Merger & Acquisition Round Up - July 23 to July 27, 2012

Infosys, TCS and Cognizant in race to buy Lodestone Management Consultants: reports

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant are in race to acquire Lodestone Management Consultants, the Zurich-headquartered management and technology consulting firm, according to reports.

Reports said that IT majors have responded to the invitation of bids from the Swiss firm, which has revenues of 207 million Swiss francs.

The possible acquisition of Lodestone would provide any of these companies the difference in terms of providing higher-value service offerings, says report.

Real Estate Round Up - July 23 to July 27, 2012

Indiabulls Real Estate Q1 net profit at Rs377.470 mn 

Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd has  posted a net profit after tax, Minority Interest & Share of Profit / (Loss) of Associate of Rs. 377.470 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 as compared to Rs. 659.862 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

Total Income has decreased from Rs. 3834.629 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 to Rs. 2218.566 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Hotel & Tourism Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

Cox & Kings starts Norwegian Visa Application Centre in India

Cox & Kings Global Services (100% subsidiary of Cox & Kings Ltd)) announces the start of its Schengen Visa & Residence Permit Application Centres for the Royal Norwegian Embassy in India. As part of the agreement, CKGS has opened Visa application centres across India in major cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Pune & Kochi.
 
According to H.E. Ms. Ann Ollestad, Norwegian Ambassador to India, “We are pleased to appoint CKGS as our partner in operating Schengen Visa & Residence Permit Application Centres across India. The number of Indian tourists arriving in Norway has been on steady incline and our partnership with CKGS at this juncture is bound to make it easier and convenient for Indian nationals to acquire a Schengen Visa or a residence permit making it possible for the diplomatic staff to focus primarily on case handling, thus shortening the overall processing time and the application procedure; which in turn will improve the experience of the applicants”.

Infrastructure Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

BHEL Q1 net profit at Rs9.21bn

BHEL Ltd. has announced financial results for the first quarter ended 30th June, 2012.

BHEL has posted a net profit of Rs. 9.21bn for the fiscal first quarter of FY13 while net sales for the same period stood at Rs. 83.26bn.

Its outstanding order book stood at Rs. 1.33 lakh crore.

Total Income has increased from Rs. 75604.70 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 to Rs. 88052.80 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Aviation Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

Cox & Kings starts Norwegian Visa Application Centre in India

Cox & Kings Global Services (100% subsidiary of Cox & Kings Ltd)) announces the start of its Schengen Visa & Residence Permit Application Centres for the Royal Norwegian Embassy in India. As part of the agreement, CKGS has opened Visa application centres across India in major cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Pune & Kochi.
 
According to H.E. Ms. Ann Ollestad, Norwegian Ambassador to India, “We are pleased to appoint CKGS as our partner in operating Schengen Visa & Residence Permit Application Centres across India. The number of Indian tourists arriving in Norway has been on steady incline and our partnership with CKGS at this juncture is bound to make it easier and convenient for Indian nationals to acquire a Schengen Visa or a residence permit making it possible for the diplomatic staff to focus primarily on case handling, thus shortening the overall processing time and the application procedure; which in turn will improve the experience of the applicants”.

IT Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

Wipro Q1 net profit at Rs. 15.80bn

Wipro Ltd. has just announced its Q1 FY13 results. The net profit for the April to June quarter stood at Rs. 15.80bn while revenues are at Rs. 106.19bn. EBIT is at Rs. 18.72bn and EBIT margin are at 17.62%.

Dollar revenues for Q1 FY13 stood at US$1.54bn.

For the July-September quarter, the company has announced dollar revenue guidance of  US$1.52-1.55bn.

Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, commenting on the results said – “In today’s complex business environment, global corporations are increasingly investing in transformational technology initiatives to improve competitiveness. We see this shift as an opportunity for us to lead this change and help customers differentiate in this fast evolving market.”

Suresh Senapaty, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Wipro, said – “We have seen high levels of volatility in currencies globally. We have improved profitability, while continuing to invest for growth.”

Metal & Mining Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

Coal India may pay penalty if supplies fall below 80%: reports

Coal India Ltd may amend the controversial fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with the power sector by accepting to pay a 5% penalty if supplies fall below the guaranteed (trigger) 80 per cent level, according to reports.

Reports stated that the new pact will be applicable to facilities commissioned after March 2009.

The amendments, sought by the power producers, may be placed for approval of the CIL board on July 31, report says.

There are reports that the subsequent years will witness rise in incidence of penalty.

Telecom Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

SWIPE Telecom introduces India’s first 3D Tablet

California-headquartered SWIPE Telecom today introduced India’s first 3D Tablet PC, called 3D LIFE. The vastly innovative 3D LIFE was launched by none other than Bollywood heartthrob Malaika Arora Khan.

SWIPE Telecom also launched another ‘first-of-its-kind’ tabX78 Float series targeted towards executives and business professionals which is India’s slimmest and lightest Tablet weighing 295 grams with 8.5 mm thickness.

The third innovation is tabX74S– HALO series, a7” smartphone Tablet with SIM functionality for calling and browsing internet, a touch screen with 5-point touch that runs on Android 4.03 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), a superfast  1 GB DDR III RAM, 4 GB inbuilt memory with front and back shooters and Bluetooth.

Insurance Newsletter - July 23 to July 27, 2012

General insurers must declare claims in IPO offer: SEBI

On 25th July, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) released disclosure norms for initial public offerings (IPOs) launched by general insurers. The disclosures must accord to the format published by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, the market regulator said.

While equity markets are regulated by SEBI, IRDA supervises the insurance industry. Under the new IPO norms issued by SEBI, GICs (general insurance companies) must also declare cross-selling and claims while going in for an IPO, and must declare risk factors, which will act as guidance.

A GIC will also be mandated with declaring the maximum possible loss ratio to potential investors, SEBI said. Claims under review must also be disclosed and classified by age and type, SEBI said.