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Lanco Infratech today posted a decline of 46.75 per cent in its net profit at Rs 89.86 crore in the March quarter of 2009, over the same period last year. The company had a net profit of Rs 168.78 crore in the quarter ended March 2008. However, the total income of the company rose to Rs 2,056.12 crore in the quarter ended March 2009, from Rs 1,318.16 crore in the same period last fiscal. In the year ended March 31, 2009, the company posted a net profit of Rs 280.35 crore, down 20.84 per cent from Rs 354.17 crore in the same period previous fiscal. In a separate filing to the BSE, the firm said its board of directors has approved raising of Rs 2,500 crore through ADRs, GDRs and FCCBS.

Tata Motors Ltd has posted a net profit of 1,001.26 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009 as compared with Rs 2,028.92 crore reported during the year ended March 31, 2008. Total income for the year 2008-09 has decreased to Rs 26,586.76 crore from Rs 29,222.59 crore during the year ended March 31, 2008 The Board of Directors at its meeting held on May 29 has recommended a dividend of Rs 6/- per share for the financial year 2008-09 and a dividend of Rs 6.50 per share on 'A' Ordinary Shares for FY-2008-09.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd, on Thursday reported its March quarter net profit rose a better-than-expected 3.3 per cent on a strong order flow of infrastructure contracts. Net profit rose to Rs 9.99 billion ($209 million) in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March from Rs 9.67 billion a year ago, but was weighed down by a provision of Rs 1.85 billion for its investment in Satyam Computer Services. Net sales rose to Rs 104.7 billion from 84.7 billion.

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) reported a net profit of Rs 1,486.68 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 as compared with Rs 2,376.76 crore shown during the same quarter of 2007-08. Total income for the quarter has decreased to Rs 12,590.12 crore from Rs 13,856.95 crore in the year-ago period. For the year ended March 31, 2009, the company posted a net profit of Rs 6,174.81 crore (Rs 7,536.78 crore during 2007-08) on a total income of Rs 46,110.75 crore (Rs 41,518.74 crore) The Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on May 28 recommended a final dividend of Rs 1.30 per share, in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 1.30 a share already paid, for the financial year 2008-09.

Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) informed on Wednesday that its net profit has increased nearly two-fold on higher refining margins, other income and lower provision of tax for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009. The company ha s shown the current tax liability at Rs 238.60 crore against Rs 283.12 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Expenditure is shown at Rs 5,689.16 crore against Rs 9,187.18 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal. The company’s profit from operations before tax improved significantly to Rs 883.94 crore (Rs 309.97 crore) on higher refining margins. The company posted a net profit of Rs 607.62 crore on lower tax provisioning for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, an increase of 170 per cent over the Rs 225.33 crore in the same quarter of 2007-08. Total income for the quarter has decreased to Rs 6,605.95 crore from Rs 9,532.00 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s at it meeting on May 27 has recommended a dividend of Rs

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd recorded a net profit of Rs 1,536.48 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009 as compared with Rs 1,236.96 crore reported for the year ended March 31, 2008. Total income for the year 2008-09 has increased to Rs 7,799.43 crore from Rs 5,459.87 crore for the year ended March 31, 2008 The Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on May 27 has recommended dividend of Rs 5.50 (550%) per share of Re 1/- each,

The Hindu Business Line reccomends - Buy  A healthy order book, improved volumes in the March quarter, low debt and revival in activity in the transmission and distribution space buttress the earnings visibility for Voltamp Transformers. Investors with a two-three-year perspective can consider investing in the stock of Voltamp. At the current market price of Rs 691, the stock trades at seven times its expected per share earnings for FY-10. Given the recent surge in the stock market and the consequent run up in the stock of Voltamp, investors can consider buying the stock in small quantities on declines linked to broad markets. Note that the stock’s small market cap can expose it to higher volatility in price. After a dip in revenues in the December quarter, Voltamp’s sales once again picked up in the three months ended March ‘09 with a 23 per cent increase over a year-ago numbers. Net profits too grew at a healthy pace of 40 per cent compared to March 2008 quarter. The key positive asp

 National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on Friday said its net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, rose 57.77 per cent to Rs 2,113.35 crore over the same period last year. The company had a net profit o f Rs 1,339.48 crore in the same quarter ended March 2008. Net sales of the company rose to Rs 11,445.78 crore for the quarter under review, from Rs 10,743.59 crore in the same quarter ended March 2008. For the year ended March 31, 2009, the company has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 8,092.55 crore, up 8.33 per cent from Rs 7,469.92 crore in the same period last year. -

CESC  has informed the BSE today that the net profit has increased 15% to Rs 410 crore in the year ended March 31, 2009 from Rs 355 crore in the previous fiscal. The total income is up 10% at Rs 3,200 crore from Rs 2,904 crore.

IRB Infrastructure Developers, a toll road operating company, has reported a profit after tax of Rs. 175.85 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009, against Rs. 113.93 crore, a growth of 54 per cent. Total income has risen to Rs. 1,021.48 crore from Rs. 784.74 crore. In addition to the interim dividend of Re. 1 per share, the company has proposed a final dividend of 50 paise per share, says a company release.

Reliance Power (R-Power) has bagged four hydroelectric power projects of 2,520- Mw capacity worth over Rs 18,000 crore from the Arunachal Pradesh government through a competitive bidding process. With this, the company is set to become the second-largest hydropower project developer in India with 4,620 Mw of hydro projects under its belt. National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) is the largest hydropower generator in the country with 5,177 Mw of installed capacity and another 6,000 Mw of projects in the pipeline.

Bharat Forge Ltd reported a net profit of Rs 61.13 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 as compared with Rs 82.85 crore shown during the same quarter in 2008. Total income for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 has decreased to Rs 306.84 crore from Rs 592.31 crore in the year-ago period. For the year ended March 31, 2009, the company’s net profit decreased to Rs 103.29 crore from Rs 273.59 crore shown during the year 2008. Total revenue has decreased to Rs 2,106.35 crore (Rs 2,258.84 crore). Bharat Forge Ltd has informed the BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 20 has recommended a dividend of Re 1 per share (50%), subject to approval of shareholders.

Japan's economy contracted at the fastest pace since 1955 as exports plunged and companies slashed production. Japan's real gross domestic product shrank at an annual pace of 15.2 percent in the January-March period,   worst performance since 1955. . The government said early Wednesday that gross domestic product shrank 4% in the first quarter from the previous quarter, worse than the fourth quarter's 3.8% decline, and marking the fourth consecutive quarter of contraction.

Grasim    has informed the BSE that the consolidated  net profit has declined over 35%  to Rs 568.79 crore in the quarter ended March 31,2009 from Rs 880.77 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The total income, however, has increased 5% to Rs 5,065.68 crore in Q4FY09 as against Rs 4,832.37 crore in Q4FY08. Further, the board has recommended dividend of Rs 30 per share for the full year.

Punj Llyod Chairman Atul Punj on Tuesday said the company had reported a loss of Rs. 253 crore in the just concluded quarter due to the negative impact of around 28.5 million pound sterling (Rs. 220 crore) incurred on litigation between the U.K.-based subsidiary Simon Carves and SABIC Petrochemicals. “There was an unplanned and unexpected negative impact due to a litigation with SABIC Petrochemical and our subsidiary Simon Carves. We just opted to write it off and stop speculation once for all,” he added. Simon Carves had commenced the adjudicating proceedings against SABIC Petrochemicals in January in U.K. courts. The proceedings were aimed at seeking restitution of 28.5 million pounds. But the U.K. adjudicator ruled in favour of SABIC. The company posted a net loss of Rs. 253 crore for the fourth quarter ended on March 31, 2009, against a net profit of Rs. 119 crore in the same quarter in the previous fiscal. It suffered a net loss of Rs. 225 crore during 2008-09 against Rs. 360 cror

According to a release issued by the  Thermax  to the BSE, the net profit has increased 17% to Rs 94.33 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 as against Rs 80.52 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income was up 3% at Rs 960.14 crore from Rs 934.66 crore. Further, the board has recommended a dividend of Rs 5 per share (250%) o on Rs 2 face value.

Larsen & Toubro (Oman) LLC, a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro International FZE, has bagged three orders worth Rs 518.2 crore, Larsen & Toubro said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.     Larsen & Toubro International FZE (LTIFZE) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). Larsen & Toubro (Oman) LLC (LTO) secured a Rs 207.4 crore order from the Rural Areas Electricity Company for construction, engineering and procurement of power substations and bagged Rs 206.1 crore order from the Oman Electricity Transmission Company for construction of power grid station, the work has to be executed in 18 and 15 months, respectively, the filing added.      The company has also bagged a Rs 104.7 crore order from the Oman Tourism Development Company for the construction of infrastructure for the second Asian Beach games. The work is to be completed in 15 months, it added.  Further, the company has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understa

European Economy  plunged deeper into recession during the first quarter according to figures on gross domestic product released Friday. Gross domestic product declined by 2.5 percent during the first quarter from the previous quarter in the 16 nations that use the euro currency and the 27-country European Union, according to an initial estimate from  the E.U.’s statistical office.  Gross domestic product of Germany, the largest European economy declined 3.8 percent in the first quarter of this year from the fourth quarter last year when it fell 2.2 percent. The fall is more severe than the expected 3 percent decline. The French economy  shrank by  1.2 percent from the fourth quarter, when it slipped 1.5 percent. This is the fourth straight quarter fall for the French economy.

Pantaloon Retail India, has seen sales from its value, home and lifestyle retailing segments jump over 20 per cent in April as against sales during same period last year. Company's three segments together generated sales worth Rs 595.81-crore last month as against Rs 496.38-crore in April 2008, up 20.03 per cent.     However, the company saw same store sales (SSS) in its home retailing segment fall for the sixth month in a row.          PRIL posted a negative growth of 28.21 per cent last month in same store sales from its home retailing (and home electronics) stores — HomeTown, Furniture Bazaar, eZone, Electronics Bazaar and Collection i, over April '08.          In July 2008-April 2009, Pantaloon's cumulative sales from value, lifestyle and home retailing jumped 31.18 per cent at Rs 6,298.02-crore over the same nine-month period last fiscal.    

The founders of Suzlon Energy Ltd raised $47 million by selling 30 million shares, or 2 percent stake, at 77 rupees each on Tuesday.  The founders' total holding in the company has now fallen to 63.82.  Also Wednesday, Suzlon said the founders will use part of the proceeds of the share sales to repay loans they had taken by pledging the shares. They will also use the proceeds to pay Suzlon for supplying wind turbines to some entities owned by the founders, Tulsi Tanti said in a statement.

DLF Ltd.  founders have sold about 9.9% of the company's shares  to raise up to Rs3,800 crore ($760 million), according to people familiar with the situation.  The founders sold about 168 million shares at just above 230 rupees apiece at a 2.6% discount to the closing price of DLF shares Tuesday (12th May 2009).  he transaction will reduce the founders' stake to 78.6% and nearly double the company's floating shares to 21.3% from 11.4%. The proceeds of the stake sale are likely to be ploughed into DLF Assets Ltd, or DAL, an unlisted promoter company of K.P. Singh and family. About $450 million of the proceeds will be used to buy out hedge fund DE Shaw and Co. from DAL, the people said. Market reacted positively to the news.

Industrial production declined 2.3 per cent in March as compared to a rise of 5.5 per cent during the corresponding month in 2008, mainly on account of poor performance by the manufacturing sector.       The decline has been mainly on account of a fall in manufacturing, the output of which contracted by 3.3 per cent during March. The sector, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of the index, registered an increase of 5.7 per cent during the same month in 2008.       The mining sector too recorded dismal growth of 0.4 per cent during March as compared to an increase of 4.9 per cent.       Power generation, however, rose by 6.3 per cent during the month compared to 3.7 per cent during the corresponding period in 2008.      As regards 2008-09, manufacturing sector growth decelerated to 2.3 per cent from 9 per cent in the previous fiscal.      

Exports from mainland China slumped 22.6 percent in April fro m a year earlier, official statistics showed — a fall that was not only larger than economists had expected but also bigger than that in March, when overseas shipments declined 17.1 percent. However, there are some bright side too.  Investment in real estate, one of the main forms of private-sector investment in China, was up only 4.9% from a year earlier in the January-April period, compared to overall growth of 30.5% in the four-month period. Still, it's an improvement from even weaker growth in previous months, and comes as purchases of housing and other property pick up. The volume of real estate sales jumped 39% from a year earlier in April after 16.4% growth in March, reversing several months of decline. There are other indicators of improving domestic demand. China's total imports dropped 23% to $78.8 billion in April, little better than March's 25.1% decline. But in volume terms, purchases of key commodit

Domestic car sales showed their upward trend for the third consecutive month with April sales registering 4.20 per cent growth after prolonged decline that started in the second half of 2008.       According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales in April went up to 1,02,899 units from 98,752 units in the same month last year, but it is too early to predict a recovery for the segment.       Total two-wheeler sales in April also surged by 13.71 per cent to 7,00,995 units compared with 6,16,468 units in the same period last year. Bike sales, during the same month, was up 12.11 per cent at 5,62,357 units as against 5,01,592 units in the corresponding month a year ago, SIAM said.    n the passenger car segment during April, sales of car market leader Maruti Suzuki India increased by 8.61 per cent to 56,221 units compared to 51,766 units in the same month last year, SIAM said.       Hyundai Motor India Ltd also registered a growth rate of 3.49

IRB Infrastructure Developers: Buy nvestors with a two-three year perspective can consider buying the stock of IRB Infrastructure Developers. The company’s lucrative portfolio of 11 operational toll roads render superior earnings visibility compared with some of the infrastructure companies struggling to achieve financial closure or are strapped for funds to meet working capital requirements. Over the last quarter, the company has demonstrated its ability to not only achieve financial closure of its Surat-Dahisar project but also roped in private equity to contribute part of the equity capital for its special purpose vehicle. IRB also managed to bargain interest reset clause in loans for the above SPV to benefit from any decline in interest rates. At the current market price of Rs 103, the stock trades at 9 times its consolidated per share earnings expected for FY10. Given the volatility witnessed in the company’s stock, investor can consider buying the stock on declines linked to broa

The Hindu Business Line Riding on higher other income including profits from treasury operations, State Bank of India posted a 46 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,742 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, up from Rs 1,883 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. The bank made a profit of Rs 1,508 crore on account of sale of investments in the quarter ended March 31, 2009, according to its Chairman, Mr O.P. Bhatt. Other income for the quarter under consideration grew by 67 per cent at Rs 4,718 crore (Rs 2,817 crore). The net profit for the year ended March 31, 2009 increased by 35.5 per cent at Rs 9,121 crore, against Rs 6,729 crore during the corresponding period last year. The board of directors at a meeting here on Saturday recommended a dividend of 290 per cent or Rs 29 per share (215 per cent) for the year under review. Treasury would continue to be an important pillar of growth for the bank, he maintained. “Historically, treasury was our residual busine

In April retail sale in USA grew 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters . Although main reason of the growth is attributed to Easter festival, warm weather and more than expected sales growth in Wal-Mart.  Without Wal-Mart, retail sales fell 2.7 percent last month. Still, several clothing stores reported that their sales also grew last month — or at least fell at a slower pace than before.   

General Motors has lost $6 billion in the first quarter. The first-quarter loss, equal to $9.78 per share, is the eighth consecutive quarterly loss for G.M. A year ago, the company lost $3.3 billion, or $5.80 a share. Excluding special items, G.M. lost $5.9 billion, or $9.66 a share, which is better than the $6.7 billion that analysts were expecting the company to lose. Revenue fell 47 percent to $22.4 billion due to a 40 percent drop in global sales during the quarter.  GM has depleted $10.2 billion from its cash reserves in the quarter, or $113 million a day, leaving the company with $11.6 billion as of March 31. That is roughly the minimum amount of liquidity needed to keep G.M. in business.

Tata Steel, on Thursday said its sales volume surged by 31 per cent to 4.52 lakh tonnes in April on the back of robust demand from auto and construction sectors. In the corresponding month last year, the company's sales stood at 3.43 lakh tonnes, a statement from Tata Steel said. During the month under review, Tata Steel saw its saleable steel production surging by 30 per cent to 5.16 lakh tonnes as against 3.96 lakh tonnes. The sale of long products, mainly used in construction industry, increased by 39 per cent, while that of flat items used by auto and consumer durable sectors, increased by 27 per cent. The steel major's crude steel output for the month also went up by 22 per cent to 5.03 lakh tonnes from 4.12 lakh tonnes, while hot metal production rose by 30 per cent to 5.79 lakh tonnes as against 4.45 lakh tonnes. The company claimed that two of its steel melting shops at Jamshedpur works achieved best-ever April production at 2.02 lakh tonnes and 2.66 lakh tonnes, respec

According to a release issued by the company to the BSE, JSW today reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 39.93 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 as against a net profit of Rs 356.79 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The total income has declined 13.4% to Rs 3,719.38 crore for Q4FY09 as against Rs 4,293.16 crore in Q4FY08. 

Union Bank of India has reported a 10.77 per cent decline in its net profit to Rs 465 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, compared to Rs 521.13 crore for the same quarter, year ago. However, its total income increased by 32 per cent to Rs 3,848.73 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, as compared to Rs 2,913.10 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. The bank also announced a dividend of 50 per cent or Rs 5 per share on the face value of Rs 10 each for the year 2008-09. Its net interest income was up at Rs 926.4 crore as against Rs 771.5 crore. Overall, the bank has posted a 24 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 1,726.55 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009, as compared to Rs 1,387.03 crore for the year ended March 31, 2008. Its total Income also increased by around 27 per cent to Rs 13,371.93 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009, as compared to Rs 10,534.27 crore for the year ended March 31, 2008, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Excha

Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd on Wednesday said it has achieved a turnover of Rs 5,405 cr through products developed through its in-house research and development efforts in 2008-09. “BHEL has achieved a record turnover of Rs 5,405 cr - nearly 20 per cent of the total turnover of Rs 27,505 cr in the last fiscal, through products and systems developed by way of in-house research and development efforts,'' a company statement said. BHEL spent over Rs 650 crore on R&D efforts - 40 per cent more than 2007-08.This is the result of a constant thrust on developing new technologies and products, besides improving existing ones in terms of reliability, cost and quality through in-house R& D initiatives.

CESC  has posted revenues of Rs 741 crore in Q4 FY09 as against Rs 638 crore in the same period last year. Net Profit for the quarter under review came in at Rs 94 crore as compared to Rs 86 crore last year. FY09 revenues stood at Rs 3,031 crore versus Rs 2,775 crore last year. Net profit for the period stood at Rs 410 crore as against Rs 355 crore.

The Hindu Business Line reiterates our buy on the stock of Shree Cement at the current price of Rs 774 as there is potential for upside, given the stock’s discounted valuation and emerging strengths. The stock is up 34 per cent from our earlier ‘Buy’ recommendation in September at Rs 576. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of just five times, at a sizeable discount to leading players such as ACC and Ultra Tech Cement (7-10 times). A rising contribution from the company’s power division, improved cost control measures and the falling pet coke prices lend support to earnings prospects. Capacity additions (2.5 mtpa by end FY10) may also give a volume advantage, if strong trends in cement demand sustain. The risks to prospects of the entire cement sector arise mainly from the addition of new capacities (37 mtpa estimated for FY10) and the likely fall in utilisation rates for players over the next year or two. If this entire capacity materialises, the market would see a surplus o

Suzlon Energy has paid €30 million as part payment to Martifer SGPS SA for its stake in a Germany-based wind turbine maker. Portugal-based Martifer said the money was paid yesterday. “Martifer has received payment of €30 million for the second tranche of the sale to Suzlon of Martifer Group's stake in REpower Systems AG (REpower) on 30th April 2009,” Martifer SGPS SA said in a statement on its Web site. A spokesperson for Suzlon confirmed the development. The Pune-headquartered company needs to pay the remaining €175 million in May to buy Martifer's 22.4 per cent stake in Hamburg-based REpower Systems. It had paid €65 million as the first tranche in December 2008. Suzlon's stake will increase to about 91 per cent in REpower after the transaction is completed. The company, through REpower, would supply and erect equipment for power projects in Canada from the next financial year (2010-11). Tulsi Tanti-led Suzlon posted a net loss of Rs 52.3 crore for the nine-month period en