, was the biggest loser among metal producers as the final offer of $11.3 billion made by it for Europe's Corus is believed to be expensive. A lot of brokerages have downgraded the stock following this event.

Meanwhile, by 14:30 IST, the BSE Sensex was down 143.51 points, at 14,068.45. It had opened higher, at 14,219.38, and surged to a high of 14,269.31 in early trade. The benchmark index has also plunged to a fresh low of 14,045.61.

The market-breadth continued negative as small-cap and mid-cap stocks remained under pressure. For 1,697 shares declining, 909 advanced and 38 remained unchanged. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4065 crore.Among the 30-Sensex pack, 22 declined while the rest advanced.

Monsanto India tanks on dismal numbers
Monsanto India dropped 10% to Rs 1501.60, after reporting 31.6% fall in net profit in the December 2006 quarter.There were outstanding sell-orders for 117 shares at the 10% lower limit. As many as 6,091 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

The stock surged before the results. From Rs 1533.65 on 24 January 2007, it rose 8.7% in two trading sessions to Rs 1668.40 by 29 January 2007. The results hit the market after trading hours on the same day.

Monsanto reported 31.6% fall in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 14.29 crore (Rs 20.88 crore). Net sales declined 18.7% to Rs 70.72 crore (Rs 86.96 crore).

Monsanto India is a 72.15% subsidiary of the US-based Monsanto. Monsanto India produces a range of products covering agricultural chemicals, seeds and related formulations (traits). Monsanto is popular for its BT cottonseeds.

In August 2006, Monsanto India sold its herbicide business, Leader, to Sumitomo Chemicals India.

Monsanto India focusses on the seeds business. Seeds are a major input and the initial lever for bolstering agricultural production. The company has invested in a corn-drying facility in Andhra Pradesh to meet growing demand for seeds both in the domestic as well as the international market.

Q4 results boost Areva T&D India
Areva T&D India gained 7% to Rs 1138, on reporting 108.9% surge in net profit for the December 2006 quarter.As many as 1.3 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The scrip has been on a roll in the past three months. From Rs 654.70 on 17 October 2006, it gained 62.3% to Rs 1063.20 by 29 January 2007.

Areva T&D India reported 108.9% surge in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 32.22 crore (Rs 15.42 crore). Net sales jumped 15.7% to Rs 400.70 crore (Rs 346.19 crore).

The company’s operating profit rose 96.5% to Rs 56.10 crore (Rs 28.54 crore). Sales of continuing business rose 35.4% to Rs 400.70 crore in the Dec-2006 quarter from Rs 295.75 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Areva T&D India designs, manufactures and supplies a range of products, systems and services for transferring electricity. Its product-offerings include transformers (power and distribution), switchgears (MV and HV), meters, electronic motors and electric meters. Its services portfolio includes network planning. At the global level, the Areva Group is a world leader in nuclear power and power T&D equipments.

Recently, Areva T&D India won orders worth around Rs 251.97 crore from Reliance Petroleum, National Aluminium Company (NALCO) and General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL).

Areva T&D, the parent of Areva T&D India, has inked an agreement with the Ritz group, the world leader in high-voltage instrument transformers business, to acquire the latter’s business globally. This is likely to benefit the Areva T&D.

GDP grows 9% in FY`05-06

Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005-06 registered a robust growth of 9%, compared with 7.5% during the previous year.

The GDP, at factor cost at constant (1999-2000) prices was measured at Rs 26,045.32 billion as against Rs 23,896.60 billion in 2004-05. The national income (i.e. net national product at factor cost) in 2005-06 is estimated at Rs 22,952.43 billion as against Rs 21,033.5 billion in 2004-05 showing a rise of 9.1% during the year.

According to quick estimates of national income consumption expenditure saving and capital formation 2005-06, released by the central statistical organization today, the 9% growth in 2005-06 has been achieved due to high growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing (6%), manufacturing (9.1%), construction (14.2 %), trade, hotels & restaurants (8.2%), transport, storage and communication (13.9%), financing, insurance, real estate & business services (10.9%), and community, social and personal services (7.7%).

The other significant economic indicator, per capita national income, registered a 7.4% growth during the period mentioned above. The per capita income in real terms is estimated at Rs. 20,734 for 2005-06, higher than the corresponding value in 2004-05, which stood at Rs 19,297.

The per capita private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) in 2005-06 works out to Rs 18,718 at current prices, 8.8% higher than Rs 17,190 in 2004-05. At constant (1999-2000) prices, per capita PFCE recorded a 5.35% growth during the period under consideration. The per capita PFCE was Rs 15,265 at constant (1999-2000) prices and Rs 14,489 respectively in 2004-05.

Private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) in the domestic market at current prices works out to Rs 20,720.79 billion in 2005-06, 10.58% higher than Rs 18,737.29 billion in 2004-05. At constant (1999-2000) prices, the PFCE works out to Rs. 16,898.61 billion in 2005-06 as against Rs 15,792.55 billion in 2004-05.

Mefcom Agro to issue bonus shares

Mefcom Agro Industries approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 21:10 i.e., 21 bonus shares to shareholders who are holding 10 equity shares, and increasing authorised share capital of the company up to Rs 105,000,000. The board approved the agenda of EGMs.

The board approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 21:10 equity shares i.e., 21 bonus shares to shareholders who are holding 10 equity shares.The board approved issue of shares on a preferential basis, issue of 46, 145 forfeited equity shares. It also approved the increase in authorised share capital of the company upto Rs 105,000,000.

An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the members of the company will be held on Mar. 10, 2007.

Market rediscovers affinity for banks

With the RBI’s review of monetary policy over, the market rediscovered its interest in banking shares. But the market, which had bounced back sharply after the RBI meeting, once again slipped into the red.

At 13:38 IST the BSE Sensex was down 81.36 points, at 14,130.20. It had opened higher, at 14,219.38, and surged to 14,269.31. The benchmark index had also slipped to a low of 14,102.61.The BSE Bankex was up 0.36%.

Bank of Baroda (up 4% to Rs 258), Punjab National Bank (up 2.4% to Rs 517.50), Oriental Bank of Commerce (up 2.2% to Rs 220.75) and State Bank of India (up 1% to Rs 1168) fought back from early lows.

The market-breadth continued negative as small-cap and mid-cap stocks remained under pressure. For 1,513 shares declining, 1,045 advanced and 53 remained unchanged. Among the 30-Sensex pack, 21 declined while the rest advanced. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3247 crore.

Tata Steel was mauled. It was the top loser, down 8.82% to Rs 473.50, on high volumes of 37.78 lakh shares, as the final offer of $11.3 billion it made for Corus is said to be expensive. The stock had also plunged to a low of Rs 472.05.

Gillette India advances
Gillette India surged nearly 5% to Rs 934, on reporting 85.4% net profit growth in the December 2006 quarter.As many as 8,557 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The scrip was range-bound since the past two months. It moved between Rs 823 and Rs 906 since late-November 2006.

After trading hours on Monday (29 January 2007), Gillette India reported 85.4% surge in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 27.71 crore (Rs 14.95 crore). Net sales rose 13% to Rs 131.22 crore (Rs 116.09 crore). The company’s board also declared a liberal interim dividend of Rs 10 per share.

The growth in the top and bottom lines in Q4, coupled with higher market shares across categories, follows the successful integration of the Gillette India (GIL) business with Proctor and Gamble. Gillette consolidated its businesses in India post its global merger with Procter & Gamble. The company has put in place a new distribution set-up for itself. In early-2006, in a worldwide merger, Procter & Gamble acquired shaving products' company Gillette for about $55 billion.

GIL operates in three segments, namely, grooming, oral care and portable products. It has also put in place a new distribution structure. The new distribution structure has significantly increased Gillette's direct coverage, enhanced wholesale coverage and help service more retailers.

GIL is relocating its headquarters to Mumbai. It is on the lookout for buyers for its office space near Delhi. The office space is spread across 67,000 square feet.

Market rebounds as RBI springs no surprises

The Sensex, which had slipped sharply into the red, recovered smartly after the announcement of credit policy. The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday hiked repo rates by 25 basis points to 7.50%, while keeping reverse repo and bank rates unchanged at 6%. The central bank also kept the cash reserve ratio steady at 5.50%.

The RBI said its monetary stance would be to ensure price stability and anchor inflation expectations. It will respond swiftly to evolving global and domestic situations impacting inflation as well as growth. Liquidity management will be a priority in the remaining part of the year. The central bank said it will use all instruments at its disposal to regulate liquidity.

The government on Wednesday revised upwards its 2005/06 gross domestic product growth estimate to 9% from an earlier 8.4%. Manufacturing output growth was revised to 9.1% for the year to March 2006, from the earlier 9%. Growth in farm output for 2005/06 was pegged at 6% compared to an earlier estimate of 3.9%.

At 12:29 IST the BSE Sensex was up 19.43 points, at 14,231.39. It had opened higher, at 14,219.38, and surged to a high of 14,269.31. The benchmark index had also slipped to a low of 14,116.02.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2504 crore.

RBI's policy review over, banks flourish
Bank stocks moved into positive terrain soon after the RBI announced a 25 basis points hike in the repo rate.

Bank of Baroda was up 4% to Rs 258, up from an early low of Rs 243 just before the announcement. Punjab National Bank was up 2.4% to Rs 517.50, up from an early low of Rs 492. Oriental Bank of Commerce was up 2.2% to Rs 220.75, up from the early low of Rs 215. State Bank of India was up 1% to Rs 1168, up from a low of Rs 1133.

Bank stocks have shown a mixed trend over the past few days. While State Bank of India (SBI) drifted lower due to disappointing December 2006 results, Bank of Baroda (BoB) rallied post a robust Q3 outcome. Canara Bank also had lost ground after reporting flat Q3 numbers.

RBI today raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5%. However, the central bank chose to keep the reverse repo and bank rates unchanged at 6%. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) also remains steady at 5.5%.

The RBI said the rate of bank credit growth is "clearly excessive." The bank credit has been growing at a robust 30%.

The central bank said its monetary stance would be to ensure price stability and anchor inflation expectations. The RBI said its objective is to bring inflation as close as possible to 5.0-5.5% as soon as possible. RBI will respond swiftly to evolving global, domestic situation impacting inflation and growth, a statement by Governor Y V Reddy says.

The central bank said liquidity management will be given top priority in the remaining part of the year. It said it would use all policy instruments at its disposal to regulate money supply.

Government bond prices rose and the rupee was steady after the monetary policy review was announced at 12:00 IST.

Sensex trims losses

The Sensex, which had slipped sharply into the red, recovered partially on value-buying. The market, after opening firm, has turned cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s quarterly monetary policy review meeting today.

At 11:28 IST the BSE Sensex was down 61.74 points, at 14,150.25. It had opened higher, at 14,219.38, and surged to a high of 14,269.31. The benchmark index had also slipped to a low of 14,116.02.

The central bank has sent strong signals of raising short-term rates to fight the menace of inflation. After lifting its key rates four times in 2006, and reiterating concerns about runaway asset prices, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may directly act to restrict lending to the real estate and capital markets.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1684 crore.

The market-breadth, which was positive in the opening session, turned negative small-cap and mid-cap stocks came under pressure. For 1,304 shares declining, 1,059 advanced and 57 remained unchanged.Among the 30-Sensex pack, 22 declined while the rest advanced.

Visesh Infotecnics surges on fund-raising designs
Visesh Infotecnics was up 3.38%, at Rs 44.30.The stock notched up a volume of 91,452 shares on BSE.The share price of the company has appreciated by around 30% since a low of Rs 33.45 on 13 December 2006.

The company mulls an issue of FCCBs/GDRs/ADRs on a preferential basis up to $10 million.The company’s December quarter FY07 results have been quite impressive with a 73.6% rise in its net profit, to Rs 5.92 crore over the corresponding previous year's quarter. Sales grew 72.4% for the same period, to Rs 34.72 crore, compared to the year ago period .

Earlier in October, the company joined hands with UK-based Image Analyser to promote the latter's anti-porn software in the Asia-Pacific region.The company owns V Connect, a unit that offers outsourced services to overseas clients.

Thirumalai Chemicals undone by results
Thirumalai Chemicals plunged 13% to Rs 159.65, on reporting a net loss in the December 2006 quarter.As many as 14,100 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.
The stock had surged since late-December 2006 as investors made a beenline for small-cap and mid-cap shares. From Rs 161.30 on 26 December 2006, the stock surged to Rs 183.70 by 29 January 2007.

Thirumalai Chemicals reported a net loss of Rs 1.36 crore in the December 2006 quarter compared to a net profit of Rs 1.60 crore in the December 2005 quarter. Net sales rose 54.5% in the same period compared to Rs 110.23 crore (Rs 71.33 crore) in the year ago period.

Thirumalai Chemicals occupies a dominant position in the phthalic anhydride (PAN) business, which accounts for 72% of its revenues. The price of the key raw materials for manufacturing PAN continue to fluctuate, impacting the company’s profitability. The company operates in a raw material intensive business with input costs constituting about 80% of operating expenditure. Prices of orthoxylene, which constitutes about 80% of input costs, are closely linked to that of crude oil.

The company is also the largest manufacturer of maleic anhydride (MAN). International prices play a key role in determining domestic prices of PAN and MAN. The company also manufactures food acids and phthalate esters, which together contribute about 7% to revenues.

With an intention to reduce volatility of margins and to increase operating levels, the company has entered into contracts with customers for supplying PAN on a formula basis.

ITC gains as Q3 outcome lives up to estimates
ITC rose 2.5% to Rs 176.80, on reporting 33.6% growth in net profit in the December 2006 quarter.As many as 6.5 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

The stock had bounced back from a lower level ahead of results. From Rs 162.65 on 9 January 2007, the scrip recovered to Rs 172.40 by 29 January 2007. The stock had earlier drifted lower in a weak market. From Rs 177.65 on 28 December 2006, ITC declined to Rs 162.65 on 9 January 2007.

The key trigger for the ITC scrip, in the near term, is developments pertaining to value added tax (VAT) on cigarettes. The Centre has agreed to allow states to levy VAT on tobacco and tobacco products. The Centre and states reached an agreement in early January 2007, to phase out central sales tax (CST) over the next four years.

A 12.5% VAT on cigarettes will lead to a steep hike in cigarette prices, which may impact volumes. The concern for the cigarette industry is higher taxes may result in a shift in tobacco consumption, to low-end products such as bidis and chewing tobacco.

ITC today reported a 33.6% growth in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 717.40 crore, from Rs 536.83 crore during the year ago period. The net profit was at the top end of analysts' expectations. Net sales rose 23.8% to Rs 3165.57 crore (Rs 2556.04 crore), which was also in line with estimates.

ITC has initiated retail and wholesale vending of vegetables and fruits. The company has prepared a plan to expand its 'Choupal Fresh' stores across the country. The company will open 140 stores across 54 towns in the next three - four years. Currently, ITC runs a store each in Chandigarh, Pune and Hyderabad.

RBI policy review bug bites market

The Sensex, which had opened firm, slipped into the red. The market turned cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s quarterly monetary policy review meeting today. The central bank may announce the outcome of its meeting at 12:00 IST.

Market men expect a hike of 25 basis points in short-term interest rates. A hike to that extent has already been factored into by the market.

At 10:17 IST the BSE Sensex was down 43.78 points, at 14168.18. It had opened higher, at 14,219.38, and surged to a high of 14,269.31. The benchmark index started slipping, to touch a low of 14,153.18.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 692 crore.The market-breadth was positive, with 1,048 shares advancing compared to 832 that declined. Among the 30-Sensex pack, 21 declined while the rest advanced.

Tata Steel falls on exorbitant Corus deal
Tata Steel plunged 7.5% to Rs 480, as the final offer of $11.3 billion it made for Corus is said to be expensive.As many as 8.9 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

The stock had rallied ahead of the auction held to determine Corus' fate on Tuesday (30 January 2007). It was early morning in India when the outcome of the auction was announced. The rally was mainly due to expectation of strong December 2006 results. From Rs 464.60 on 23 January 2007, the scrip had risen 11.7% in a short while to Rs 519.30 on 29 January 2007.

Autoline Industries volatile on debut
Autoline Industries was trading at Rs 266.55, a premium of 18.4% over the IPO price of Rs 225, in early trade on NSE.The stock debuted at Rs 230, which is also its low so far. The scrip also struck a high of Rs 287.70. As many as 14.4 lakh shares changed hands in early trade.

The company had priced its IPO at the upper-end of the Rs 200 - Rs 225 price-band.
The current price of Rs 266.55 discounts its April-November 2006 annualised EPS of Rs 10.60, by a PE multiple of 25.1. The post-issue equity capital of the company is Rs 10.36 crore.

Autoline Industries had issued shares on a preferential basis in the range of Rs 50 - Rs 130 per share before the IPO last year.

Autoline Industries supplies complex sheet metal assemblies and sub-assemblies to Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Kinetic Engineering, Mahindra & Mahindra, Walker Exhaust and Fiat India. The company is the single-source supplier of load bodies for Tata Ace mini-truck. It has entered into an arrangement with Stokota Engg, the Indian subsidiary of Stokota NV, Belgium, for supplying tippers, tipper-trailers, tankers, cement-bulkers and garbage-extractors.

The company is expanding the capabilities of its design-engineering unit to supply offshore development and manufacturing (ODM) services to foreign companies.

The proceeds of the IPO will fund expansion plans, which include upgrading the existing facilities at Chakan, Maharashtra, setting up a new unit at the same location, expanding facilities in the design engineering unit, establishing a corporate office, and making strategic acquisition.

The company registered a net profit of Rs 7.48 crore on sales of Rs 118.28 crore for April-November 2006.

GMDC spurts on benign Q3 numbers
Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation jumped 12% to Rs 436, after reporting a sharp rise in net profit for the December 2006 quarter.As many as 11,886 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC)'s stock rose ahead of the results. The scrip rose 2.5% on Monday (29 January 2007) to Rs 387.70. The stock had also rallied between late-December 2006 and early-January 2007. From Rs 350.25 on 26 December 2006, the scrip firmed up to Rs 401.75 by 11 January 2007. It then slipped to Rs 374.60 on 24 January 2007 before the pre-results' recovery.

The company's net profit surged to Rs 52.65 crore from Rs 1.35 crore in the December 2005 quarter. The surge in net profit was due to a change in deprecation policy. The company's score-sheet shows a credit of Rs 16.98 crore for depreciation in the December 2006 quarter. Net sales rose 17.6% to Rs 132.79 crore (Rs 112.92 crore).

GMDC is the country’s largest seller of lignite. It also has interests in bauxite, manganese and other such minerals.

GMDC will be supplying coal to KSK Energy Ventures (KEVPL) proposed 1,000-Mw power project in Chattisgarh. GMDC will provide 40 lakh tonnes of coal per year for the proposed power project in Chattisgarh, with a margin pf 10% per month.

GMDC also has an option of buying 26% stake in the power project in return for 26% of the power produced. GMDC can use 26% of the power it stands to gain for its own purpose, or for distributing it to consumers.

On commissioning, the company's 250 Mw lignite-based power plant at Akrimota, Gujarat, GMDC will add to its revenues. So far, the company's revenues have largely come from lignite.

Tata Steel won the battle for acquiring Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group by agreeing to pay 5.75 billion pounds ($11.3 billion). Tata Steel has agreed to offer Corus' investors 608 pence per share in cash, topping a final bid of 603 pence from Brazilian Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN). Both offers were at the top end of analysts’ expectations.

The 608 pence per share that Tata Steel will pay values Corus at around seven times its forecast of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2006, well above the multiple Mittal Steel paid for Arcelor. Mittal Steel had paid 4.6 times the latter's historic EBITDA.

Corus' acquisition will make Tata Steel the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker. Considering that Europe and the US are likely to be heavy users of steel, at least for the next five to seven years, Corus is likely to offer Tata Steel a gateway into the developed world.

If Tata Steel can offer access to low-grade slabs from its existing plants in India, or through its twin acquisitions of NatSteel and Millennium Steel, the company will have achieved its objective of making primary steel in low-cost facilities such as India, and establishing finishing facilities in the end-user markets. Corus has no mining interest, while Tata Steel has access to cheap iron ore.

Tata Steel on Tuesday (30 January 2007) reported 41.1% growth in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 1063.75 crore, on 21.4% growth in net sales to Rs 4469.98 crore. Both the bottomline and topline growth were as per market expectations.

Tata Steel's saleable steel production at 3.66 million tonnes during the first nine months of 2006-07 marked an increase of 11% over the production of saleable steel during the corresponding period of the last fiscal. During April-December 2006, the company produced 4.1 million tonnes of hot metal and 3.7 million tonnes of crude steel.

Tata Steel’ s total sale in the first nine months of the current fiscal was 3.532 million tonnes, an increase of 11.7% over the sales for the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Domestic sales of long products increased 30%.

Tata Steel is gearing up to play a major role in the automotive boom. The domestic automotive market is expected to see a growth of 17- 18% in the current financial year, and Tata Steel is set to take advantage. Tata Steel's market share in the domestic automotive segment is expected to be 43% in FY07.

Market Closed On 30 January 2007

The market remains closed on Tuesday (30 January 2007) on account of Moharram.

CMC most sought in 'A'

CMC spurted 12.34% to Rs 1172.65, and was the highest gainer in ‘A’ group.

The stock is being heavily purchased ever since announcing the Q3 December 2006 results. CMC’s consolidated net profit jumped 69% in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 20.40 crore (Rs 12.07 crore). Consolidated sales jumped 44% to Rs 298.63 crore during the same period over the year ago period (Rs 207.25 crore).

For April-September 2006, CMC’s net profit rose 26% to Rs 48.50 crore (Rs 38.59 crore). Consolidated revenue rose 30% to Rs 790.69 crore for the same quarter (Rs 609.24 crore).Analysts expect the company to report much better results in the coming quarters.

IDBI jumped 7.92% to Rs 102.85. Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) had earlier posted a net profit of Rs 126.79 crore in December 2006 quarter compared with Rs 119.30 crore in December 2005 quarter. Total income increased from Rs 1548.16 crore in to Rs 1877.65 crore. 'Profits remained flat on account of provisions of Rs 27 crore towards tax liabilities and more than Rs 50 crore for non-performing assets,' said VP Shetty, Chairman, IDBI.

Abbott India surged 6.52% to Rs 554.95. Market regulator Sebi approved the share buy-back at Rs 650 per share.

CESC gained 6.41% to Rs 362.90. The stock witnessed a pre-results rally. The company’s board meets on 31 January 2007 to consider third quarter financial results ended December 2006.

GTL advanced 6% to Rs 151 as buying continued. It had earlier reported robust 66% jump in net profit to Rs 20.8 crore for Q3 December 2007. Total sales shot up 65% to Rs 293.5 crore. The turnaround came on the back of the company's restructuring plan last year. As a part of this exercise, GTL exited from IT services and now focusses on telecom networking.

Sensex ends 71 points lower amid thin volumes

The holiday mood was evident on the bourses as the benchmark Sensex drifted lower on thin volumes. The Sensex was range-bound for a better part of the session and the fall accentuated only towards the latter part.

Caution was the name of the game ahead of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s quarterly review of monetary policy on Wednesday, 31 January 2007. The central bank is expected to raise short-term interest rates by 25 basis points at the review meeting.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 70.76 points (0.5%), to settle at 14,211.96. The S&P CNX Nifty shed 23.25 points (0.56%), to settle at 4,124.45. Both indices had settled at lifetime highs last Thursday, 25 January 2007.

Interest rate sensitive banking shares weakened in the latter part of trading due to concerns of rate hike. IT shares were subdued-to-weak throughout the day. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) held positive zone for most of the day and buffered the Sensex's fall.

The Sensex had lost nearly 100 points at one of time in late trading, to a low of 14,185.92. It had opened firm with the Sensex rising as many as 33.82 points, to a high of 14,316.54, at the onset of trading. It soon lost ground and slipped into the red.

The market-breadth was even by the end of the session in contrast to a strong breadth in the afternoon. Against 1,324 shares rising on BSE, 1,322 declined. Just 47 shares were unchanged.The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3703 crore, compared to Thursday’s Rs 4733 crore.The BSE Small-Cap Index ended flat at 7,576.51, while the BSE Mid Cap index gained 11.88 points (0.2%), to finish at 6,100.86.

BSE’s Metal sector index was the top gainer among sectoral indices. It rose 134.16 points (1.39%), to settle at 9,759.61. The BSE Oil & Gas sector index rose 25.77 points (0.39%), to end at 6,716.68.

With a fall of 154.05 points (2%) to 7,292.78, the BSE Bankex was the top loser from among sectoral indices. The BSE IT sector index shed 49.92 points (0.9%), to settle at 5,315.57.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose nearly 1% to Rs 1382.85. As many as 4.4 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE. RIL held positive zone for most of the day and buffered the Sensex's fall.

Reliance Communications (RCL) surged 4% to Rs 454.85, partly due expectations of strong Q3 results, and partly on shareholders' approval for transferring the company's wireless towers (CDMA and GSM) and related infrastructure to its subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Infrastructure (RTIL). RCL unveils Q3 results on 31 January 2007.

Tata Steel rose 2% to Rs 520, extending last week’s surge. As per reports, an auction will be held for Anglo-Dutch Steelmaker Corus on Tuesday, which will last for 10 hours. UK's takeover watchdog has set 30 January 2007, as the deadline for Tata Steel and CSN to make revised offers for Corus.

Hitherto, CSN enjoys an edge over its Indian rival with a higher price bid of 515 pence a share compared to Tata Steel’s 500 pence per share.

State-run Steel Authority of India (Sail) lost 0.1% to Rs 111.50. Sail today posted a net profit of Rs 1471.19 crore in December 2006 quarter compared to a net profit of Rs 656.07 crore in the December 2005 quarter.

L&T (up 0.7% to Rs 1625) firmed up in mid-afternoon trade soon after its Q3 results hit the market. L&T posted a net profit-after-tax of Rs 343.90 crore in December 2006 quarter compared to Rs 259.27 crore in December 2005 quarter.

Bhel rose 2% to Rs 2498, after its board announced a surprise 1:1 bonus along with strong Q3 results after trading hours on Thursday (25 January 2007).

Hindalco Industries rose nearly 3% to Rs 180.45, after reporting a surge in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 643.90 crore from Rs 336.20 crore in December 2005 quarter. The results were unveiled after trading hours on Thursday, 25 January 2007.

NTPC rose nearly 4% to Rs 142.75, ahead of its board meeting on Wednesday (31 January 2007), to consider December 2006 quarter results. On the same day, the company’s board will also consider an interim dividend for shareholders.

ICICI Bank lost 3.3% to Rs 952, State Bank of India shed 1.9% to Rs 1153 and HDFC Bank lost 1.6% to Rs 1050.

Cigarette major ITC shed 3% to Rs 173. ITC’s board meets on Wednesday (31 January 2007) to consider Q3 results.

Tata Motors shed nearly 3% to Rs 899. Maruti Udyog was down 0.5% to Rs 937.90, up from the session’s low of Rs 925.

IT shares slipped on profit-taking. Wipro lost 3% to Rs 630, Satyam Computer shed 2.9% to Rs 462.50 and TCS shed 1.6% to Rs 1292.

IDBI jumped 7% to Rs 102.55. The stock rose on a high volume of 47.6 lakh shares on BSE. Last week, IDBI reported 6% growth in net profit of Rs 126.79 crore in December 2006 quarter. The latest results include Rs 19 crore profit from the working results of the recently-merged United Western Bank (UWB) and, therefore, are not comparable.

Cairn India rose 1.4% to Rs 150.15, on a heavy volume of 35.2 lakh shares. British oil explorer and Cairn India’s parent, Cairn Energy, expressed confidence that a deal could be agreed with the Indian government and Cairn's partners for constructing a pipeline to deliver the company's crude oil to the market. The company said the agreement is likely within the first six months of this year.

Indian Oil Corporation rose 1.2% to Rs 498.75, after reporting a net profit of Rs 1059.01 crore in the December 2006 quarter compared to a net loss of Rs 6.48 crore during the December 2005 quarter. IOC’s total income rose to Rs 55218.42 crore from Rs 44874.06 crore.

Dishman Pharma was down 0.8% to Rs 246.60. It also reported an 8.8% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter to Rs 19.85 crore (Rs 18.24 crore).

Maharashtra Seamless was flat at Rs 520.35. It reported 44% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter to Rs 60.02 crore (Rs 41.73 crore). Net sales rose 26.7% to Rs 350.48 crore from Rs 276.56 crore.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries lost 1.1% to Rs 1023.20. The company said on Monday its third quarter consolidated net profit rose 36% to Rs 199 crore.

Aditya Birla Nuvo rose 0.5% to Rs 1237. The company reported a net profit of Rs 55.34 crore in December 2006 quarter compared to a net profit of Rs 55 crore in December 2005 quarter.

Hinduja TMT lost 1.5% to Rs 710. Hinduja TMT and UK-based business consulting and outsourcing firm, Centric, have entered a joint venture with law firm Fox Mandal Little. The joint venture, to be called Centric LPO, will provide legal outsourcing services to multinational companies and various international law firms, Hinduja TMT said in a statement on Monday.

Century Enka dropped 5% to Rs 147. It reported a net profit of Rs 1.92 crore in December 2006 quarter against a net loss of Rs 6.84 crore in December 2005 quarter. Total income went up to Rs 261.12 crore from Rs 250.37 crore.

Development Credit Bank rose nearly 0.4% to Rs 79.80, after reporting a net profit of Rs 2.77 crore in December 2006 quarter, against a net loss of Rs 2.39 crore in December 2005 quarter. Total income went up to Rs 118.90 crore in the Dec-06 quarter from Rs 89.44 crore in December 2005 quarter.

Finolex Industries rose 2.5% to Rs 88.50, after the company reported a surge in net profit in December 2006 quarter to Rs 22.88 crore from Rs 14.67 crore in December 2005 quarter.

Sun TV was down 2% to Rs 1660. The company posted a profit-after- tax of Rs 59.77 crore in the December 2006 quarter compared to a net profit of Rs 39.90 crore in the December 2005 quarter.

Indraprastha Gas rose 1.1% to Rs 118.70, after it reported 21% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter to Rs 35.48 crore over the year ago period (Rs 29.32 crore). Net sales edged up to Rs 159.87 crore from Rs 137.04 crore.

Suven Life Sciences jumped 5% to Rs 177.80, after the company’s board suggested a liberal 1:1 bonus and also recommended a sub-division of equity shares from face value of Rs 2 each, into that of Re 1 each.

Q3 results have been good so far. Major results scheduled over the next two days are Tata Steel, ITC, NTPC and Reliance Communications. After corporate earnings and the RBI credit policy review, the focus will shift to the Union Budget 2007-08 and related expectations.

European markets were mixed in early trade. London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.06%. Germany’s DAX and France's CAC 40 were down by 0.09% each.

Asian markets also traded mixed. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan were down between 0.2 - 0.9%. Key indices in Japan and Singapore were up between 0.2 - 1.3%.

The Dow and the S&P 500 ended a shade lower on Friday on concerns that strong economic reports will hurt chances of an interest-rate cut. Dow fell 15.54 points, or 0.12%, to end at 12,487.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.72 points, or 0.12%, to finish at 1,422.18. But the Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 1.25 points, or 0.05%, to close at 2,435.49.

Oil prices firmed up. Nymex crude was up 44 cents, at $55.86 a barrel, on Monday.

More weakness overcomes

The Sensex touched near break-even zone in mid-afternoon trade, but came off that level shortly. Caution prevailed ahead of RBI’s credit policy review meeting on 31 January 2007. As the market is closed on Tuesday on account of Moharram, ahead of the RBI meeting, the impact of the anticipated rate rise impacted trading sentiments today. The central bank is expected to raise short-term interest rates.

Banks weakened in mid-afternoon trade due to concerns regarding interest rate rise. Car major Maruti Udyog recovered from a lower level even as Tata Motors weakened further. Wipro and ITC lost further ground. Gujarat Ambuja Cements (GACL) had weakened in mid-afternoon trade.

At 14:55 IST the Sensex was down 75 points, at 14,207. It struck a low of 14,193.45 at 14:52 IST, falling below its earlier low of 14,216.84 at the onset of today's trading. Earlier, the Sensex had touched near break-even zone, at 14,282, by 13:58 IST.

In afternoon trade, the market had hovered in a narrow range.The market-breadth was positive. For 1,340 shares rising on BSE, 1,254 declined. Just 60 shares were unchanged. Gainers outpaced losers by a ratio of 1.06:1.The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3089 crore.

Sun TV overturns
Sun TV slipped 1.46% to Rs 1670, on announcing results for Q3 December 2006.The stock had been trading firm and had attained a high of Rs 1746, anticipating strong results. However, the scrip started declining from this level since the results were announced.As many as 55,061 shares were traded in the counter on BSE.The stock rallied before the results, from Rs 1520.25 on 12 January to Rs 1694.80 by 25 January 2007.

Sun TV reported 49.79% rise in net profit for Q3 December 2006 to Rs 59.77 crore compared to Rs 39.90 crore for Q3 December 2005. Total income for the quarter ended rose 31.86% to Rs 125.02 crore, against Rs 94.81 crore in the previous quarter.

The company’s board of directors also recommended an interim dividend of Rs 3 per share (30%).Sun TV members, at the meeting held on 24 January 2007, approved the scheme of amalgamation and arrangement for the merger of satellite television company, Gemini TV and Udaya TV, without the FM (frequency modulation) radio division, with Sun TV.

Gemini TV owns five television channels: Gemini TV, Teja TV, Gemini News, Gemini Music and Gemini Cable Vision. It had revenue of Rs 174.69 crore for the year ended 31 March 2006.

Udaya TV has four television channels: Udaya TV, Udaya Movies, Udaya Varthegalu and Udaya TV II, and operates with a revenue of Rs 94.31 crore for the year ended 31 March 2006.With the proposed merger, Sun TV’s shareholders will benefit immensely from the highly profitable operations and strong growth plans of both Gemini TV and Udaya TV.Sun TV will have an integrated growth strategy for all south Indian language channels, thus building a dominant presence in entire south India.

Sun TV is a leading television broadcaster in the country, especially in all southern states. It offers four Tamil language channels, namely, Sun TV, Sun News, Sun Music and KTV, as also two Malayalam channels, Surya TV and Kiran TV, apart from Telugu and Kannada language channels.

The company operates leading Tamil radio stations under the name `Suryan FM`, in Chennai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. The two subsidiaries of the company, Kal Radio and South Asia FM, jointly hold 41 FM radio licences for FM radio stations across India.

Recently, Sun TV announced an increase in its advertisement rates by 5-27%, which becomes effective from 1 January 2007, because of an increase in viewership. The rates have been increased after a gap of two years.

Dredging Corp slides as net profit dwindles
Dredging Corporation of India slipped 3.40% to Rs 583, on posting 45.30% fall in net profit for Q3 December 2006.The stock had plunged to a low of Rs 564.05 in early trade, following dismal results.As many as 3,053 shares were traded in the counter on BSE.The stock slipped ahead of its results, from Rs 628 on 17 January 2007 to Rs 601 on 24 January 2007.

Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) posted 45.30% fall in net profit for Q3 December 2006 to Rs 22.89 crore compared to Rs 33.6 crore for Q3 December 2005. Net sales during the same quarter rose 6.70% to Rs 132 crore (Rs 124 crore).

In late-2006, the Union Government awarded Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) Rs 2,000 crore worth of dredging works of the Sethusamudram ship canal project. Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project envisages a ship channel across the Palk straits, between India and Sri Lanka.

The project will allow ships sailing between the east and west coasts of India, a straight passage through India's territorial waters. This will save up to 424 nautical miles (780 Km), and up to 30 hours in time.

State-owned Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) is the premier dredging company in the country. Dredging is a process of excavating/ or removing soil/ or rock from under the water. The objective of dredging is the creation of deeper water to improve navigation. Capital dredging is a one-time operation to create new harbours, ports or berths.

DCI is a public sector undertaking (PSU) and the Government of India controls 78% stake. The public hold 3% stake in the company.

Sail gets a boost from improved profitability
Steel Authority of India advanced 2.55% to Rs 114.55, after reporting 124% surge in net profit for Q3 December 2006.The stock also struck an all-time high of Rs 116.75.
The stock surged ahead of results, anticipating a strong set of results from Steel Authority of India (Sail). From Rs 96.75 on 19 January, the scrip surged to Rs 104.40 by 24 January 2007.

Sail’s net profit surged 124% to Rs 1,471 crore during the third quarter of 2006-07, against Rs 656 crore recorded during the corresponding period last year. Sales stand at Rs 9,657 crore during Q3 December 2006.

The company’s board also announced an interim dividend for the third consecutive year, at the rate of 16% of the paid-up equity, amounting to Rs 660.86 crore for the nine months ended December 2006. Sail paid an interim dividend of 12.5% at the end of the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

The public sector steel major registered its highest net profit of Rs 4,300 crore for the nine months ended December 2006. Net profit grew 48% for the nine months of the current fiscal over the corresponding period of the previous year. Sail also recorded its highest nine months' turnover, at Rs 27,655 crore, during the same period- an increase of 25% over the year ago period.

The profitability of Sail improved mainly due to higher production and sales of steel coupled with a better product-mix, productivity, techno-economic parameters and higher sales realisation. This despite increasing freight costs for inputs.

Sail achieved a record production of 3.3 million tonne (MT) of saleable steel and highest-ever sales of 3 MT during October-December’06 with a growth of 6.3 - 8.6%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.

Sail plants operated at an average capacity of 112% in the first nine months of 2006-07. Production of value-added items was boosted - 76% for pipes, 23% in rounds and bars, 14% in HR coils, 8% in CRNO, and 5% in plates. Production of value-added products was 16% higher.

In an effort to implement its Corporate Plan 2010 for ramping up capacity to about 22 million tonnes (MT), the company has been granted approvals for projects worth about Rs 10,600 crore during the quarter. Projects worth around Rs 28,000 crore have been sanctioned for implementation. These include ‘in-principle’ approval for modernisation and expansion of IISCO Steel Plant, Salem Steel Plant, Bokaro Steel Plant and some schemes in the other operating units of the company.

In its effort to take steel of common use to every district of India through its dealers’ network, Sail appointed dealers in 432 districts during the current financial year. The total number of districts covered by Sail's dealers now stand at 529.

Range bound market

The market was range bound in afternoon trade. NPTC surged. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) firmed up. Tata Steel gathered further strength. But ICICI Bank weakened and IT shares remained subdued.

At 13:43 IST, Sensex was down 25 points at 14,236, off 12,275 of 13:09 IST. Sensex moved in a band of 36 points between 12,239 to 14,275 since 12:30 IST.The market breadth was strong. 1427 shares rose on BSE as compared to 1107 shares that declined.
BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 2408 crore.

Indian Oil Corporation rose 2.5% to Rs 505 after it reported a net profit of Rs 1059.01 crore in December 2006 quarter compared to a net loss of Rs 6.48 crore in December 2005 quarter. IOC’s total income has risen to Rs 55218.42 crore from Rs 44874.06 crore.Reliance Industries gained 1.1% to Rs 1385.

Hindalco Ind on a roll
Hindalco Industries advanced 3.42% to Rs 181.25, after 92.90% spurt in net profit for Q3 December 2006.The counter clocked 10.77 lakh shares on BSE.

Hindalco Industries, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, reported 92.90% spurt in net profit for Q3 December 2006 to Rs 643.90 crore, compared to Rs 333.86 crore for Q3 December 2005. Net sales jumped 62.10%, to Rs 4656.2 crore (Rs 2872.70 crore).

Strong aluminium prices on the LME, an improved product mix on account of higher sales of value-added products and focus on speciality alumina revenues from the aluminium business expanded from Rs 1563.4 crore to Rs 1795.8 crore, a rise of 15 %.

In the copper business, revenues escalated 119% from Rs 1308.4 crore to Rs 2862.2 crore. The improvement was driven by good performance from the third smelter at Dahej, and relatively higher TcRc margins.

There are reports that parent Aditya Birla group was considering the takeover of aluminium products maker Novelis Inc and had completed a preliminary examination of Novelis' books. It is expected to submit a bid shortly. The conglomerate was considering a $5 billion to $6 billion bid for Novelis.

Recently, it also entered into a joint venture with Almex, US, for manufacturing high strength aluminium (HSA) alloys for aerospace, sporting goods and surface transport applications. Almex, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a technology supplier and equipment manufacturing company. The joint venture, to be named Hindalco - Almex Aerospace, will see 70% equity participation in the joint venture from the company.

In September, Hindalco Industries proposed a sector specific special economic zone (SEZ) in Madhya Pradesh, which is expected to attract an investment of Rs 20,000 crore. Hindalco will itself contribute Rs 18,000 crore, while the rest will be collected by way of downstream projects. The project is also expected to generate more than 10,000 jobs.

The company also proposed an aluminium smelter plant and a captive power plant in Sidhi, in a phased manner. The SEZ will cover an area of 2,025 hectares, and will have a processing area of 1,200 hectares.

Surya Roshni scores on growth plans
Surya Roshni gained 2.76% to Rs 68.90, after its board consented to expand capacity and for diversifying into real estate development.The gains have materialised on a decent volume of 51,452 shares.The company’s board approved an expansion of its Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) project at a total cost of Rs 20 crore. The board also approved incorporating a separate segment of real estate business by investing up to Rs 10 crore.

The core business of the company spans across manufacture of lighting products and steel tubes. The company is the second largest lighting products maker in India. The company caters to the export market as well with footprints across 48 countries.

The company has come out with an average performance in the third quarter of FY-07. Sales grew 4.7% Y-o-Y, at Rs 332.85 crore, while the corresponding growth in net profit was 4.3%, at Rs 3.40 crore.Since touching a low of Rs 52.90 on 13 December 2006, the stock has gained as much as 28% at the current level.

IT, auto pivotals out of favour

The market remained weak in early-afternoon, cautious ahead of an RBI meeting on Wednesday, where the central bank is expected to raise short-term interest rates by 25 basis points. The market is closed on Tuesday on account of Moharram, ahead of the RBI meeting. IT and auto shares edge lower. Bhel surged and pharma pivotals were in demand.

At 12:22 IST the Sensex was down 40 points, at 14,241. It was up from 14,222 of 12:05 IST.Earlier the Sensex had recovered, having dropped as many as 65.88 points, to 14,216.84 in early-trade. At the onset of trading, the market opened firm, rising as many as 33.82 points, to a high of 14,316.54. The market-breadth was strong. For 1,417 shares rising on BSE, 1,038 declined. A total of 71 shares were unchanged. Gainers outpaced losers by a ratio of 1.36:1.The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 1692 crore.

Titan Ind advances on pleasant Q3 figures
Titan Industries advanced 2.12% to Rs 963.55, after reporting 155.50% spurt in net profit for Q3 December 2006.The stock's surge, hitting an intra-day high of Rs 967.75, was accompanied by a volume of 1.05 lakh shares.The stock slipped ahead of its results, from Rs 935.95 on 19 January to Rs 909.30 by 24 January 2007.

Titan Industries’ net profit for Q3 December 2006 surged 155.50% to Rs 27.5 crore, from Rs 10.8 crore in Q3 December 2005. Net sales rose 42.9% at Rs 529.14 crore from Rs 370.33 crore.The other income was up 128.9%, to Rs 0.9 crore (Rs 0.4 crore).

Jewellery sales rose 63.6% to Rs 366.5 crore (Rs 224 crore), while that for watches rose 9.4% to Rs 162.4 crore (Rs 148.5 crore).

For the first nine months of the financial year saw a substantial growth in sales turnover by 46% to Rs 1,530.63 crore from Rs 1,047.22 crore in the year-ago period and this was higher than last year's annual turnover of Rs 1,481 crore. For the nine-months' period, net profit was Rs 63.81 crore against Rs 36.41 crore during the same period last year. The watches division posted a sales growth of 16%, growing from Rs 459.58 crore last year to Rs 535.98 crore this year.

Recently, Titan Industries opened its 204th World of Titan store. Inaugurating the 1,600-sq feet showroom in Bangalore, Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Industries, said the company hopes to have 225 World of Titan stores by March 2007, and 65 more during the next fiscal.

The company will also give a greater push to its Gold Plus jewellery in the next fiscal. It plans to add three more stores during the last quarter of the current financial year.

Titan is the only listed player in organised retailing of jewellery with a pan-India network, and excellent brand equity (Tanishq). Tanishq commands almost 70% share in the branded jewellery market.Titan also manufactures watches marketed under the Titan and Sonata brand names. It enjoys over 25% share of the total domestic watch market.

Ace Software upbeat on equity buy-back agenda
Ace Software was up 0.49%, at Rs 20.40, in morning trade.The stock is trading on thin volumes. Just 3,309 shares were traded in the counter since morning.Since mid-December 2006, the stock has been trading in Rs 17 - Rs 21 range.

The company announced a buyback of equity shares after its 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM). The promoters have decided to buy-back not more than 5% of the existing share capital from the public.

The company’s business relates to creation of database pertaining to IT enabled services.It is yet to come out with its December 2006 quarter results. The September 2006 quarter results were unimpressive. It reported a decline in net profit by 73.1%, at Rs 0.07 crore. The net sales, however, grew 108.4% to Rs 1.73 crore.

Pivotals trade mixed; market still subdued

The market remained subdued in morning trade, as caution prevailed ahead of RBI’s meeting on Wednesday, where the central bank is expected to raise short-term interest rates by 25 basis points. The market is closed on Tuesday on account of Moharram, ahead of the RBI meeting.

A mixed trend was visible in pivotals. Pharma constituents were in demand, but IT pivotals were subdued. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) inched ahead.

At 11:24 IST the Sensex was down 36 points, at 14,246. It was up from a lower level after having dropped as many as 65.88 points, to 14,216.84 in early-trade. At the onset of trading, the market opened firm, rising as many as 33.82 points, to a high of 14,316.54.

The market-breadth was strong. For 1,380 shares rising on BSE, 957 that declined. Just 65 shares were unchanged. Gainers outpaced losers by a ratio of 1.4:1.The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 1189 crore.

Suzlon Energy sinks
Suzlon Energy plunged 5.76% to Rs 1213, on reporting just 7.44% growth in net profit for Q3 December 2006.As many as 1.01 lakh shares were traded in the counter on BSE, the stock also plunging to a low of Rs 1208.The counter slipped ahead of its results from Rs 1292.75 on 22 January, to decline to Rs 1273.10 by 24 January 2007.

Suzlon Energy posted net profit of Rs 176.23 crore for the quarter ended December 2006, the same being Rs 161.94 crore for the quarter ended December 2005. Total income increased to Rs 1126.07 crore (Rs 863.24 crore).

The company, as part of long-term plans of having independent manufacturing units for various components of a Wind Turbine Generator (WTG'), realigned its operations and commenced sale of tubular towers through one of its wholly-owned subsidiary. Accordingly, the standalone results for the quarter ended December 2006 do not include the sale of tubular towers aggregating approximately Rs 116.96 crore and Rs 329.47 crore, respectively, which have been sold through the wholly-owned subsidiary. Accordingly, the sales realizations and gross margins for standalone results during the quarter ended December 2006 are to that extent not comparable with the standalone results of prior periods presented.

On a consolidated basis, the group posted a net profit after minority interest of Rs 174.39 crore for the quarter ended December 2006 where as the same was at Rs 134.94 crore for the quarter ended December 2005. Total income increased to Rs 1939.29 crore (Rs 908.35 crore).

The company, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, AE-Rotor Holding B.V., in May, purchased entire share capital of Eve Holding NV, Belgium for Euro 431.43 million. By virtue of the acquisition of Eve Holding by AE-Rotor, the company has 100% ownership of Hansen Transmissions International NV, Belgium, along with its subsidiaries, which are engaged in the business of design, development, manufacturing and supply of industrial and wind-gear boxes and is the second largest wind-energy gearbox manufacturer in the world, having approximately 33% global market share.

Hence, the consolidated results for the quarter ended December 2006, includes the results of Eve Holding NV, Belgium. Accordingly, the sales and gross margins for the consolidated results during the quarter ended December 2006 are to that extent not comparable with the consolidated results of prior periods presented.

Suzlon Energy owns over 30 wind-farms across eight states and manufactures wind-turbine generators (WTG).

Suzlon is constructing a wind resource study in West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. The company's rotor blade unit in Minnesota, USA, and its factory in Tianjin, China, started operations.

TVS Motor Company in a spot
TVS Motor Company slipped 2.52% to Rs 75.50, after 63.10% fall in net profit for Q3 December 2006.The counter clocked 2.56 lakh shares on BSE.The stock slipped ahead of its results, from Rs 82.20 on 12 January to to Rs 78.75 by 24 January 2007.

TVS Motor Company reported 63.10% fall in net profit for Q3 December 2006 to Rs 11.46 crore, compared to Rs 31.06 crore in Q3 December 2005. Net sales rose 7.30% to Rs 935.41 crore (Rs 871.40 crore).

TVS Motor’s bike sales fell 14.5% in December 2006 to 58,756 units from 68,724 units a year earlier, while sales of scooterettes rose 3.50% to 16,616 from 16,051 units. The company said exports rose 17% to 7,088 units.

TVS Motor is planning to enter the 100cc plus four-stroke scooter category to take on Honda Activa and Kinetic 4S. The company will also launch a two-stroke variant of the Scooty brand.

TVS Motors is the third-largest motorcycle maker with over 13% market share. The total foreign holding in the company is 6.93%, while that of public is 9.94% as of September 2006. Promoters own 56.83% stake.

Sensex falters after positive start

The market edged lower in early trade. At 10:25 IST the Sensex was down 15 points, at 14,267. It had edged lower after a positive opening, reached 14,316.54 at 9:57 IST, within sniffing distance of an all-time high of 14,325.92 of 18 January 2007.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 551 crore.Bhel rose nearly 2% to Rs 2496, after the company’s board announced a surprise 1:1 bonus along with strong Q3 results after trading hours on Thursday (25 January 2007).

Hindalco gained 1.5% to Rs 177.90, after it reported a surge in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 643.90 crore from Rs 336.20 crore in December 2005 quarter. The results hit the market after trading hours on Thursday.

Reliance Communications 1.5% to Rs 443.90, after the company’s shareholders approved a transfer of its wireless towers (CDMA and GSM) and related infrastructure to its subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Infrastructure (RTIL).

Bonus bounty powers Bhel's upmove
Bhel rose 2% to Rs 2500, after the company announced a liberal 1:1 bonus issue along with Q3 results.As many as 48,353 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

Rumours of a bonus, stock-split boosted the stock ahead of the results announcement. From Rs 2315.80 on 23 January 2007, the stock rose 5.7% in just two trading sessions to Rs 2448.35 on 25 January. The announcement of a bonus hit the market after trading hours on 25 January.At the time of declaring Q3 results, Bhel also unveiled a 1:1 bonus issue on Thursday (25 January).

Bhel reported 58% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter to Rs 667.70 crore, on 32% growth in sales to Rs 4339.70 crore.The order backlog at end of Dec 2006 was Rs 46700 crore, a rise of 38% on year-on-year.

Paper Products jumps as board mulls stock-split
Paper Products jumped 4.78% to Rs 391, after scheduling a board meeting for 31 January 2007, to consider a stock-split proposal.Merely 485 shares changed hands in early trade on BSE. Stock-splits are generally meant to boost liquidity in the counter.

The stock rose steadily in the past few sessions, as buying continued. From Rs 363.20 on 16 January 2006, the stock rose to Rs 369.55 on 24 January 2006.The company’s average weekly volume on a daily basis is a mere 774 shares on BSE.

PPL manufactures consumer packaging products with its presence conspicuous in the premium–end segment of the packaging industry. Huhtamaki Oyi, Finland, has a 59% stake in the equity capital of the company. PPL has recently been more attuned to innovation and value addition through its programme of NASP (New Application, Structures and Products).

HLL, Nestle, Eveready, GSK, Cadbury, P&G, Perfetti, Coca-Cola among others figure among the many clients of PPL. The company's top 10 clients take up 80% of sales. HLL, proves dominant here, accounting for 25% of sales.

Paper Products (PPL)’s net profit slipped 1.10% in Q3 September 2006 to Rs 7.03 crore (Rs 7.11 crore). Net sales rose 27% to Rs 132.34 crore (Rs 104.19 crore).The current price of Rs 2500 discounts its FY 2006 (year ended 31 March 2006) EPS of Rs 68.60, by a PE multiple of 36.4.

Metal scrips in demand

Metal stocks advanced on high volumes, on hopes of a price hike, as global metal prices have started looking up after a sharp fall recently. The BSE metal index surged 4.04% or 373.26 points to 9,602.16, and was the biggest gainer among BSE sectoral indices.

The market extended its gains in the afternoon trade, as buying momentum intensified. Short covering is said to be taking place ahead of expiry of January 2007 derivatives contracts.

At 14:33 IST, the BSE Sensex was up 66.85 points to 14,177.31. It opened higher at 14,151.62 and surged to hit a high of 14,209.41. Its low so far is at 14,115.40.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3391 crore.The market breadth was strong on BSE, as buying spilled over small-cap and mid-cap stocks as well. 1499 shares advanced, as compared to 1107 that declined. 57 shares remained unchanged.Among the Sensex pack, 19 advanced while the rest declined.

Maruti Udyog revs up
Car major Maruti Udyog gained nearly 2% to Rs 950 after the company launched diesel version its popular Swift model on Wednesday.1.2 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

The announcement of the launch had lifted the stock 1.3% on Wednesday (24 January) to Rs 931.90. Earlier, the stock had witnessed high volatility recently. After a surge of 5.4% in three trading sessions to Rs 974.55 on 3 January 2007 from Rs 923.85 on 28 December 2006, the stock had witnessed a sharp fall to reach a low of Rs 880.75 on 10 January 2007. It had recovered from that low later.

Maruti has priced the diesel version of Swift aggressively. The company has priced the diesel variants in the range of Rs 4.68 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base model and Rs 4.96 lakh for the premium one that is fitted with anti lock braking system, air bags and alloy wheels.

Maruti's diesel push is coming at a time when the share of diesel vehicles is expected to climb to 45% of the projected two million vehicle market by 2010 - or to 9 lakh units - from 3.6 lakh at present.

Maruti’s net profit rose 11% in December 2006 quarter to Rs 376.41 crore on 18% growth in sales to Rs 3679 crore.

Maruti’s total sales rose 23.7 per cent in December 2006 at 56,985 units as against 46,079 units in December 2005. Domestic sales stood at 54,640 units in December as against 43,251 units in the corresponding month a year ago, up 26.3 per cent.

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved selling the government's remaining 10.27% stake in the car maker. The stake will be sold to banks and financial institutions, the bids for which are expected soon. Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation holds 54.2% stake in the car major.

Maruti's current scrip price of Rs 950 discounts its 9-months April-December 2006 annualised EPS of Rs 51.40, by a PE multiple of 18.4.

Sensex extends gains

The market extended its gains in the afternoon trade, as buying momentum intensified. Short covering is said to be taking place ahead of expiry of January 2007 derivatives contracts.

At 13:42 IST, the BSE Sensex was up 75.46 points to 14,185.95. It opened higher at 14,151.62 and surged to hit a high of 14,209.41. Its low so far is at 14,115.40.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2852 crore.

The market breadth was strong on BSE, as buying spilled over small-cap and mid-cap stocks as well. There were around 1.5 gainers for every loser. 1552 shares advanced, as compared to 1024 that declined. 52 shares remained unchanged.Among the Sensex pack, 23 advanced while the rest declined.

Hindustan Oil Exploration soars
Hindustan Oil Exploration jumped nearly 12% to Rs 100 after it said that initial results have confirmed satisfactory delivery at its PY-1 gas field.6.5 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The stock was range bound since mid-December 2006. It moved between Rs 82 to Rs 97 since mid-December 2006.

Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) today said the company has spud the first development well "Earth" in PY-1 gas field. A well-test was performed on the well to establish that horizontal wells of this type could meet required rates under the PY-1 full field development, it said. Initial results have confirmed satisfactory well deliverability. The company has 100% participating interest in this field.

Hindustan Oil Exploration Company recently tied up with banks for availing a term loan of $100 million to part finance the development of PY-1 field. In August 2006, the company had raised $33 million through rights issue.

HOEC a relatively small player in the oil exploration and production sector. It has proven and probable reserves estimated at 39.59 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).

For Q2 September 2006, the company reported a net loss of Rs 9.05 crore compared to a net profit of Rs 10.41 crore in Q2 September 2005. Net sales rose 13.8% to Rs 25.75 crore (Rs 22.63 crore).

Moser Baer in the thick of action on impressive Q3 numbers
Moser Baer jumped 7% to Rs 342.20 after it reported 188.3% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter.9.4 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The stock had witnessed a solid surge since mid-December 2006 as investors made beeline for small-cap and mid-cap shares. From Rs 230.45 on 12 December 2006, it surged 47% to high of Rs 338.95 on 5 January 2007. Profit taking had pulled the stock down later. It had settled at Rs 318.95 on 24 January.

Moser Baer’s net profit jumped 188.3% in December 2006 quarter to Rs 37.62 crore (Rs 13.05 crore). Net sales rose 19% to Rs 501.52 crore (Rs 421.30 crore).

Early this week, Moser Baer inked an agreement with Baba Arts to manufacture, market and distribute VCDs and DVDs of over 450 Telugu movie titles. Moser Baer will market the VCDs and DVDs of these titles in the Indian Market and pay Baba Arts a minimum guarantee (MG) of Rs 2.5 crore for eight years. Post recovery of the minimum guarantee, both companies will share the profit in a 50:50 ratio for a period of 8 years. Currently, Baba Arts is the sole copy right holder of 450 Telugu Titles.

Early this month, Moser Baer announced its foray into home video market with 101 Tamil film titles.

Moser Baer is the lowest cost optical media manufacturer in the world. Its strength lies in its focus on R&D. The company is now concentrating on HD DVD-R (recordable), a next generation format. Since July 2006, the company has stared exporting HD DVD-R (recordable to its global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers.

Recently, Moser Baer introduced a range of USB flash drives in the Indian market. With capacities ranging from 512 MB to four GB, the drives claim data retention feature up to 10 years. According to a Dataquest survey, the market for flash drives has grown from one lakh units in 2004-05 to over 9 lakh in 2005-06.

Moser Baer is setting up an export-oriented solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and module manufacturing project. The global photo voltaic market is on a high growth curve and a lowering of PV electricity costs could exponentially expand the market, according to Moser Baer. Electricity can be produced from sunlight through a process called photovoltaics (PV).

Strong market breadth

The market breadth was strong on BSE, as buying spilled over small-cap and mid-cap stocks as well. There were over 1.5 gainers for every loser. 1503 shares advanced, as compared to 968 that declined. 69 shares remained unchanged.

As per latest data, India's wholesale price index rose 5.95% in the 12 months to 13 January, down from the previous week's two-year high due to a fall in some food prices.

The market stayed firm at higher levels as short covering continued ahead of expiry of January 2007 derivatives contracts.At 12:41 IST, the BSE Sensex was up 50.88 points to 14,161.34. It opened higher at 14151.62 and surged to hit a high of 14209.41. Its low so far is at 14115.40.

Bank of Baroda banks on strong Q3 results
State run Bank of Baroda rose nearly 3% to Rs 253 as the stock rose for the second day in a row after it reported 62.7% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter.
2.03 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The scrip had risen 4.5% to Rs 246.05 on Wednesday 24 January 2007 following the announcement of the results during trading hours. Earlier, the stock remained range bound since mid-December 2006. It moved between Rs 219 to Rs 248 since early December 2006.

Bank of Baroda’s net profit jumped 62.7% in December 2006 quarter to Rs 329.13 crore (Rs 202.18 crore). Total income rose 32.8% to Rs 2720.67 crore (Rs 2047.66 crore).

On 10 January 2007, Bank of Baroda (BoB) and India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFC) entered into an MoU to enhance the provision of financing and other banking products and services to entities involved in infrastructure development. As a part of the MoU, the two entities will co-operate in debt financing to enable quicker financial closure for infrastructure projects in the area such as power generation and distribution, road and bridges, telecommunication, ports and technology parks.

Recently, BoB rolled out a small and medium enterprise (SME) loan factory across three locations in Mumbai. The bank's SME segment has been growing at the rate of 25% this year. Currently bank has about 15 SME loan factories across currently.

On 24 January 2007, Bank of Baroda entered into an MOU with India Infoline to launch online trading facilities for its customers named as Baroda-e-trading, to provide comprehensive suite of products and services under its wealth management initiatives.

BoB also intends to focus on international operations. At present, the bank operates in 21 countries with 40 branches and 20 subsidiaries and representative offices.

Effective January 22, Bank of Baroda raised the interest rates on term deposits to 8.25 per cent per annum on all fresh and renewed deposits upto Rs 1 crore for a period of 15 months and upto 5 years. The offer is valid upto 31 March 2007.

Earlier, effective from 1 January 2007, BoB raised its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 0.5% from 11.50% to 12%.

Micro Technologies inches ahead on decent Q3 number
Micro Technologies rose 0.57% at 280.50 on the back of favourable Q3 results.The stock touched a intra day high of Rs.286.65 earlier and has done volumes of 28423 shares on the BSE.

The stock has displayed quite some volatility in the past 2 months. From Rs 218.15 on 28 November 2006, it shot up to Rs 292.25 in two days of trading. But the rally fizzled out shortly with the scrip reaching a low of Rs 232.05 on 12 December 2006. From then it has ascended to the current levels.

Micro Tech reported a 18.84% quarter on quarter (QoQ) rise in net profit at Rs.8.77 crore while the net sales rose a decent 9.81% QoQ at Rs.28.24 crore.

Micro Technologies is a global provider of security, safety and life-support solutions. It combines state-of-the-art technologies such as GPS, wireless communications, and business intelligence with a full array of sensors to ensure integrity, security and efficiency.

Through one of its major allies, the company recently received approval for its micro vehicle navigator system for Premium Municipal Corporation in the UAE. Among other recent launches by the company is a unique global e-security product called as Micro Internet Access Security System – Bank. With rapidly growing e-trading and e- commerce, the company expects its products to do well.

Market stays firm

The market stayed firm at higher levels as short covering continued ahead of expiry of January 2007 derivatives contracts.At 11:43 IST, the BSE Sensex was up 63.26 points to 14,173.23. It opened higher at 14151.62 and surged to hit a high of 14209.41. Its low is at 14115.40.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1434 crore

The market breadth was strong on BSE with 1471 shares advancing as compared to 873 that declined. 62 shares remained unchanged.Among the Sensex pack, 24 advanced while the rest declined.

Tata Steel surges as deadline for revised bids for Corus approaches
Tata Steel surged nearly 4% to Rs 500 extending Wednesday’s 3.6% rise.7.1 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The stock had gained 3.6% on Wednesday 24 January 2007 to Rs 481.45. The stock has underperformed the market since October 2006, largely out of uncertainty regarding the Corus bid.

With just a few days to go before the deadline for submitting revised bids for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, the stage seems set for an auction for the world’s eighth largest steel maker. It may be recalled that on 19 December 2006, the UK Takeover Panel had said an auction process would be initiated if “the competitive situation continues to exist shortly before January 30”.

As of today, CSN has its nose ahead with a higher price bid 515 pence a share for Corus compared to Tata Steel’s 500 pence per share. However, recent reports suggest that iron ore dispute casts doubts over Brazil’s CSN’s deadline for Tata Steel. The tussle has arisen after Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the Brazilian mining group, said it would challenge CSN's ability to supply iron ore to Corus should its bid succeed. A big part of the rationale behind CSN's offer is that it would be able to supply cheap iron ore from its Casa de Pedra mine in Brazil to Corus's European plants.

Meanwhile, Tata Steel said on Wednesday (24 January) its Singapore-based subsidiary NatSteel Asia increased its holding in three of NatSteel's units. All three stakes were bought from Malaysia's Southern Steel Berhad, Tata Steel said.

Tata Steel's saleable steel production at 3.66 million tonnes during the first nine months of 2006-07 marked an increase of 11%t over saleable steel production during the corresponding period of last fiscal. During April-December 2006, the company produced 4.1 million tonnes of hot metal and 3.7 million tonnes of crude steel.

Tata Steel’ s total sales in the first nine months of the current fiscal was 3.532 million tonnes, an increase of 11.7% over sales during the corresponding period of last fiscal. Domestic sales of long products increased 30%.

Tata Steel is also gearing up to play a major role in the automotive boom. The domestic automotive market is expected to see a growth of 17- 18% in the current financial year and Tata Steel is set to take advantage. Tata Steel's market share in the domestic automotive segment is expected to be 43% in FY07, against 41% in FY06

Tata Steel's board will meet on 30 January 2007 to consider the audited financial results for the quarter/nine months ended 31 December 2006.

Ind-Swift Labs drops after dismal Q3 numbers
Ind-Swift Laboratories lost 2% at Rs 68.30 after the company reported 39% fall in net profit in December 2006 quarter.78,654 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The stock had seen a low of Rs 53.20 on 13 December 2006 and from then on it surged to the current levels.

The company came out with a disappointing set of Q3 numbers with a 39.40% fall in its net profit over the corresponding previous year quarter at Rs 5.51 crore. Net sales rose 15.72% at Rs.95.30 crore. It may be recalled that the company’s second quarter results were even more unimpressive where the net profit figure was down 45%.

The company is one of the largest manufacturers of Clarithromycin and enjoys 30-33 per cent of the world capacities for this drug. The company has a good market share in its product segment in countries like, Jordan, Syria, Egypt & Iran. The company is now striving to expand its presence in the regulated markets of Europe and the US.

The company in the last financial year completed its first major expansion plan of over Rs.100 crore, where it put up a new facility at tax exempted zone at Samba, Jammu (J&K) to manufacture products for the domestic market.

Market opens on a firm note

The market opened on a firm note as short covering continued ahead of expiry of January 2007 derivatives contracts.

At 10:25 IST, the BSE Sensex was up 34.84 points to 14145.30. It opened higher at 14151.62 and surged to hit a high of 14209.41. Its low is at 14137.82.The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 612 crore.The market breadth was strong on BSE with 1267 shares advancing as compared to 596 that declined. 31 shares remained unchanged.Among the Sensex pack, 24 advanced while the rest declined.Tata Steel was the top gainer, up 1.94% to Rs 490.80 on 1.02 lakh shares.

Stock split proposal boosts Max India
Max India jumped nearly 5% to Rs 1021 after the company’s board on Wednesday board approved a 5-for-1 stock split.The stock rose on high early volume of 1.7 lakh shares on BSE.The stock had firmed up since early this month when investors made beeline for small-cap and mid-cap shares. From Rs 857.80 on 8 January 2007, the stock had risen 13.4% to Rs 973.55.

The current face value per share is Rs 10 which will be reduced to Rs 2 after stock split.Max India also announced a surge in net profit on Wednesday to Rs 3.85 crore in December 2005 quarter from Rs 2.42 crore in the same period last year. Net sales rose 30.4% to Rs 45.62 crore from Rs 34.97 crore.

Max India is a diversified firm with interests in life insurance, health care, speciality plastics and clinical research.

Balaji Telefilms firmly in the picture on good Q3 show
Balaji Telefilms rose 3.5% to Rs 127.50 after it reported 49% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter.48,881 shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.The stock had failed to participate in rally in small-cap and mid-cap stocks witnessed since mid-December 2006. The stock was range bound since mid-December 2006. It moved between Rs 123 to Rs 138 since 12 December 2006.

Balaji Telefilms reported a 49% surge in net profit in December 2006 quarter to Rs 21.77 crore (Rs 14.60 crore). Income from operations rose 21.4%to Rs 85.02 crore (Rs 69.98 rore).

Along with Q3 results, Balaji’s board on Wednesday also approved formation of wholly owned subsidiary for undertaking films business whereby by the existing film production business will be transferred to this subsidiary. Film production is a relatively new business for Balaji Telefilms. Reports suggest that the company plans to make around five to six movies. In film production, the company’s focus is low budget movies to get maximum returns and reduce downside risks.

Balaji Telefilms dominates the television content business. It provides content to most Hindi satellite channels, Gemini in Telugu and Udaya in Kannada. The company derives close to 90% of revenues from commissioned programmes. In this arrangement, the broadcaster undertakes to market, and also pockets advertising revenues while paying the content provider an agreed fee. Balaji Telefilms enjoys such a relationship with Star Plus.

The company intends to broaden its content base by adding new genres. In addition, Balaji is planning to set up its offices in Sharjah and Dubai. The programmes shown there will be commissioned programmes.

Balaji Telefilms is a debt free entity.

Sensex ends above 14,100

Firm global markets, short-covering in derivatives and a surge in FII buying sparked a recovery on the domestic bourses after Tuesday’s 168-point fall. A bout of intra-day volatility was witnessed ahead of the expiry of January 2007 derivatives contracts on Thursday (25 January 2007). .

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 69.22 points (0.49%), to settle at 14,110.46. The S&P CNX Nifty advanced 23.80 points (0.59%), to settle at 4089.90.

The market was afflicted by volatility. The Sensex had almost evened out in mid-afternoon trade, but rose again during the latter part of the session. It had dropped to 14,043.54 at 14:06 IST, just 2.30 points more for the day. The barometer index had gained as many as 115 points, to 14,156.46, in early trade.

The market-breadth turned negative in the latter part of trading in contrast to a strong breadth earlier during the day. For 1,345 shares declining on BSE, 1,287 rose and 49 remained unchanged. Losers outpaced gainers by a ratio of 1.04:1.

Nifty January 2007 futures finished at 4098.95, compared to the spot Nifty closing of 4,089.90. Nifty February 2007 futures ended at 4107.

The BSE metal index was the top gainer among sectoral indices. It rose 331.25 points (3.7%), to settle at 9,228.90. While the BSE banking sector index, the Bankex, added 69.21 points (0.9%), to end on 7,383.82, the BSE PSU index gained 82.14 points (1.3%), to 6,231.89. The BSE Auto index lost 61.53 points (1.1%), to settle at 5,539.78.

The BSE Small-Cap Index added 42.61 points (0.5%), to settle at 7,543.89, against a BSE Mid-Cap Index rally of 14.30 points (0.24%), to 6,028.48.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4448, compared to Tuesday’s Rs 4055.48 crore.

Tata Steel jumped 4% to Rs 483.20. A block deal of 20 lakh shares was struck in the counter at Rs 471. Tata Steel said on Wednesday its Singapore-based subsidiary NatSteel Asia increased its holding in three of NatSteel's units. All three stakes were bought from Malaysia's Southern Steel Berhad, Tata Steel said.

L&T gained nearly 3% to Rs 1577, after bagging Rs 355 crore order. Larsen & Toubro also said it will invest Rs 500 crore over the next five years in a technology park in Gujarat.

Bharat Heavy Electricals rose nearly 3% to Rs 2382, after the company said it had a contract for building two, 500-megawatt units at a power plant in West Bengal.

Maruti Udyog rose 1.5% to Rs 934, after the car maker launched a diesel version of the Swift.

ICICI Bank gained 1% to Rs 975.10, and HDFC Bank rose 2.8% to Rs 1060. On Tuesday, HDFC Bank's ADR gained 1.6% to $75.89, while ICICI Bank's rose 1.8% to $44.54.

HDFC gained 2.2% to Rs 1643, ahead of the Q3 results, slated for release today. Four brokerages expect 20.1 - 27.1% growth in HDFC’s Q3 net profit, between Rs 341.80 crore and Rs 361.70 crore, compared to a net profit of Rs 284.52 crore in December 2005 quarter.

ONGC rose 2.7% to Rs 915, following Tuesday’s surge in oil price.

Hindalco gained 2.8% to Rs 169.65, tracking a recovery in global base metal prices. The company unveils Q3 results tomorrow.

Tata Motors lost 3.3% to Rs 918. Tata Motors reported 11.5% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 513.17 crore from Rs 460.23 crore in December 2005 quarter. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 37% to Rs 6956.84 crore (Rs 5074.86 crore). The numbers were unveiled after trading hours on Tuesday.

Hindustan Lever was down 3% to Rs 215.30. A strong 15.1 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

Cipla shed 2.2% to Rs 248. After trading hours on Tuesday, Cipla reported a marginal 5.2% growth in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 184.38 crore (Rs 175.31 crore). Net sales rose 12.8% to Rs 880.54 crore (Rs 780.62 crore).

Bharti Airtel rose 0.4% to Rs 692. The telecom regulator on Wednesday slashed tariffs for national roaming on mobile networks by up to 56%, further reducing already low call rates in the fastest growing mobile market. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said the new tariffs, effective from Feb. 15, will be applicable for the dominant GSM network as well as the CDMA platform.

Reliance Communications shed 1% to Rs 436.65. The finance ministry has approved Reliance Communications’ proposed issue of $1.2 billion of American or Global Depository Receipts. Reliance Communications said in a regulatory filing earlier this month that it wanted to raise $1.2 billion to expand.

Among index heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.4% to Rs 1367, whereas Infosys shed 0.6% to Rs 2221.

Bank of Baroda gained 5% to Rs 247.45, after it reported a net profit of Rs 329 crore in December 2006 quarter, compared to a net profit of Rs 202 crore in December 2005 quarter.

Oriental Bank of Commerce was down 0.2% to Rs 223.90. It also posted a net profit of Rs 182.42 crore in the December 2006 quarter, compared to a net profit of Rs 143.42 crore in the December 2005 quarter.

Indian Overseas Bank gained 3% to Rs 115.40. It had posted a net profit of Rs 246.78 crore in December 2006 quarter, compared to a net profit of Rs 197.21 crore in the December 2005 quarter.

Corporation Bank rose 1.4% to Rs 315.75. It also posted a net profit of Rs 146.42 crore in December 2006 quarter, compared to a net profit of Rs 115.07 crore in December 2005 quarter.

Radha Madhav Corporation jumped 5% to Rs 54.90. The company reported a net profit of Rs 3.54 crore in December 2006 quarter, compared to almost breakeven results for December 2005 quarter.

Textiles firm Bombay Rayon Fashions dropped 4% to Rs 203.25, after the company said Citigroup Global Markets (Mauritius) purchased 3.22 million shares, or 5.12% stake, in the company.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre jumped 16% to Rs 292.85. The stock rose on heavy volume of 91.7 lakh shares on BSE.

Gitanjali Gems rose 0.7% to Rs 231.55, after the jewellery maker and retailer reported an 86% increase in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 24.83 crore.

MRPL rose almost 2% to Rs 45.30, after it reported a surge in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 118.46 crore from Rs 19.36 crore in December 2005 quarter. Total income rose to Rs 7397.44 crore from Rs 6815.66 crore.

Varun Shipping (down 2% to Rs 64.80) slipped for the second day in a row, after a 24.8% fall in net profit in December 2006 quarter, to Rs 39.62 crore (Rs 52.72 crore). Income from operations declined 13.5%, to Rs 163.47 crore (Rs 189.09 crore).

Kinetic Engineering jumped nearly 15% to Rs 150.70, following reports that the company expects sales of Rs 180 crore in calendar 2007, as it expands its auto components business, which it started last year. The company, now only makes auto components, after it sold its motorcycle business to Kinetic Motor Company, a group firm.

European markets edged up in early trade. Key benchmark indices in London, Germany and France were up between 0.1 - 0.7%. Asian markets were firm. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up between 0.25 - 1.4%.

US stocks gained on Tuesday, as a spike in crude oil prices lifted shares of energy companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., while strong profits from United Technologies Corp gave investors a reason to buy aerospace stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.64 points, or 0.45%, to end at 12,533.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 5.04 points, or 0.35%, to finish at 1,427.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index inched up just 0.34 of a point, or 0.01%, to 2,431.41.

Nymex crude was down 35 cents to $54.69 a barrel. It rose nearly $2.50 on Tuesday, when the United States announced plans to build up emergency crude reserves, and as colder weather pushed up demand in the world's top consumer.

FIIs stepped up buying on Monday (22 January). FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 320 crore on 22 January, compared to Friday (19 January)’s inflow of Rs 76.80 crore. Sustained buying by FIIs over the past few days, which followed their substantial sales earlier this month, is also an important factor. FIIs have been net buyers in seven out of the last eight trading sessions.

As per provisional data, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 127 crore on Tuesday (23 January), the day when the Sensex lost 168 points. FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 30 crore in index-based futures that day. They were net sellers to the tune of Rs 510 crore in individual stock futures on the same day.

The Q3 results announced so far were good. The season is in its last lap and the focus will shift to the Union Budget 2007-08 and related expectations. The RBI meeting for monetary policy is on 31 January 2007. With inflation surging to a two-year high of over 6%, the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates.