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 | Weak outlook for Nalco |
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| Nalco’s stock has seen high volatility during FY12, trading between 52-week high of Rs 94 (June 2, 2011) and 52-week low of Rs 48 (November 24). While international aluminium prices have been under pressure due to the global crisis, lack of backward integration (coal) added to the woes. Coal availability in India has not been good, and imports are also proving costly despite the decline in global prices, thanks to the rupee’s depreciation. The company was forced to close 120 of its 930 pots due to non-availability of coal during the September 2011 quarter, which have not restarted yet. It hopes to restart these after coal availability improves and aluminium prices support profitability. |
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| Indian MNCs get robust |
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| The robustness of an economy is partly reflected in the health and standing of its multinational or transnational companies. This, in turn, reveals the relative strength of its different industries and the prowess of leading corporate entities. The Indian School of Business, in co-operation with a Brazilian counterpart, has constructed a transnational index to rank Indian multinationals and thereby gain available insights. |
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| L&T ends Q4 on a positive note |
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| Larsen & Toubro (L&T) surprised the market positively with its revenue and profit performance in the fourth quarter. The Street was expecting the company to exit the financial year with a profit after tax of Rs 1,657 crore. Instead, net profit grew 24.8 per cent to Rs 1,877 crore, much ahead of a 21 per cent year-on-year growth in revenues. Analysts attribute this strong revenue growth to good execution. Not surprisingly, L&T’s shares gained two per cent on Monday. |
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| Fab five sectors salvage India Inc's bottom line |
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| Five sectors have helped prop up the numbers for India Inc in an otherwise dismal quarter ended March. An analysis of 989 companies that account for 52 per cent of the total market capitalisation on the Bombay Stock Exchange shows net profit growth of 2.7 per cent over the previous year was reported mainly due to strong profit numbers registered by players in banking, cement, information technology (IT), pharmaceuticals and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). |
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| Ranbaxy: Positives priced in |
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| Exclusive sales of generic Lipitor continued to drive Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd’s performance in the March 2012 quarter with adequate support from the commencement of atorvastatin supplies from Indian facilities. |
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| Bhupesh Bhandari: Does a director's nationality matter? |
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| A recent news report posed the question of whether a trust deficit was brewing at Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest car maker, which is 54.2 per cent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation. No Indian, the report said, is an executive director on the company’s board, though many of them are at senior positions and run key verticals. Instead, there are Japanese directors on the board and the Indians report to them — cause for some serious heartburn. |
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| Punjab National Bank: Margins may dip further |
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| Given that the banking sector is a proxy for India’s economic growth, the fourth quarter performance of India’s second-largest PSU lender, Punjab National Bank, becomes important. The performance has been marred by across-the-board deterioration in asset quality. Fresh slippages grew 4.3 per cent to Rs 2,800 crore. |
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| High excise duty dents medium, heavy commercial vehicle sales |
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| Hit by a hike in excise duty, the sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) declined by 11.60 per cent last month -- to 19,914 units. |
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| Hiring up 36% over last year: Naukri survey |
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| The first month of the fiscal quarter has begun on a positive note, with hiring activity in Bangalore rising sharply, by 36 per cent, in April, 2012, over the corresponding period last year. |
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| Hindalco: Capacity expansion is key |
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| Over the past year, shares of Hindalco have fallen 45 per cent compared to a 13 per cent fall in the Sensex. Hindalco’s underperformance has continued even over the past couple of months, a period when other metal stocks staged a recovery of sorts. Though the company reported better-than-expected numbers, the market believes there are no real triggers to support the stock price in the near term as greenfield projects are expected to see more delays. |
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