Suzlon gets Rs 1000 crore order

Suzlon Energy (Tianjin) Limited (SETL), the Chinese subsidiary of the Pune based wind energy equipment manufacturer Suzlon Energy Limited, has secured orders totaling nearly 200 Mw of capacity for wind farm projects in China, worth over Rs1000 crore.

The first order from Ao Lu Jia New Energy Development, a Sino-Norwegian joint venture and partially owned by Norway’s NBT AS, is to deliver 148.5 Mw of wind turbine capacity through 99 units of 1.5 Mw turbines for use in three wind farms. NBT AS plans to develop 588 Mw of capacity by the end of 2010 in Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia provinces.

Deliveries for the first wind farm are scheduled for shipment during the second quarter of 2008-09, said a Suzlon press release.

Another order from Beifang Longyuan (North Union), part of China’s North Union Group which develops power projects in Inner Mongolia, is to supply 50 Mw of wind turbine capacity through 40 units of 1.25 Mw turbine capacity.

China is an extremely important market for Suzlon. With our integrated manufacturing facility in Tianjin, Suzlon is poised to be a key player in this rapidly growing market," said Paulo Fernando Soares, chief executive officer of SETL.

China the second largest wind energy market with nearly 17 per cent of the global market, behind the United States. China’s wind energy market grew at a rate of 127 per cent in 2006-07 and with a three-year-average of 97 per cent. It added 3,287 Mw in wind capacity in 2007, a major increase over 2006 installations of 1,334 Mw, taking the cumulative installed capacity for the market to 5,875 Mw, said the release.

The Chinese wind energy market is expected to install another 36,500 Mw projected between 2008 and 2012.

Suzlon is ranked as the world’s fifth leading wind turbine manufacturer with over 10.5 per cent of global market share in 2007. It has a combined manufacturing base of 2,700 mw of annual capacity, and is undertaking an expansion program to expand its base to 5,700 Mw of capacity in 2008-09.

Infosys receives contract from Conseco

Infosys Technologies has announced that New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed Conseco Inc has selected Infosys for a five-year contract to provide development and maintenance services to its key business applications.

Conseco is a leading insurance provider focused on offering financial security for the life, health and retirement needs of middle-market and senior Americans, is partnering with Infosys to jointly support its extensive business applications.

Conseco will be able to leverage Infosys' capabilities and best practices in applications management to gain operational efficiencies and enhance business value.

Under the terms of the partnership, Infosys will be supporting several mission-critical IT systems that power Conseco's business — including new business, policy administration, claims, audit management, marketing, and agent compensation.

By centralising the support, maintenance and development of these applications with Infosys, Conseco will be able to navigate business cycles and scale its applications and IT capabilities to meet business demands.

Sonata Software net profit for FY08 up 22%

Sonata Software has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 58.52 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007, up 22 per cent from Rs 48.03 crore last year.

The software company's consolidated revenue for the year ended March 31, 2008 is Rs 1,428.37 crore, up 59 per cent from Rs 897.73 crore last year.

The board of directors of the company have also recommended a final dividend of 60 per cent, which along with the interim dividend of 50 per cent, brings the total dividend to 110 per cent.

Wipro Q4 net up 3% YoY to Rs 880cr

Highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2008

* Wipro revenue increased 32% YoY to Rs 5,700 crore

* Net profit increased 3% YoY to Rs 880 crore. Adjusting for one-time tax reversals in Q4FY07, the YoY profit after tax (PAT) growth will be 11.3%

* Revenue of Wipro's global IT business in rupee terms stood at Rs 3,833 crore - a YoY increase of 26%

* During the quarter, Wipro IT business won three multi-year multi-million dollar deals

* Global IT services & products added 29 new clients in the quarter

* India, Middle East & Asia Pac business recorded 41% YoY growth in revenues to Rs 1,096 crore

* Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting business revenue grew 111% YoY and PBIT grew 136% YoY

Highlights for the year-ended March 31, 2008

* Wipro revenue increased 33% to Rs 19,957 crore

* PAT grew 12% to Rs 3,283 crore

* Revenue of combined IT businesses was $4.3 billion - a 43% YoY growth

* Revenue of Wipro's Global IT business in dollar terms was $3.39 billion - a YoY growth of 38%. In rupee terms,revenue stood at Rs 13,642 crores - a YoY growth of 23%

* Technology business in Global IT services segment crossed a landmark of $1 billion (around Rs 4,000 crore) of annual revenue and business from the Americas and Europe crossed $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively. Revenue from India, Middle East and Asia Pacific business grew by 51% to Rs 3,746 crore.

* Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting business, including acquisition of Unza, increased revenue 86% YoY

* The board recommended a final cash dividend of Rs 4 per share/ADS. This, added with an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share, will take the total dividend to Rs 6 per share

Leela Group to invest $500 mn in next 3 yrs

Hospitality major Leela Group will invest $500 million (around Rs 2,000 crore) in the next three years for developing new luxury properties and upgrading the existing hotels in the country.

The group, which currently operates four luxury hotels, is coming up with six new properties in Gurgaon, Delhi, Udaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

Besides expanding presence in India, the Group is looking at strengthening the Leela brand globally as well.
"The idea is to build a stronger Leela brand in India as well as global markets. The focus right now in the country is to successfully launch the upcoming projects," Hotel Leela Ventures Limited President Onno Poortier told PTI.

He said that the group is intensifying marketing and public relations operations in key international markets like the US, the UK and European nations.

In next five years, the group is looking at increasing the number of rooms to 2,600 from the current 1,100. Hotel Leela Ventures owns and operates the Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and Kovalam in Kerela.

PFC Q4 net dips 19% at Rs 297 crore

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Wednesday announced a net profit of Rs 297.32 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, a 19.90 per cent decline over the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The company had a stand-alone net profit of Rs 371.22 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2007, the power sector financing company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The total income of the company increased to Rs 1,366.73 crore in t he latest quarter from Rs 1,238.27 crore in the year ago period. The consolidated net profit of the company was up 22.56 per cent at Rs 1,208.67 crore for the year ended March 31, as compared to Rs 986.13 crore a year ago.

For the year ended March 31, total income of the group rose to Rs 5,039.92 crore from Rs 3,927.65 crore last year. Shares of the company were trading at Rs 163.40, down 0.18 per cent on the BSE in afternoon trade.

KEC bags Rs 155-cr contract from Power Grid Corp

Power equipment maker KEC International said on Tuesday that it has bagged two contracts worth Rs 155 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India for construction related works.

The company has bagged two separate contracts by Power Grid Corporation Ltd for supply and construction of 400 KV Double Circuit Edamon - Muvattupuzha Transmission line in Kerala, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The total value of both the contracts is Rs 155.24 crore. The line is associated with Grid Strengthening Scheme for Kerala I & II of Powergrid Network, the company added. The scope of the order includes supply of towers, line materials, erection and comm issioning. The total length of both the lines is 150 kms and the project is to be completed by March 2010.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 591.20, down 0.97 per cent on the BSE in afternoon trade.

L&T wins Rs 2,000cr Bombay Dyeing order

Larsen & Toubro's Construction Division has recently secured a major order from Bombay Dyeing for Rs 2,000 crore for developments at the Textile Mills & Spring Mills complexes at Worli and Wadala regions of Mumbai, respectively.

According to a release issued by the company to the BSE today, the turnkey construction project involves construction of mixed-use developments of approximately 4 million sq ft at the Textile Mills at Worli and 5 million sq ft at the Spring mills development at Wadala to be completed in the next 46 months by the end of December 2011.

AstraZeneca settles patent deal with Ranbaxy

European multinational AstraZeneca today announced an out-of-court settlement with Ranbaxy on a pending patent infringement litigation on its heartburn medicine esomeprazole. Sold under the brand name Nexium, esomeprazole is the second largest selling drug in USA with total annual market sales of $5.5 billion. The agreement will permit Ranbaxy to commence exclusive sales of a low-cost version of esomeorazole for 180 days from May 27, 2014, the date on which AstraZeneca's key patent on Nexium expires.

The deal, which could bring in revenues worth $1.25 million to $1.5 million for Ranbaxy over a period of six years, allows Ranbaxy to supply raw materials (bulk drugs) for the manufacture of Nexium to AstraZeneca from May 2009 and manufacture a portion of AstraZeneca's US supply of Nexium from May 2010. The firms have also entered into agreements designating Ranbaxy as the US distributor for authorised generic versions of Plendil (felodipine) and 40mg Prilosec (omeprazole).

In return, Ranbaxy has acknowledged that all six patents on Nexium asserted by AstraZeneca in the patent litigation are valid and enforceable. AstraZeneca has stated that Nexium have expiration dates that range from 2014 through 2019.

"The agreement has provided certainty to the launch of our generic version of Nexium in the US market. This is the second out-of-court settlement for Ranbaxy in 2008 and the fifth such settlement in last two years," Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and Managing Director, Ranbaxy said.

Ranbaxy and AstraZeneca have filed a Consent Judgment with the US District Court for the District of New Jersey reflecting the terms of the settlement agreement.

Though the litigation with Ranbaxy has been settled, AstraZeneca will continue Nexium patent infringement litigations against other generic players Teva/IVAX and Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Ranbaxy had on February 7, 2008 said that it received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for marketing esomeprazole magnesium delayed-release capsules, 20 mg (base) and 40 mg (base). The agreement settles a three year old the patent infringement litigation filed by AstraZeneca following Ranbaxy's submission to the USFDA for marketing approval of a low cost version of Nexium.

Ranbaxy stock prices at BSE rose 8.62 per cent or Rs 38.25 to close at Rs 481.8 today.

Zee Entertainment Q4 profit falls 2.72%

Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ net profit dropped 2.72 per cent to Rs 79.46 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, against Rs 81.68 crore during same quarter of previous year. Total Income has increased from Rs 216.56 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, to Rs 341.34 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

For the year ended March 31, 2008, Zee posted a net profit of Rs 294.92 crore as against Rs 166.21 crore in the corresponsing period last year. During the period, the total Income has increased to Rs 1,139.98 crore from Rs 929.13 crore in FY07.

The company's consolidated net profit stands at Rs 104.42 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, as compared to Rs 69.92 crore for the corresponsing quarter last year. Total revenue rose from Rs 402.05 crore to Rs 569.48 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Zee's consolidated net profit for the year ended March 31, 2008, is Rs 396.25 crore as compared to Rs 243.33 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007. Total revenue has increased from Rs 1,521.16 crore in FY07 to Rs 1,945.38 crore in FY08.

Whirlpool to invest Rs 200 cr

Home appliances maker Whirlpool of India Ltd today said it will invest up to Rs 200 crore in product development by 2010, while the company is certain to break-even when it announces the results of 2007-08.

"We expect to break-even in 2007-08 results. This will be a record turnover. The results will be declared very soon," Whirlpool of India Ltd vice-president (marketing) Shantanu Das Gupta told reporters here.

The company in the last calender year grew by 20 per cent and made a net profit of Rs 15 crore in the nine months ended December 31, 2007, he added. In FY07, Whirlpool had recorded a net loss of Rs 5.32 crore against the total income of Rs 1,496.78 crore.

Having seen a turnaround, the company expects to become a leading home appliances maker in the country by 2010.

"To make the company No 1, we will invest $40-50 million in product development by 2010. This will be in addition to brand positioning, marketing and investments in the plants," Gupta said.

In advertising, the company would invest Rs 70-80 crore during the current fiscal, he said, adding "the advertising budget of the company usually grows 10 per cent each year".

The company today unveiled a number of new products across five categories -- refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, microwave oven and water purifiers -- priced in the range of Rs 8,200-32,000.

With the launch of new products, the company aims to capture 25 per cent market share in the refrigerator category, 20 per cent in washing machine and 10 per cent each in microwave oven, air conditioner and water purifier categories.

Ceat plans Rs 1,000cr expansion

Ceat, India's fourth largest tyre maker by revenue, will invest Rs 1,000 crore in the next two-three years for expanding capacity, increasing focus on R&D, market expansion and improving customer interface.

The company today unveiled a new logo, which is the first-ever change of its kind for Ceat since inception in 1958.

Paras Chowdhary, CEO, Ceat, said: "The shift to a new logo and a new look symbolises the strategic transformation at Ceat. The overall design accurately represents the company's vision of leading the industry in delivering best-in class products, innovation and services to consumers."

The company will be setting up two greenfield facilities for around Rs 900 crore. While one plant will be a dedicated radial truck and car facility, the other unit will be for making speciality tyres and off-the road tyres (OTR).

The company has applied to the Maharashtra government for land to set up the first unit in Ambernath, which will also house its R&D facilities. The company is in final round of talks to set up the second plant in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu or Karnataka.

The company is also in talks with international tyre majors for sourcing technology used in manufacturing radial tyres. An announcement to this effect is expected in the next two-three months.

L&T, TIDCO to build shipyard near Chennai

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) signed a joint venture agreement to set up an integrated shipyard complex and port facility near Chennai. The partners will invest an estimated Rs 3,000 crore in the new facility, which will come up at Kattupalli village near Ennore in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.

The JV agreement was signed in Chennai today in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and L&T chairman and managing director A M Naik.

Later, in a press release, L&T said the feasibility report for the project has been completed, and necessary environmental studies are under progress. Construction is likely to start by the end of 2008, and the project will be completed in 24 months, the release added.

The shipyard complex will build commercial ships like very large cargo carriers (VLCCs), specialised cargo ships for liquid and gas transportation and cruise vessels. It will also have the capability to build defence vessels, offshore platforms and floating production-cum-storage facilities for the oil and gas sector.

The shipyard will also have facilities for refitting and re-engineering of commercial and defence vessels, and heavy engineering fabrication and components production for ship building purposes.

The shipyard complex will promote several ancillary units for manufacture of components and spares for this shipyard, and for exports. When it becomes operational, the shipyard will become a nucleus for the heavy engineering industry (for fabrication and component manufacturing), the release added.

Infosys Q4 net up 9.2%, FY08 PAT up 21%

* To hire 25,000 employees in FY09; factors 19-21% revenue growth

* Sitting on $2bn cash; 15 big deals in the pipeline

* 11-13% hike in offshore salaries; 4-5% hike in onsite salaries - 2.3% impact in Q1

* Lost Rs 2,000cr revenue and Rs 1,000 crore profit due to rupee appreciation in FY08

* Hedging: $760mn; $7mn mark-to-market loss due to hedging

* Reducing onsite exposure by 1%

* Assumes flat margins for Q1FY09 ending June 30, 2008

* Pricing assumed to be stable given current conditions; increased by 6% YoY

* Closed four deals in Q4; one large deal around $200-300mn

* Clients: 40; Net hiring: 2,586; Total hiring in FY08: 33,177; Total employees: 91,187

* Dividend: Rs 7.25 per share + a special dividend of Rs 20 per share for FY08

As it guided the markets to a $5 billion revenue in financial year 2008-09, the markets reacted positively to Indian IT services provider Infosys Technologies, which posted a "market expected" result for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

The results were no surprise since the rupee had depreciated against the dollar by around 1%. Over 60% of Infosys' revenues still come from the US. The management, however, admitted that the slowdown in the US was a concern.

The slowdown in its revenue growth, it said, was a bigger concern that the rupee appreciation against the dollar. It also sees a "delay in decision-making" when it comes to deals, but "clients are looking to increase their offshore budgets". It added, though, that while it was looking at medium- to long-term growth, the next two quarters would bring in more clarity.

Guidance for financial year 2008-09

* Income expected between Rs 19,894-20,214 crore; YoY growth of 19.2%-21.1%

* EPS to be around Rs 92.32- 93.92; YoY growth of 16.3%-18.3%

Infosys became the 10th Indian company (excluding banks and financial institutions) to become $1 billion net profit company. The other companies are ONGC, Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, NTPC, Sail, Hindustan Zinc, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and TCS (based on nine-months annualised).

Infosys is sitting on a pile of cash. Its cash, bank balance and deposits with financial institutions and corporate bodies increased from Rs 6,129 crore to Rs 8,396 crore. It has bank balance of Rs 6,950 crore (Rs 5,834 crore) while deposits with FIs and corporate body is at Rs 1,446 crore (Rs 295 crore).

The share of salaries and wages to total expenditure has gone up from 66.59% in Q3FY08 to 67.55% in Q4FY08. The share of S&G in total expenditure declined from 19.24% to 18.99%.

Cement export ban not to contain inflation

Even as the government has notified the ban on cement exports with effect from Friday, steel producers today said the ban will not be effective in containing the price rise, given the fact that cement exports account for only 3 per cent of domestic production. Industry added the move would deter it from enhancing capacity.

"Exports of cement constitute only 3 per cent of production and 90 per cent of the exports are from companies located around the Gujarat coastal area. Most of these companies are small and mainly export to South Africa and Sri Lanka, as is obvious from their location and country focus. Therefore, the steps taken by the government on banning cement exports would not be effective to contain the price rise," a Confederation of Indian Industry release said.

CII called on the government to consider reducing the excise duty of cement, a move that it said would help in controlling prices.

Separately, the Indian Steel Alliance today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take into account the negative consequences of banning exports of cement and steel. "The total percentage of exports of steel at the moment are not more than 6-8 per cent of total production. Would a total ban on the export of steel make it available at significant quantities within the country to ease inflation pressures", president Moosa Raza said.

The export ban ban comes after cement companies increased prices of the commodity by Rs 5 per 50 kg bag earlier this month. In the period between April 2007 and February 2008, cement exports stood at 3.33 million tonnes, down 38.78 per cent over the corresponding period of 2006-07 on account of higher price realisation in the domestic market.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today clarified that the ban will not be effective on deemed exports made to EoU's and SEZ's. “We will issue a corrigendum in this regard,” Nath said at a meeting organised here by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. As per current norms, supplies to SEZ's and EoUs are considered deemed exports.

Nath also added the Cabinet Committee on Prices will meet next week to take stock of the price situation. The wholesale price index based inflation rose to a three and a half year high of 7.41 per cent for the week ended March 29.

“We have banned exports of cements. The Steel Ministry is considering many steps to bring down prices in the sector. The message is clear that the government is ready to take whatever steps required to control prices,” Nath said today at the sidelines of a CII seminar on the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09.

Sources added the CCP may meet as early as Tuesday and consider measures like banning export of steel and steel products, levying ad-valorem duty on iron ore exports and bringing down excise duty on steel to 8 per cent from the current level of 14 per cent.

Solrex close to open offer trigger for Orchid Chem

Solrex Pharmaceuticals, believed to be a Ranbaxy Laboratories-promoted company, has reportedly increased its stake in Chennai-based drug major Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals to 14.72 per cent — just short of the 15 per cent mark that will trigger an open offer to acquire the cephalosporin drug major.

A TV channel reported today that Solrex has increased its stake in Orchid to 14.72 per cent in bulk share purchase deals on Friday. The channel also said other Ranbaxy promoter group companies might have also garnered shares in Orchid.

According to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) data available yesterday, Solrex had 12.84 per cent stake in Orchid, all acquired in different deals after March this year.

The development could not be confirmed with the stock exchanges and Orchid. An official spokesperson of Orchid said he was yet to get details of the share purchase data of Orchid. Ranbaxy officials declined to comment on the developments.

A few days ago, Malvinder Mohan Singh, the managing director and chief executive officer of Ranbaxy, had stated that the company was against any hostile takeovers.

Orchid maintained that Solrex was understood to be an investment unit of Ranbaxy and the share purchases by Solrex were value picking rather than a takeover attempt.

Orchid’s Chairman and Managing Director K Raghavendra Rao has only 15.9 per cent stake in Orchid. In case of an open offer, one option before him is to utilise the warrants worth about Rs 50 lakh, which can be converted into a 7 per cent stake. This would increase Rao’s stake close to 23 per cent, said sources.

Reportedly, the Orchid management is in talks with financial institutions to convert the warrants and to rope in strategic investors to thwart the takeover attempts.

“We are observing the developments, but have not taken any decision on conversion of the warrants,” said the company spokesperson. Both Raghavendra Rao and Deputy Managing Director C B Rao are still away in Japan, as a part of the opening of a subsidiary of Orchid in Japan.

Life Insurance Corporation of India and United India Insurance Company hold 7.8 per cent and 2.48 per cent, respectively in Orchid.

Other large institutional investors in the company include Gazal Industrial Holdings (8.48 per cent), Macquarie Bank (5.13 per cent), Harpline (4.54 per cent) and Fidelity Trustee Company (2.66 per cent).

Provogue to raise Rs 314 crore

Apparel retailer Provogue India Ltd on Friday said that it would raise Rs 314 crore through the preferential allotment of 2.85 million equity shares at a price of Rs 1,100. The money will be utilised for expansion plans such as setting up stores, bringing new brands and acquisition, said the company in a note to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Altima Partners, T Rowae Price, Genesis, New Vernon, Liberty International, Acacia Partners, Dharmayug Investment and CNBC have participated in the preferential offer, which will be locked in for one year from the date of allotment.

Provogue's board has also approved the issue of 14,84,000 convertible warrants to Everest Plaza Pvt Ltd, and Fairprice Traders (India) Pvt Ltd, at the same price of Rs 1,100 to invest side by side on the same terms with these strategic investors.

The company plans to take the shareholders approval for the preferential issue on May 9.

JK Tyres buys Mexican tyre co for Rs 270 cr

JK Tyre and Industries, today announced the acquisition of Mexican tyre company Tornel for Rs 270 cr. The acquisition would be for 100% shareholding in the company and is being made through a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

The buyout is expected to close by the end of May this year, subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

Tornel has three operating tyre plants with aggregate capacity of 6.6 mn tyres per annum. Situated in Azcapotzalco, Tultitlan and Hidalgo, the three plants of Tornel employ 2,000 people.

The company is present in the entire range of bias and radial tyres – from truck, LCV, farm and industrial tyres in bias category and truck, LCV and high speed passenger car tyres in radial category.

TVS Logistics to raise Rs 100 cr through PE

TVS Logistics Services Ltd, part of $5 billion group T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons (TVS) has raised Rs 100 crore through private equity (PE) to support its expansion plan and to reach its target of Rs 1,000 crore turnover by the year 2010. It may be noted, this is the first time PE investment has been made in a TVS Group company.

Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking and securities firm, has invested Rs 100 crore for a significant minority stake to support TVS Logistics growth plans which include expansion, increasing its investment in joint ventures (JVs)and for acquisition opportunities.

Meanwhile, TVS Logistics recently taken a 50 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Greenarches and renamed the company as TVS Infrastructure. The company proposed to invest Rs 500 crore to build logistics parks by itself and through special purpose vehicles (SPV), said R Dinesh, director, TVS Logistics Services.

He added, the company already owns 20 acres of land in Pune and 10 acres in Chennai, with plans to build up land banks of around 200 acres in centres of automotive in places like Hosur, Gurgaon, Halol, Lucknow, Singur, Uttarakhand and Indore.

TVS Dynamic Global Freight Services a new company which was formed recently by TVS Logistics Services and Dynamic Freight Forwarding Service has combined the freight forwarding business of both the entities. TVS has 75 per cent in the newly formed company. The company will focus on auto and non-auto segment and is expected to reach Rs 250 crore turnover in the next three years, he added.

Suresh Krishna, CMD, Sundram Fasteners Ltd said that TVS Logistics is planning to enter finished goods transportation after forming a joint venture and through merger and acquisitions. These JVs are expected to contribute around Rs 100 crore during this fiscal. He added, TVS Logistics Services recently entered into commutation solutions for corporate staff transportation and has plans to expand its current fleet strength from 200 buses to 1,000 buses within next two years.

As on on March 31, TVS Logistics and its joint ventures turnover was around Rs 340 crore. Domestic business contributed Rs 240 crore, while its global business contributed Rs 100 crore.

Inflation at a new high of 7.41%

Underlining the uncomfortable situation on the price front, the wholesale price index (WPI) rose to a near three and a half year high of 7.41% for the week ended March 29, 2008. Inflation had last stood above this level, at 7.68%, in the week ended November 12, 2004.

The latest spike is on account of a continued price upsurge increase in primary articles like vegetables, fruit and pulses, as well as a sharp increase in manufactured products like foundries, iron, steel, as well as basic metals. Delayed revisions to prices of some items in the WPI basket have also contributed to the spike seen this March (the index rose 2.3 percentage points within the month).

With today’s release of WPI inflation numbers for the last week of fiscal 2007-08, average annual inflation for the year stands at 4.44%, below the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance level of 5% for the year. The WPI estimate for the week ended February 2 was also revised upwards to 4.74%, a sizeable revision from the earlier estimate of 4.07%.

“The manufactured products sub-index increased 0.9% week-on-week owing to an outsized jump of 3.8% in the prices of base metals, alloys and metal products, and a 0.8% increase in manufactured food items. The primary articles sub-index rose 0.2% week-on-week to be up 8.9% over year ago,” said Rajeev Malik, senior economist, JP Morgan.

The price spike comes even as industrial production growth picked up in February, prompting Malik to say he expects a 50 basis points hike in the cash reserve ratio in the on or before the April 29 monetary policy review.

Dharmakirti Joshi, principal economist, Crisil, said the price situation remained “very uncomfortable” on the food and vegetables front. “The data is surprising and beyond my imagination. People will have to wait for interest rates to ease and the RBI may actually tighten rates,” he said, adding that inflation would moderate in coming weeks as the impact of recent fiscal measures taken to cool prices of items like edible oil get reflected in the WPI.

The data once again underscores the problems that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on trying to control prices of politically sensitive items like food, a point underscored by World Bank president Robert Zoellick in a recent speech at Washington. “Since 2005, the prices of staples have jumped 80%. Last month, the real price of rice hit a 19-year high; the real price of wheat rose to a 28-year high”, he had said.