Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest car manufacturer, posted a net profit of Rs 583.5 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2009–10. This is a rise of 25.4 per cent against the Rs 465.9 crore earned for the same quarter last year.

Total sales for the period between April and June this year rose by 34 per cent, to Rs 6,340 crore.

Apollo Tyres net profit rose 94.67 Percent to Rs 94.67 crore in Qtr ending june 2009 for the financial year 2008-2009 compared to Rs 48.63 crore in qtr ending june 2008. Sales rose 9.69 Percent to Rs 1180.14 crore in Qtr ending june 2009 for the financial year 2008-2009 compared to Rs 1075.86 crore in qtr ending june 2008.

May 29 Tata Motors has reported a 10 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 591 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2009 as against Rs 536 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net income dropped 21 per cent to Rs 6,895 crore (Rs 8,750 crore).

Net profit for the fiscal fell 51 per cent to Rs 1,001.26 crore (Rs 2,028.92 crore) while revenue was down 11 per cent to Rs 25,660.79 crore (Rs 28,739.41 crore).

High input costs and interest rates in the first half of the fiscal coupled with tight liquidity and low consumer sentiments in the latter half impacted margins, said Mr C. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, at a press conference here on Friday. Tata Motors’ overall vehicle sales dropped 13 per cent to 5.06 lakh units (5.85 lakh units).

The company, however, improved its performance from the third quarter ending December 2008 when it reported a Rs 262-crore loss. “The October-December quarter was bad but each successive month turned out to be better. Barring heavy commercial vehicles, all segments have sprung back,” said Mr Ravi Kant, Managing Director, Tata Motors.

Capex cut

Mr Ramakrishnan said the company would go in for a substantial capital expenditure cut in the medium term. “Given our wide product portfolio, we have a capex plan of Rs 10,000 crore for 2-3 years. We are planning a cutback of about Rs 2,500 crore. Our product development plan will go on and the cutback will mainly be in capacity expansion,” he added.

The capex last fiscal was around Rs 4,000 crore and is expected to be in the range of Rs 3,000-3,500 crore in the next couple of years. Besides this, Tata Motors plans a cost reduction of Rs 1,000 crore for the next three years.

The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 6 on ordinary share and Rs 6.50 on “A” share. The company’s shares closed 1.20 per cent up on the NSE at Rs 336.85.

New MD

Mr Prakash M. Telang (61) is the new Managing Director of Tata Motors. He takes over from Mr Ravi Kant who steps down on June 1. Mr Kant will, however, continue as non-executive Vice-Chairman.

Source – Hindu Business Line.

Infosys Technologies Ltd has reported first ever sequential fall in its revenue in a decade during the March 2009 quarter. Its operating margin is also under pressure as general and administrative expenses rose despite falling revenue.

The company’s revenue and net profit were more or less in line with the estimates of ET Intelligence Group (ETIG). It reported Rs 5,635 crore in revenue and Rs 1,613 crore in net profit. ETIG had estimated sales of Rs 5,684 crore and PAT of Rs 1,579 crore.

Infosys witnessed over 2% drop in its blended pricing on a sequential basis during the March quarter. It also lost four clients and reported 90 basis points (bps) fall in its employee utilisation including trainees.

Operating margin shrank by 154 bps to 33.5% from the previous quarter. However, net margin expanded by 26 bps to 28.6% thanks to the other income of Rs 252 crore.

The company’s European business suffered a drop of 12.5% sequentially due to beleaguered telecom, manufacturing, and financial sectors.

Its North American business could grow by just over a per cent despite slowdown in the US economy. Among its verticals, manufacturing revenue fell by 6% whereas telecom dropped by 15.3%.

Infosys has guided for a sluggish performance in FY10. It expects earnings per share (EPS) to skid by 3.3-7.6% to Rs 96.65-Rs 101.18. Revenue
is likely to be more or less flat between Rs 22,066 crore and Rs 22,928 crore, a growth of 1.7-5.7%. – Economic Times.

Tata Steel, India’s largest steel company, on Wednesday reported its first decline in quarterly profit in almost three years as slow demand saw the Tata group company report lower sales volumes for the first time in many years.

Tata Steel said standalone net profit, excluding its Anglo-Dutch subsidiary Corus, in the October-December period fell 56% to Rs 466.2 crore from Rs 1,068.6 crore in the same period last year, mirroring a trend seen in the third-quarter results of steel companies, including SAIL, the country’s second-largest steel maker.

Total revenue in the same period fell to Rs 4,735.7 crore compared with Rs 4,928.2 crore last year. Prospects for the next quarter does not appear to be bright either, its chief operating officer HM Nerurkar said.

“Compared to our peers, we have done well despite the fact that October steel was not moving at all. The next quarter looks equally bad. We will to improve our performance,” he said.

Tata Steel’s third-quarter earnings were eroded by a foreign exchange loss of Rs 126.80 crore and an 80% surge in raw material costs to Rs 1,611 crore. Steel sales dipped to 1.07 million tonne in the third quarter against 1.24 million tonne in the year-ago period.

Tata Steel is scheduled to announce consolidated results at the end of February, which would include Corus. The foreign subsidiary has already reported job losses due to a severe fall in demand in Europe. Corus has cut 3,500 jobs in Britain and has undertaken production cuts to trim costs, even as large steel users such as auto makers have reduced their purchases.

For the nine-month period, Tata Steel’s net profit rose 7% to Rs 3,742.4 crore while net sales grew 27% to Rs 17,595.4 crore. Globally, steel companies have seen a reversal in their fortunes, as demand from large steel users like car makers and the construction industry has fallen due to rising interest rates, ending an almost four-year long boom.

Steel prices have fallen sharply, prompting many companies to cut production and slash manpower. In India, however, demand for steel has held up relatively well with consumption still steady in the construction industry, though auto makers here also have been adversely affected. The Tata Steel stock gained 2.6% to close at Rs 176.85 in a strong Mumbai market on Wednesday – ET

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country’s largest car maker, said quarterly profit fell 54.3 per cent, lagging forecasts due high raw material costs, lower volumes and adverse impact of currency changes.

New Delhi-based Maruti said on Thursday its net profit fell to Rs 2.14 billion ($43.8 million) in its fiscal third quarter ended December.

Net sales fell 2.8 per cent to Rs 46.26 billion, it said.

That compared with a net profit forecast of Rs 2.48 billion on net sales of Rs 43.22 billion in a Reuters poll.

Maruti, 54.2 per cent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, holds almost half the Indian car market with models such as the best-selling Alto and Swift hatchbacks.

Shares in Maruti, valued at $3.2 billion, fell 24.3 per cent in the December quarter in line with the main index – ET

Among its various group companies, Reliance Mutual Fund recorded a net profit growth of 36% to Rs26 crore for the quarter under review as against Rs19 crore in the year ago period.

Helped by its mutual fund, life insurance, brokerage and financial products distribution businesses, Reliance Capital posted a 11% rise in its net profit to Rs131.5 crore, for the third quarter of this fiscal.

Among its various group companies, Reliance Mutual Fund recorded a net profit growth of 36% to Rs26 crore for the quarter under review as against Rs19 crore in the year ago period.