Adani Ports to divest 100% in Abbot Point, net up 34%
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone’s promoters will divest a significant stake in entities controlling the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Queensland, Australia, to the Adani family, subject to approvals, at a price determined by an independent valuer. The move is aimed at focusing on the high-growth Indian ports and logistics sector and maintaining its leadership position in India, the company said. The company on Monday also said Q3 profit rose 34% to R415 crore for the quarter ended December, against R311 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. Total income rose 32% to R927 crore, from R701 crore last year.
Whirlpool of India posts 52.8% drop in net
Whirlpool of India, a subsidiary of consumer durables maker Whirlpool Corporation, reported 52.8% fall in net profit for the quarter ended December at R10.07 crore, from R21.17 crore in the corresponding period previous year. However, the net income rose marginally to R618.70 crore from R617.37 crore last year. The company said festival demand, a significant contributor to top-line in this quarter, was the weakest in recent history.
Tata Teleservices net loss widens to R197 crore
Tata Teleservices Maharashtra (TTML) posted a wider net loss of R197 crore in the third quarter ended December, compared with R183.7 crore in the previous quarter. Total income from operations rose marginally to R651 crore during the period. The company said it made an additional provision of about R72 crore primarily towards outstanding claims and litigations, during the quarter.
Persistent Systems net rises to R49.5 crore
Persistent Systems posted a net profit to R49.5 crore for the quarter ended December, against R40.5 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s total income during the quarter stood at R332.98 crore from R267.73 crore in the year-ago period. The company declared an interim dividend of R6 per share for 2012-13 fiscal. Persistent Systems stock closed 7.11% down to R522.1 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The company also announced the appointment of Sridhar Jagannathan as the chief innovation officer.
V-Guard Industries PAT rises 23% to R15.35 crore
V-Guard Industries said that its profit after tax for the third quarter ended December was R15.35 crore, an increase of 23% over a year ago. Revenues were R349 crore, an increase of 42% compared with a year ago. The company is planning to launch mixer grinders during the first quarter of the next fiscal.
GVK Biosciences ties up with US co Endo Pharma
GVK Biosciences has entered into a collaboration with the US-based Endo Pharmaceuticals for discovering novel small molecules targeting a protein. Under this agreement, GVK Bio will use its discovery expertise to deliver a clinical candidate and Endo will develop and commercialise the product arising out of this collaboration. GVK Bio recently launched a new initiative called Early Discovery Assets. The early stage asset portfolio is focussed around pain and inflammation. It is about building a set of project assets for potential early stage partnerships.
Gyanendra Shukla is Monsanto India MD
Monsanto India (MIL) has appointed Gyanendra Shukla as managing director effective March 1, to replace Amitabh Jaipuria. Shukla was earlier country manager of Monsanto?s business in Indonesia. Prior to joining Monsanto, Shukla worked in Ciba-Geigy (now Syngenta) and Hoechst (now Bayer CropScience) in technology development roles focusing on development of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.
VW Polo, Vento prices to increase by up to 2.27%
Volkswagen announced the increase in prices of its volume cars, the Polo and the Vento, on Monday. The rise comes in the backdrop of additional features incorporated in both the cars. The Polo and Vento will now sport advanced music system with Bluetooth, USB, Aux in and SD card reader, and climatronic air conditioner. Both will see a rise of up to 2.27% over current prices.
Infosys eBiz platform launched by comm min
The Union Commerce and Industry ministry has announced the launch of eBiz, a government-to-business (G2B) portal developed by Infosys in a public private partnership model. The eBiz platform will provide a one-stop shop for convenient and efficient online G2B services for the investor and business communities in India, reducing delays and complexity in obtaining information and services, a release said.It will serve as a gateway to obtain services relating to planning, starting and operating businesses in India including licenses, approvals, clearances, obtaining no objection certificates, permits and filing returns.
