Ardent Energy Group Ethiopia & Prai Industries to produce jatropha on 15,000 hectares of land

Ardent Energy Group, Ethiopia (AEG) and Praj Industries agreed here yesterday to produce biofuel from jatropha planted on 15,000-hectare land in the Benishangul Gumz Regional State.

Jatropha, a non-edible oil seed, is the major source of biofuel.

AEG is a company engaged in supplying alternative energy solutions. It specializes in biodiesel with a focus on the cultivation and refining of quality-based biodiesel from non-edible feed stocks. According to Yemane Daniel, CEO of AEG, the program is set to produce commercially qualified biodiesel which is not going to compete with the cultivation of food crops.

Yemane told journalists that the biodiesel program was meant to meet European and international standards. He said Ethiopia needed a sustainable non-fossil fuel production, which should not compete with food crops and take up farm lands.

The biodiesel production program is a 2-to-3 year program which is planned to absorb USD 15 million at the initial stage while the entire planned investment is worth more than USD 23 million.

The program would provide job opportunity for about 8,400 people.

Praj Industries Limited is a technology, engineering, plant and equipment company for clean tech solution with a specific focus on biodiesel and bioethanol.

The company has over 450 references in more than 45 countries around the world.

During the signing of the agreement, Mr Prafulla Deshpande, manager of Energy Agro-Solutions for the company, said that the program would undertake technology-based farming and production schemes. He added the companies plan to use intercropping and rotation techniques in the production of jathropha.

According to Yemane serious consideration has been given to the plantation and production of jatropha and that barren land would be used for this purpose. He added that studies had been conducted in this regard.

The companies said that water use, soil erosion, deforestation, labor and animal life were the focal study areas that were given due attention. An environmental impact assessment of the project has also been given proper consideration, they added.

The project is scheduled to start operation in April or May 2010. And in January, a team of experts is scheduled to come and conduct a study on water share and related issues.

According to Deshpande, the plantation is going to use rain water and store it for future use.

Many companies here in Ethiopia have taken farm lands to produce biofuel and biodiesel in view of the country's high dependence on imported energy sources. However, none of them have started production yet.

Work From Home: Learn from world's #1 internet wealth advocate for making money online

Marriott to open 18 new hotels in India by end-2010 (Viceroy Hotels is a part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Marriott International plans to open 18 hotels in India by the end of next year and expects to grow ten times over the next decade.

The international hotel company is currently running ten hotels under its management. By the end of next year they would have seven Courtyard hotels across the country, four JW Marriott hotels and a Renaissance hotel. They are also looking at setting up hotels in places like Nasik, Lucknow, Amritsar and Kochi.

In the next ten years the brand expect to grow ten times. The group is present in India through its brands like such as the five star Marriott, seven star JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Renaissance and budget hotel Courtyard.

Marriott expect recovery to take place in the hotel business by the last quarter of next year and in the next 18-24 months we expect the demand to outstrip supply.

The erstwhile Viceroy Hotel of Hyderabad is now a Marriott, which will be joined to the new Courtyard (by Marriott group) via a bridge. That would make this the largest hotel in South India.

Viceroy Hotels, which are run by the Marriott group now, is planning to raise Rs 150 crore through private placement next year to fund its Rs 1,000 crore hotel expansion plan. The sum would be raised to fund its new projects like the JW Marriott Hotel at Chennai and Renaissance Hotel in Bangalore that would come up in the next few years. The hotel properties will be managed by Marriott International group.

Work From Home: Learn from world's #1 internet wealth advocate for making money online

Prime Focus Opens New 5.1 Sound Studio

The new suite is the fourth at its 58 Old Compton Street facility, and has been installed alongside a high-specification support infrastructure.

The new studio has 5.1 and Dolby E capabilities and features the ubiquitous Digidesign Pro Tools 8 and ICON D-Control console. There’s also a large voice-over and foley room and a new audio preparation centre for multiple tracklays, transfers and lay-offs. The studio has been designed for Dolby commercials and trailer certification, which will be implemented in the New Year.

The design and spec was led by Prime Focus’ UK Head of Audio, Jim Jacobs and Paul Mickelthwaite, head of systems integration, with technical planning from Director of Operations, Michael Wrightson. The new studio will allow Prime Focus to dedicate more facilities to cope with increasing demand from broadcast and commercials clients.

Studio 4 is a key part of ongoing investment strategy to upgrade and expand facilities, not only to support client demand but also mid- to long-term future as Prime Focus continue to explore domestic and global business opportunities outside of traditional post production model.

Work From Home: Learn from world's #1 internet wealth advocate for making money online

Victory plans 3 business hotels in S India (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Viceroy Hotels Limited (VHL), leveraging the relationship with International Hotel Chain, Marriott, is investing more than Rs 1000 crore to put up three new Business Hotels in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the next 12 months even as it is looking for Rs 150 crore private equity funding to give a pan-India footprint to its food and beverage business, according to VHL Chairman and Managing Director P Prabhakara Reddy.

After launching today 'Courtyard by Marriott,' the Rs 130-crore 161-room four-star hotel here, Mr Reddy said VHL will open by October next a 300-room Luxury Hotel 'JW Marriott' at MRC Nagar in Chennai with Rs 620 crore and another 300-room Star Hotel, 'The Renaissance,' with Rs 311 crore at Race Course Area in Bangalore around October 2010.

The promoters will invest 35 per cent and the rest will come as debt from banks.VHL, after merger of group companies on orders of Andhra Pradesh High Court, is expecting the 'Courtyard by Marriott' and the adjoining waterfront-facing Hyderabad Hotel and Convention Centre to generate Rs 120-crore business in fiscal 2010 and generate Rs 50 to Rs 60 crore profit.

By 2012, VHL will have 1,400 rooms and achieve Rs 500 crore turnover, Mr Reddy told media here.The additional rooms with Spa and 'Gym' will be ready over next three to six months.

VHL is in talks with private equity for raising another Rs 150 crore to expand its Food and Beverages business with plans to open over the next two years 50 outlets, up from ten in Andhra Pradesh, to extend its footprint in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.VHL also plans to open another Business Class Hotel at Visakhapatnam and sign agreement with Marriott after completion of its Chennai and Bangalore ventures. The agreement for the private equity is likely to be finalised over next four months, Mr Reddy said.


Work From Home: Learn from world's #1 internet wealth advocate for making money online

PLM in the Fashion Industry is Gaining Acceptance - Geometric Ltd (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala portfolio)

Product lifecycle management is increasingly being used by the apparel industry to speedily respond to market demands and effectively provide overall management. An interview with Atul Dhakappa, business head (Growth Accounts), Geometric Limited.

How does a PLM solution help the apparel/fashion industry? What makes it a compelling option for an apparel company?

The fashion industry has been undergoing tremendous change in recent times. These changes have been at multiple ends of the value chain, affecting different participants. They have led to the increased pressure on the top-line as well as bottom-line for most companies.

Customers are becoming increasingly demanding and expect to be offered innovative styles and good quality at attractive prices -- that too an ever more frequent basis. The fashion players, therefore, need to find new ways to secure growth and profits, while ensuring end-customer satisfaction. Tactics based simply on reducing product development and manufacturing costs are no longer sufficient to maintain competitive advantage. As fashion brands and retailers attempt to improve profits, cash flow and consumer loyalty, they need to continually introduce newer concepts, and also add value to their own private labels.

Many fashion brands and retailers have been continuously putting in efforts to reduce their product development time. In a rapidly evolving marketplace, speed is of essence, and serves as a catalyst for bringing about a newness and exclusivity in the product -- increasing the flexibility and responsiveness within the organisation and its supply chain. Moreover, product quality has to be maintained to reduce returns and charge backs.

Effective management of the sourcing function is an important variable in achieving these objectives. In order to remain competitive, many companies are identifying, developing, and placing production with capable business partners globally. Some of the factors to be kept in mind include geo-political stability, reliability and quality of certain infrastructure components, such as transportation systems, transfer pricing arrangements, tax incentives and issues, access to high quality management talent, and exposure to environment and labor issues.

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), as a business strategy, is steadily gaining wide acceptance amongst fashion brands and retailers. Companies that took initial approach to PLM are beginning to see significant reductions in new product introduction lead times, and are enjoying more profits. PLM is not just a set of technologies, but a strategic business approach that integrates people, processes, business systems, and information.

PLM tools address the specific challenges in the fashion/apparel industry, by helping organisations in:

• 
  
  Getting products to market faster


• Increasing collaboration across the extended ecosystem


• Consolidating knowledge and data repository for new product design/development across the extended enterprise


• Improving predictability and turnaround times by increasing standardisation and re-usability across the key processes


• Enabling dashboards to track key processes and workflows
  

How does the D.R.A.P.E.D. methodology accelerate PLM adoption across an enterprise?

D.R.A.P.E.D. is an implementation methodology for adoption of PLM in an enterprise. Geometric has developed this methodology based on its extensive experience in several PLM implementation projects. D.R.A.P.E.D. is a graded six stage process, and is an acronym for Define, Rationalize, Attest, Propose, Execute and Deploy. Each stage has a clearly defined entry, task, validation and exit criteria. Each stage, also, has a set of tools and templates that are ready to use in a customer engagement. The phase-wise deliverable is marked by customer interactions and discussions.

Through the use of D.R.A.P.E.D., engaging with a customer on a fresh implementation becomes far speedier. We have experienced a 20-25 percent improvement in implementation cycles through the use of this proprietary tool. As a result of this, customers are able to leverage the benefits from their new PLM investment in their business workflow very quickly.

Is the PLM solution for the fashion industry capable of integrating with existing design software and third-party tools?

PLM is an established tool to manage the process and innovation, and to speed up product development for an enterprise. Though it is a specialised application by itself, it needs to co-exist along with several other applications in an enterprise. Some of the common applications that exist could include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools, Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems, design tools, and other specific point applications, that the organization has been using over the years.The capability of different PLM systems to integrate with other existing tools and applications varies. Each PLM application has its own set of 'plug-n-play' integration adapters. However, in most instances, a solution can be worked out. Depending on the customer need, and the capability of the PLM software, an integration solution is defined and implemented for specific customer requirements. Geometric, because of its vast expertise with multiple PLM systems and also its large end-customer implementation experience, can provide solutions to meet customer's specific integration needs.

How does the PLM solution deal with multiple employees working from different locations on the same project -- in terms of ease of collaboration, versioning and the language barrier?

Most PLM solutions offer various collaboration tools to speed productivity, and increase efficiency of the design/innovation process. With PLM systems implemented, all participants in the design/innovation process work on a single integrated repository, which has role/hierarchy-based access to different sets of information. Duplication/versioning is completely avoided. The entire organisation works towards meeting product development deadlines, and on an integrated 'single version of the truth.'Depending on the location of the participants, different PLM applications also provide different language interfaces, so that the local user feels very comfortable and can contribute effectively.

Are PLM solutions being adopted by smaller apparel companies? Does Geometric see the need to create more awareness of the benefits of such a solution for the apparel industry?

PLM solutions can be adopted by companies of all sizes. However, it provides real differentiated value, when operations are otherwise difficult to manage. For very small apparel companies, most part of the innovation process can still be tracked and managed manually. In such a scenario, a PLM solution fails to provide the true ROI. However, for an organisation to scale and meet global requirements, PLM provides significant value and benefits.

When it comes to improving or changing a PLM solution to align with the industry's needs, how does Geometric go about accomplishing this?

Every PLM solution has its own specialties, and has its own sets of unique features and functionalities that it provides. For an organisation to truly leverage the benefits of their investments in PLM system, it needs to be configured/customised for that particular organisation. Geometric goes about this exercise in a systemic manner. As a part of the D.R.A.P.E.D. framework, we have an effective combination of tools and templates that help us to capture the customer expectations precisely, in the form of detailed requirements. Based on these detailed requirements and an analysis of how best to implement PLM for a specific organization, we go about the entire exercise of implementation and deployment for a specific customer. We work closely with our customers and walk them through a set of recommendations and its implications, and based on customer preferences, plan to implement the same at their site.

Can you share details on the sort of growth that Geometric has achieved over the last few quarters?

We have seen significant traction on the PLM solution in apparel in the U.S. and European region. The concept is picking up in India as well in the Asia-Pacific region. We are expecting a lot of action in the Indian region in times to come.

Could you name some of the companies that have opted for Geometric's solutions -- small companies as well as established brands in India. Any interesting facts that you would like to share with us?

Geometric has been working with leading international fashion as well as retail brands in managing their IT requirements. These have been in sectors like apparel, footwear, leather goods, sports goods, mountaineering equipment, innerwear and lingerie. Due to our confidentiality agreements, we would not be able to mention the brands.

Geometric has entered into a partnership with Gerber Technology. Could you elaborate on this alliance?

Geometric is an independent services company, offering solutions on leading technology platforms. Apart from bringing in more efficiencies and value into our PLM implementation, we are also actively offering assessment and consulting services, helping customers arrive at their PLM decisions. The partnership with Gerber Technology is formed with the intent to help existing Gerber PLM customers realise the true benefits of their PLM investments, with integration solutions to ERP systems. We are also working to expand the nature of our partnership, and we will be able to disclose more details as we move along.

Claim your free book MAKE REAL MONEY ON THE INTERNET by world's #1 internet wealth advocate for making money on the internet

Nagarjuna Construction will sign Rs 1,800 crore road project with Oman.

Nagarjuna Construction will sign Rs 1,800 crore road project with Oman.

The order book of Nagarjuna Construction is Rs 14,266 crores and will achieve its targetted order book of more than Rs 15000 crores this year.

NCC is also at an advanced stage of bagging yet another EPC project in Oman. This project, to build an airport, is estimated to cost about $700 million, or Rs 3,250 crore.

For more Click Here

Nagarjuna Construction bags Rs 722-cr orders

Nagarjuna Construction Company today secured five orders aggregating to Rs 722 crore. The construction major bagged the first order of Rs 328 crore from Bangalore water supply and sewerage board at west Bangalore that will be completed over the next 26 months.

The second order of Rs 143 crore is from the water resources department Bihar for construction of bituminous road to be completed in 24 months.

The third has come from Jain Housing Chennai for residential apartments valued at Rs 100 crore to be completed over a period of 12 months, fourth from Rail Vikas Nigam, New Delhi worth Rs 91 crore and the last from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply of Rs 60 crore to be completed in another two years.

Receive a $4276 Internet System For Only $1!
This system transformed a homeless man into a multi-millionaire and it can help you start living the fulfilling life you desire as well! Visit http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3394567 to learn more.

Punj Lloyd forays into solar energy (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Punj Lloyd, a diversified construction and engineering group, has tied up with Singapore-based Delta Solar to foray into the solar utility space.

The joint venture, Punj Lloyd Delta Renewables, will provide solar photovoltaics (SPV) and solar thermal solutions with a strong emphasis on new technologies.

Punj Lloyd Delta Renewables will develop, engineer and execute renewable energy-based projects across the world and will provide turnkey integrated development and sustainable solutions in the power, building and infrastructure sectors. While initially focussing on solar energy, the joint venture firm will diversify into other forms of renewable energy like biomass and wind.

Stephen Pierce, the World’s #1 Internet Wealth Advocate, announces the launch of his new website

Dear Friends, I thought I might as well share this important issue with you all.

Stephen Pierce, the World’s #1 Internet Wealth Advocate, announces the launch of his new website, http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3394567

Pierce has appeared on FOX News, NBC News, ABC News, CBS, DayTime, Daystar, ABC News Radio, Bloomberg Business Radio and other major network TV stations and cable shows radio programs to explain to audiences how they, too, can make money from their homes on the internet they way Pierce has the past ten years.

"It takes as much time to stay broke as it does to earn $100,000 per month," says Pierce. "The key to surviving in a down economy isn't a second job. It's passive residual income from work you only do one time. I teach you exactly how to do that."

A MRMI Super Cash membership gives people the ongoing support they need as they create online businesses from their homes yet it is also priced very economically so that it can fit most any budget. The initial fee is only $1.

"I’ve never forgotten what it was like to literally own nothing. I would’ve given anything for a little bit of guidance at the beginning. I would have loved a real step-by-step money making system like my MRMI Super Cash system years ago. It would have helped me to avoid costly mistakes and succeed much faster," says Pierce.

Members will receive the following as part of their membership:

* Weekly coaching sessions - Live weekly webinars where members can get their questions answered.

* 12 Instant Income Machines - These are 12 ready-to-go websites where members "Just Add Traffic" and keep 100% of the profits.

* 7 Steps to Success worksheet.

* Proven Success Diagram - Takes you step by step through the process of making money online.

* Instant traffic expert videos, checklist and process maps - These are the key to bringing visitors to your website again and again.

* Free software, worksheets, guides and more.

* 70 minute "Real Money, Real Fast" video - Footage of a dynamic presentation given by Pierce.

* 12 "Google Cash Creators" - Members "Just Add Traffic" to these ready-to-go websites and make money from Google without selling anything.

MRMI Super Cash System members include stay-at-home moms, retired folks, real estate investors, financial planners and people from all walks of life. You don't need to have any computer skills to become a member and to use the tools provided to members.

For more information about MRMI Super Cash visit

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3394567

Geometric Limited reported 209% increase in YOY net profit during Sep 09 Qtr (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

2 Year Chart for Geometric Limited Geometric Chart from 01 Mar 09 to 29 Oct 09

Geometric reported Q2 2010 results with revenue of Rs 128.2 crores versus Rs 152.595 crores during the same period last year. However, net profit jumped to Rs 10.2 crores as compared to Rs 3.301 crores during the same period last year, rise of approx 209%.

Geometric has support at Rs 40/- and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his wife (RARE) are holding 53,15,000 shares (8.56% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Punj Lloyd is now ideal Candidate for Swing Trade (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

In the last few days Punj lloyd has been thrashed badly, primarily due to poor results in this Qtr. However, with strong order book of more than Rs 30000 cr, the stock cannot be ignored.

After this harsh thrashing, the stock is now ideal candidate for swing trade. It is strong support at around at Rs 196-Rs200/- and resistances at Rs 230/-, Rs 250/-, Rs 270/- and rs 295/-.

Autoline Industries won US $ 40 million contract ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Autoline Industries has won $ 40 million contract. They will be manufacturing brake and clutch pedal assemblies for two US automakers for next 4 years. Autoline Industries is a subsidiary Autoline USA.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala initially bought 1,60,389 shares (1.46 % of Autoline industries ) in Qtr ending Mar 08. At that time the stock was fluctuating between Rs160/- and Rs250/-. However, as per latest shareholding pattern (Qtr ending Sep 09) on Bombay Stock Exchange, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and His wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala together hold 12,51,233 shares (10.25% of Autoline Industries). The quarter wise holding of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Rekha Jhunjhunwala (RARE) in Autoline Industries is as given below:

Mar 08

1,60,389 shares (1.46% of Autoline Industries)

Jun 08
7,11,622 shares (5.83% of Autoline industries)

Sep 08
12,31,233 shares (10.09% of Autoline industries)

Dec 08
10,20,000 shares (8.36% of Autoline industries)

Mar 09
12,51,233 shares (10.25% of Autoline industries)

Jun 09
12,51,233 shares (10.25% of Autoline industries)

Sep 09
12,51,233 shares (10.25% of Autoline industries)

I think future is looking up. Stay invested and God Bless every one.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala added 8 lac shares of Geometric Limited in Qtr ending Sep 09

I was going through the shareholding pattern of Geometric Limited at Bombay Stock exchange website and realised that Rakesh Jhunjhunwala added 8,00,000 shares in the Qtr ending Sep 09 as well. It is interesting to note that Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has been adding Geometric Limited almost every Qtr since 01 Jul 06. The only two qtrs in which he did not add Geometric Limited were Qtr ending Dec 07 (01 Oct -31 Dec 07) and Qtr ending Jun 09 ( 01 Mar - 30 Jun 09).

As on 30 Sep 06, he was holding 4,80.000 shares of Geometric Ltd (2.43% of Geometric Limited) but after adding 8,00,000 shares in this Qtr, his holding in Geometric has now gone upto 53,15,000 shares, which corresponds to 8.56% equity of Geometric Ltd. The Qtr wis e holding of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his wife since Sep 06 is as given below:

Sep 06:

4,80,000 shares (2.43 % equity of Geometric Ltd)

Dec 06:

17,80,000 shares (2.90% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Mar 07:

21,75,000 shares (3.51% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Sep 07:

25,05,000 shares (4.04% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Dec 07:

25,05,000 shares (4.04% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Mar 08:

27,35,000 shares (4.41% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Jun 08:

30,35,000 shares (4.89% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Sep 08:

31,85,000 shares (5.13 % equity of Geometric Ltd)

Dec 08:

38,65,000 shares (6.22% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Mar 09:

45,15,000 shares (7.27% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Jun 09:

45,15,000 shares (7.27% equity of Geometric Ltd)

Sep 09:

53,15,000 shares (8.56% equity of Geometric Ltd)

It seems that the Big Bull is really bullish on this stock and therefor it is important to remain invested in this stock for a longer horizon to enjoy the fruits of patient and successful investing.

Click here to Understand Geometric Limited Business Part - I

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala increased his stake in Titan Industries by 137105 shares

In the Qtr ending Sep 09, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala increased his stake in Titan Industries by 137105 shares, thereby increasing his total holding to 3703861 shares.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala now holds 8.35% of Titan Industries.

Understanding Geometric Business Part -I (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Inspite of all the crashes, money invested in geometric Ltd in August 2001 would have multiplied approx 10 times. The cost of share at that time was Rs 52 approx and todays cost is Rs 50.4 but with 10 times more shares in terms of split and other instruments. However, in Aug 04 the share was trading at approx Rs 124/-(Which amounts to Rs 1240/- as the share holder would be having 10 times more shares) but after that the share had fallen down to Rs 11/- approx (Rs110/- true value in terms of investment made in Aug 01.) Let us understand the business of this company so that we are aware as what lies in the future ahead.

Geometric Ltd provides

Software solutions (Product Lifecycle Management, Manufacturing IT, Software Product Engineering),

Engineering solutions (Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Productivity Solutions)

Technology solutions (Desktop Products, Technologies and Interoperability Solutions)

to

Aerospace and Defense Industries
Automotive Industries,
Fashion Industries,
Heavy Engineering,
High Technology,
Machine Tool,
Medical Imaging,
Metrology,
Software OEMs.

In the next post, we shall discuss about PLM Offerings by the Geometric Ltd.

About Geometric Ltd ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Geometric is a specialist in the domain of engineering solutions, services and technologies. Its portfolio of Global Engineering services and Digital Technology solutions for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) enables companies to formulate, implement, and execute global engineering and manufacturing strategies aimed at achieving greater efficiencies in the product realization lifecycle.

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Geometric was incorporated in 1994 and is listed on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges. The company recorded consolidated revenues of Rupees 5.98 billion (US Dollars 129.47 million) for the year ended March 2009. It employs close to 3000 people across 10 global delivery locations in the US, France, Romania, India, and China. Geometric is assessed at SEI CMMI Level 5 for its software services and ISO 9001:2000 certified for engineering operations.

OK Play India Ltd - My choice for Diwali Pick at Rs 27

Happy Diwali to all the readers. I am buying OK Play India Ltd as Diwali Pick due to the following reasons:

> This stock is likely to do very well for many years to come as it operates in Toy Industry and with Indian Population and demanding children of today the company is likely to stay put.

> Reputed name and management inToy Industry.

> Worst is behind the company. Company posted loss in all the four qtrs of 2008. But it posted profit in first two qtrs of 2009. In mar 09 qtr, it posted a profit of approx 49 lakh rupees and in Jun 09 qtr it posted a profit of Rs 3.767 crores. But it has to be treated with caution as both these results are un-andited.

> Its all time high was Rs 170 approx and now it is at Rs 27 approx.

> As against the EPS of -6.5 for financial year 2008-09, it has posted 2.37 EPS for Jun 09 qtr.

> In the short run, if the Sep 09 qtr results are good, then it is likely to go to Rs 40. However, irrespective of Sep 09 results, investors with at least 1 year horizon are likely to benefit.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala added 6 lac shares of Karur Vysya Bank

In the Qtr ending Sep 09, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala increased his stake in Karur Vysya Bank from 19,68,724 shares to 25,68,724 shares, there by adding 6,00,000 shares.

Now he holds 4.76% of the total equity of the bank. Earlier he was holding 3.65%

Something is cooking friends, May Be....

Geojit's Net Profit rises 150% YOY (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

For Qtr ending Sep 09, the Net Profit of Geojit rose to Rs 13.06 crores as compared to Rs 5.22 crores during the same period last year.

During the Qtr ending Sep 09, the company registered a 58.58 % rise in net sales to Rs 75.63 crores as compared to Rs 47.69 crores in the same period last year.

Last 12 month EPS as on 31 Mar 09 was 1.78. However, this year from 01 Apr 09 to 30 Sep 09, Geojit has already achieved 1.17 EPS. Outlook for the stock also looks bright.

Kajaria Ceramics Ltd - Good Result and positive outlook (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Kajaria Ceramics posted a strong set of numbers for Qtr ending Sep 09.

PAT/Net Profit has jumped approx 50% to Rs 8.77 crores as compared to the same period last year.

Operating profit margin was 16.41% as compared to 14.91% during the Sep 08 qtr.

As compared to EPS of 1.21 for four qtrs as on Mar 09, the EPS from 01 Apr 09 to 30 Sep 09 is 2.01. However, it reported EPS of 1.19 for Sep 09 qtr as compared to 0.79 for the corresponding period last year (rise of approx 50%).

It is also setting up of 2.40 M Sqr Mtr- vitrified tile manufacturing capacity at existing location in Sikandrabad (UP) scheduled and expected to go on stream by January 2010.

Prabhudas Lilladher estimates NCC PAT for Sep Qtr (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Prabhudas Lilladher estimates that the PAT for Nagarjuna Construction Company for Sep Qtr would be up by 20.9%, to Rs 51.1 cr YOY.

Net Sales is also expected to be up by 11.8% to Rs 1180 crores YOY.

Rs 1500 crores invested by Provogue to develop 6 malls(Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Rs 1500 crores has been invested by Provogue to develop six Malls through its real estate arm Prozone Enterprises and the same would be ready by next two years. Each Mall would be of 10,00,000 Sq Ft and would include residential and office space as well.

In addition, Provogue is also planning to set up 50 new retail stores in next two years at an approx cost of 20-30 crores.

As per Mr Chaturvedi, Provogue is very aggressively expanding both retail and Mall development businessess.

Hrithik to endorse Provogue (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Hrithik Roshan would be the next brand ambassador for Provogue. Earlier the same was being endorsed by Fardeen Khan and Saif Ali Khan. With Hrithik Roshan as Brand Ambassador, Provogue reasserts its connect with the youth.

Lupin signs deal with Nasdaq-listed Salix Pharmaceuticals for Rifaximin (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Lupin has granted Nasdaq-listed Salix Pharmaceuticals, the exclusive rights in the United States to its bioadhesive drug delivery technology for use with Rifaximin.

Lupin and Salix have entered into a deal under which both partners will collaborate in the development and commercialization of an extended release product incorporating Rifaximin and utilizing Lupin’s proprietary bioadhesive technology.

Beside this, Lupin and Salix have also entered into an exclusive agreement in the United States for supply of Rifaximin active pharmaceutical ingredient (API).

Under the arrangement, Salix has made a $5 million up-front payment and will make additional regulatory milestone payments to Lupin. In addition, Salix will pay royalties on net sales of the bioadhesive Rifaximin product to Lupin.

Rifaximin is a gut-selective antibiotic with negligible systemic absorption (<0.4%)>

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala expects 12-14% economic growth in next 5-7 years

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala says he is bullish on the Indian markets and expects Rs 2,500-3,500 crore local money in equities. He is also of the opinion that Interest rate hike in India is not likely before March.

As per him, the future of Indian markets is going to depend on the performance of Indian economy and the international scenario on interest rates. There are certain long-term trends which are driving the Indian markets, Jhunjhunwala says, adding, that the economic growth in India is going to be between 12-14% nominal over the next 5-7 years. As per his assessment, the factors that are driving this growth are irreversible whether its skill, tolerance, democracy or demographics. He also said that if growth in corporate profits, is going to be a percentage of nominal GDP growth which it is worldwide, he doesn’t see any reason why corporate should not grow between 15-17% compounded.

As per him this year maybe 20-30 billion of local money will come and in two years it will be 60 billion. In time to come, the local investment will be far greater than the foreign investment.

Provogue's New Business Strategy (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Provogue is reworking its business strategy to boost revenues and prop up margins.

Under the new strategy, Provogue plans to reduce the size of its stores, sell more of its vendor brands, slow expansion in its discount format, and scale down mall development.

The company made a net profit of Rs 70 crore on revenues of Rs 363 crore in FY09. Its net profit went up by 180 per cent in FY09 compared to net profit in FY08. However, the company’s operating profit margins have gone down by 500 basis points in first quarter of FY09 compared to preceding quarter due to poor consumer sentiments.

Provogue, which opened its first store in 2001, today has 126 stores and over 100 shop-in-shops. The company plans to open 50 new stores in the next two years with an investment of Rs 35 crore to take its store count to 175.

It would opt for smaller stores in the range of 800-2,000 square feet to save on rents and costs.

Though the company planned to have 20 Promart, its off-price shops, by mid-2010, it currently has only two stores in the country.

Prozone Liberty, the mall development arm of Provogue, has also scaled down its plans given the slowdown in the retail sector earlier. Originally, the company planned to build six malls, now it is going ahead with only three, in Jaipur, Indore and Aurangabad. The company is also exploring ways to use additional land in these sites for alternative uses such as residential development.

Lupin Acquires US rights For Antara

Lupin has acquired US rights for Antara (Fenofibrate capsules 43mg, and 130mg) for $38.61m from Oscient Pharmaceuticals.

Lupin had filed an ANDA for fenofibrate capsules 43mg and 130mg. The company sold the ANDA to Dr Reddy's Laboratories and also settled the pending litigaAntara is aimed at adjunct treatment of hypercholesterolemia and hyper-triglyceridemia in combination with diet. Reportedly, the Antara acquisition enables Lupin to enter the primary care market with a three products portfolio.tion relating to the product.

Buy Lupin, target of Rs 1344: Sharekhan(Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Sharekhan has maintained its buy rating on Lupin with a target price of Rs 1344 in its September 29, 2009 research report.

A[tech launched "English Express" (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

After China, the global learning solutions major (Aptech) is chasing the African dream to pep up its overseas gambit. In sync with its multi-product and multi-geographies strategy, the company is planning to grow its flagship brand -- Aptech Computer Education -- in Nigeria from 15 centres to 30 by 2011.

Aptech on Wednesday launched a new brand -- English Express -- that will offer English language training in the country.It plans to open 80-100 English centres across India in the next one year with an investment of Rs 3 crore.

Prime Focus brings 15 post houses together for rebrand (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Prime Focus has brought together its post-production facilities under a single brand. These include Prime Focus London (previously VTR, The Hive and Clear), blue and Machine from the UK; Post Logic and Frantic Films VFX from the US; and Prime Focus Group in India.

Punj Lloyd order book (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Punj has secured an order worth Rs275.8 crore from IndianOil Petronas Pvt. Ltd for the design, engineering, construction, installation and testing of an LNG import terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.
The Order Book of Punj Lloyd, after bagging this, stands at approximately Rs31,428 crore, or 2.4x its FY2010E revenues. We believe that Punj is set to become a player of reckoning in the domestic and global infrastructure spaces, due to its geo-segmental diversified operations. The company’s diverse operations have, to a large extent, not only insulated it from any potential slowdown, but also helped it gain experience in niche areas.

Prime Focus Launches View-D (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Prime Focus, one of the world's largest visual entertainment services groups has announced the launch of View-D(tm), a proprietary 2D-to-3D conversion process that allows filmmakers to efficiently create stereoscopic 3D movies from source material shot on virtually any medium. View-D(tm) will be introduced at international launch events in Mumbai, London and Los Angeles to unveil the Prime Focus global rebrand, in which Post Logic and Frantic Films VFX will be brought together under the Prime Focus name.

Promoters investing money in Praj Ind (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala)

Since the beginning of October, the Chaudhari family of Praj Industries purchased 21 lakh shares.

Rishi Laser to issue equity shares

The board of Rishi Laser has approved the proposal for the issue of upto 10,00,000 equity shares on preferential basis. This was approved at the board meeting held on 17 September 2009.

NAGARJUNA CONSTRUCTION (EDELWEISS) (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Fund raising to spur future growth.....

■ INR 3.67 bn raised through QIP issue
Nagarjuna Construction (NCC) has raised INR 3.67 bn through a QIP issue. It issued 27.7 mn shares at a price of INR 132.46 per share, resulting in a post issue dilution of 10.8%. The funds raised will primarily be used to meet working capital requirements for its contracting business as well as the equity commitment for NCC’s infrastructure development portfolio. The company’s debt: equity ratio was comfortable at 0.7x at FY09 end.

■ Funds raised to be utilised to boost future growth
The funds raised will aid growth in the contracting as well as asset ownership businesses. NCC has performed well on the order intake front in the current year; order intake stood at INR 27 bn in Q1FY10 and has surpassed INR 40 bn YTD (against INR 66 bn in FY09). We expect the company to overshoot its order intake guidance of INR 65 bn for FY10. This is likely to improve revenue visibility going forward. NCC has a portfolio of 11 BOT projects—five road, two hydropower, two airports, one port, and one convention center (apart from the Gautami power plant where the company has decided to sell its stake). Of these 11 projects, one is operational, five are in the development phase, and five have yet to achieve financial closure. The company is also bidding for the upcoming NHAI BOT project. It has been already shortlisted among the bidders for a couple of road BOT projects. The funds raised will help meet equity commitment for current as well as future projects.

■ Outlook and valuations: Growth prospects improve; upgrade to ‘BUY’
While the fund raising exercise will be EPS dilutive in FY10, it will be EPS neutral in FY11 with likely increase in execution (due to strong order intake) and savings on interest cost. We are revising our EPS estimates downwards by 5.3% and 0.3% for FY10 and FY11, respectively. At CMP of INR 134, the stock is trading at a P/E of 18.3x and 13.9x for FY10E and FY11E, respectively. Our sum-of-the-parts-based target price for the stock is INR 175, with BOT projects contributing INR 17 to valuations. We have valued real estate investments at book value.

We believe fund raising will help the company log a faster growth trajectory. Also, improvement in the pace of road BOT project awards and improving economic outlook with government’s thrust on infra projects is likely to aid NCC, going forward. Hence, we are upgrading the stock to ‘BUY’ from ‘HOLD’ and rate it ‘Sector Performer’ on a relative return basis (refer rating page for details).

Provogue plans to expand its Biz via franchise (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Provogue India is planning to expand its business by entering new markets in West Asia and is looking for franchise partner.

Provogue also has plans to open 17 more showrooms across India in the current fiscal taking the total number of stores to 143. The company is planning to invest Rs 13 crore for the same. Currently, Provogue India has 126 stores spread across 60 cities in the country.

Viceroy's Renaissance Hotel to open In Bangalore in 2010 ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Modern city requires a modern structure – Viceroy Hotels Limited is coming with a 21 storey ultra modern designed hotel in Bangalore overlooking the famous Bangalore Racecourse. This 250-room property would again be managed by the Marriott International and branded as Renaissance – modern luxury hotel for discerning businessmen. When completed in 2010 it would change the skyline of Bangalore.

Viceroy's J W Marriott Hotel at Chennai to start in Apr 09 ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

The 350 room super luxury hotel overlooking the Bay of Bengal is scheduled to open by April’09. This premium hotel would add a new dimension to the ever-growing capital of Tamil Nadu – Chennai – which is vibrating ceaselessly as a buoyant metropolis city. The luxury hotel, designed by international architects and designers would have the largest of the rooms among the segment of modern hotels in the country. Interestingly, this would be first of its kind in the Marriott super luxury hotel segment in Chennai.

Aptech Acquired the English Education Institutes Ltd ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

During the quarter Mar - Jun 09, the Company made investments to the tune of Rs 108.13 crores in its wholly owned subsidiary located at Mauritius after receipt of necessary approvals from the shareholders for such investment.

The Company has acquired the English language training business of First English Education Institutes Limited and has diversified into English language training .

Viceroy's New Hotel Hyderabad Courtyard to commence commercial Operations in Sep 09 (Part of rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Construction of the new hotel projects at Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are in progress and the Hyderabad Courtyard project is scheduled to Commence commercial operations from this Month (September 09)

Aptech declares 10pc fee discount to the teachers families across the country

On the eve of teachers day, Aptech Limited – a Global leader in learning solutions, has announced a 10% discount on course fee to the families of the teachers in India. The offer is valid for a week, commencing on 5th September and concluding on 12th September 2009.

The four major retail brands of Aptech viz. Aptech Computer Education (IT Education & Training), Arena Animation (Animation & Multimedia Training), N-Power-Hardware & Networking ( Certified Hardware & Networking Programs) , and Avalon Academy (Aviation, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Training) would be offering the fee discounts in an endeavor to pay tribute to the teachers on this opportune day. These discounts will be available on an assorted platter of courses.

About Aptech Limited:
Aptech is an ISO 9001:2000 organization and was the first IT training and education organization in Asia to receive the ISO 9001 quality certification for Education Support Services in 1993. Aptech Limited, which features amongst TrainingOutsourcing.coms Top 20 Global Training Outsourcing Service Provider (OSP) Companies, has trained over 5 million students – globally, who are presently pursuing high flying careers in the field of Information Technology.


About Aptech Computer Education:
Aptech Computer Education, the 23-year-old flagship brand of the Global Learning Solutions major, Aptech Limited, has built a reputation for quality computer education addressing the needs of discerning students worldwide.

Aptech Computer Education offers various career-oriented programs. Aptech focuses on providing the latest & structured courses for students enabling them to attain the leadership position. It is the preferred choice of individuals & corporates across the globe, as it provides the cutting edge through its instructionally well-designed, high quality, result oriented, well-researched training programs


About Arena Animation
Arena Animation is a Pioneer, Trendsetter and Global Leader in Animation education. Arena has an extensive network of centres & has trained over 2,50,000 students globally since its inception in 1996.

Arena offers industry relevant courses on Animation, Gaming, VFx & Multimedia to students aspiring for global careers in this New Age industry. It trains students as well as professionals in the latest industry relevant courses backed by alliances with world leaders, a world-class faculty and the latest technical educational tools.


About Avalon Academy
Avalon Academy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aptech Ltd., provides high quality training to aspirants in the aviation, hospitality & Travel & Tourism industry. The institute currently offers a plethora of professional courses that focus on hard core aviation and related skills required in this sector.


About N-Power
Aptechs N-Power delivers various career and short-term programs in Hardware & Networking.N-Power is a premium brand of Aptech that offers courses in Hardware & Networking created by top global leaders like Microsoft & Cisco. N-Power has an alliance with CompTIA, which is the leading industry association representing the international technology community.

Nagarjuna Construction allots 27732900 Equity Shares to the QIBs(Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd has approved the allotment of 2,77,32,900 equity shares of Rs 2/- each at a premium of Rs 130.46 and aggregating to Rs 367.35 Crores to the Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) . With the above allotment the Paid-up Capital of the Company has gone upto Rs 51,31,67,620/- divided into 25,65,83,810 Equity Shares of Rs 2/- each.

250 Indage Vintners employees resign (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Approx aroiund 250 employees, including middle- and senior-level managers, of troubled wine maker Indage Vintners Ltd have resigned over the past two weeks after the company failed to pay them salaries since at least November 2008.

Indage, which had 450 employees on its rolls and 150 on contract in its Indian and overseas operations, has been under fire from unpaid employees for a couple of months.

However, the state labour ministry had last week asked the firm to clear the arrears in two tranches, of 40% by 31 August and the rest by October. Following this, a majority of the employees who have resigned have been issued post-dated cheques.

The immediate liability to the firm on account of the cheques for paying off the first part of salary arrears is likely to be between Rs8 crore and Rs10 crore.

Nagarjuna to sell shares at Rs132.46 each (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Nagarjuna Construction Co. Ltd is seeking to sell shares to institutional investors for at least Rs132.46 apiece, according to a share sale document posted on the National Stock Exchange’s website.

The sale is being managed by IDFC-SSKI Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. Ltd and RBS Equities (India) Ltd.

Prime Focus restructures; appoints Malik as CEO, Films

Prime Focus has restructured its businesses into three verticals and has appointed a CEO for each.

The three verticals are Films, advertising and broadcast and visual effects. Prime Focus has appointed ex-Pixion CEO Naresh Malik as CEO of its films division. As was reported first by Businessofcinema.com earlier this month, Malik put in his papers at Pixion after a three year stint with the company. In his new role, Malik will run the DI and Film EQR businesses of Prime Focus.

On the other hand, the advertising and broadcast vertical will be spearheaded by Ramki Sankaranarayanan and visual effects vertical will be headed by Bharath Sundar as CEO.

All three CEOs will report to Prime Focus founder and managing director Namit Malhotra.

Lupin builds up R&D capabilities for sustained growth

Lupin Ltd, India's fifth largest pharma company with consolidated net sales of Rs 3,775 crore, is marching ahead strongly by implementing strategic moves, including acquisitions, in the highly regulated and emerging markets. The market price of Lupin scrip crossed Rs 1000 mark on the Bombay Stock Exchange last week and reached at its yearly peak at Rs 1055 on August 26 as against its 52-weeks low of Rs 518 in November 2008.

The scrip moved up steadily during past several weeks on account of strong financial performance, R&D efforts, focus on biotechnology, strategic partnerships and aggressive entry into new geographies. The promoters are holding 50.44 per cent equity stake, foreign financial institutions 12.15 per cent, Mutual funds 15.66 per cent and Insurance companies 9.12 per cent. General public is holding 9.47 per cent of equity capital as at the end of June 2009.

Lupin acquired companies in Germany, Australia, South Africa and Philippines during 2008-09 and now looking for more in certain markets to achieve organic growth in the coming years. The company established brand image in highly regulated markets like US, Europe and Japan with the help of its R&D capabilities.

The company posted impressive performance during the first quarter ended June 2009 and its net profit moved up by 25.1 per cent to Rs 140.11 crore from Rs 112.04 crore in the corresponding period of last year. The consolidated net sales also increased by 25.9 per cent to Rs 1,086 crore from Rs 862 crore. With better profit level, its earnings per share worked out to Rs 16.91 as against Rs 13.65. The company management rewarded its shareholders with higher dividend of 125 per cent as against 100 per cent in 2007-08.

Formulation sales in advanced market went up by 41 per cent to Rs 486 crore during the first quarter ended June 2009 from Rs 345 crore in the similar period of last year. Sales from these markets contributed 45 per cent of the net sales. Its Japanese subsidiary, Kyowa contributed 12 per cent of the overall revenues with sales jumps by 42 per cent to Rs 131 crore from Rs 92 crore in the last period. Lupin's formulation sales in India contributed 32 per cent to its sales and Indian sales increased by 22 per cent to Rs 344 crore.

While commenting on first quarter performance, Dr Kamal Sharma, managing director, said, "On the back of our strong performance over the last 13 quarters built on innovative market strategies, consistent focus on targeting niche therapy segments and developing difficult-to-make products, Lupin today, has the unique distinction of being the fastest growing company amongst the top 10 players in the generics markets of US, Japan, India and South Africa."

Lupin notched up consolidated net profit growth of 22.9 per cent during the year ended March 2009 to Rs 507.74 crore from Rs 408.25 crore in the previous year. It's consolidated net sales jumped by 39.5 per cent to Rs 3,776 crore from Rs 2,706 crore. The EBDIT moved up by 15.9 per cent to Rs 743.89 crore from Rs 642.30 crore. With sales increasing faster, its net profit as per cent of net sales worked out to 13.3 per cent as against 15.1 per cent in the last year. Similarly return on capital employed remained at 12.1 per cent for 2008-09 and 2007-08.

The company has build up strong reserve position during 2008-09. As against the equity capital of Rs 82.82 crore its reserves stood at Rs 1,342 crore. The investments in new assets during last couple of years pushed its borrowings to Rs 1,223 crore from Rs 1,203 crore. The debt equity ratio worked out to 0.86 for the year 2008-09 as against 0.94 in the preceding year. The gross fixed assets went up by 22.5 per cent to Rs 1,820 crore from Rs 1,486 crore. The company made additional investment of Rs 221 crore in assets and its capital-work-in-progress as at the end of March 2009 reached at Rs 223.97 crore. As at the end of 2008-09, Lupin has 13 subsidiaries and two associated companies.

S Ramesh, president - Finance & Planning pointed out, "Over the last five years, Lupin has registered a robust growth and outperformed its peers and markets the world over clocking a CAGR of over 30 per cent in revenues and 53 per cent in profits - beating both investor and analyst expectations. Within a short span of time, Lupin has scaled up its operations and consolidated its presence across segments as well as geographies."

Lupin is investing huge amounts in R&D to tap future opportunities in highly regulated markets with the help of over 550 scientists. Its R&D expenditure during the year 2008-09 reached at Rs 267 crore from Rs 204 crore in the previous year. This worked out to 7.1 per cent of its consolidated net sales. It developed sound capabilities across the spectrum of its research initiatives. The company filed 28 ANDAs and 11 US DMFs during 2008-09. The cumulative number of ANDA filings reached at 90, with 34 approvals grated by the US FDA. It entered into the niche area of oral contraceptives (OC) and it filed 7 OC ANDAs.

Its R&D activities now focus on Advanced Drug Delivery Systems (ADDS) as future growth driver and invested towards strengthening its ADDS capabilities. Lupin is planning to license its ADDS products to innovator companies. The company has set up facilities in Pune for its Bio-Availability and Bio-Equivalence clinical studies. This R&D centre commenced operations fully during January 2009.

The company has set up Biotech facility also and it has seven proteins in different stages of development at the end of 2008-09. Now it is exploring collaborative opportunities in the field of New Biological Formulations and New Biological Entities.

During 2008-09, Lupin acquired Hormosan Pharma GmbH in Germany, Generic Healthy Pty Ltd in Australia, Pharma Dynamics in South Africa and Multicare Pharmaceuticals Inc in Philippines. The company integrated these acquisitions to reduce the cost. Hormosan won the first tender in the German market for supplying Setraline in all 5 regions of Germany covering all Allglemeine Ortskrankenkassen (AOK) insured persons. Its acquisition of Kyowa during 2007-08 in Japan is also achieved impressive performance. These acquisitions will play important roll in the coming year.

"Our growth will be driven by increased generics adoption in the largest pharma markets of the world, namely the US, EU and Japan, as also other emerging markets. All of these combined will help us maintain our current status as the Indian generics player with the highest per-product-revenue and margins in most markets globally, propelled by our strong research capabilities and backed up by a strong backward integrated business model and superior manufacturing prowess that gives us unbeatable cost-leadership over all our peers," S Ramesh added

Karur Vysya Bank to raise upto Rs 300 crore (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Private-sector lender Karur Vysya Bank has decided to raise up to Rs 300 crore through issuing of bonds.

The board of directors have already approved to raise Rs 150 crore by issue of unsecured redeemable non-convertible subordinated (Tier II) bonds (Series I), with an option to raise Rs 150 crore additional amount if the issue is oversubscribed. S

hares of Karur Vysya Bank closed on Friday at Rs 300. The counter has given over 50% of return in past sixth months to its investors.

JB Chemicals receives USFDA nod for Cetirizine tablets

JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (JBCPL) has announced that it has received US food and drug administration (USFDA) approval to the company`s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Cetirizine 5 mg. and 10 mg. tablets.

Cetirizine tablets are now sold over the counter (OTC) in USA. It has sales of about USD 1.4 billion in USA prior to it became OTC product. The company would manufacture these formulations at its state of art manufacturing facility at Panoli (Gujrat), which has already been classified as acceptable and GMP compliant by USFDA.

The company is in the process of negations with its marketing partners in USA for the launch of these products in USA. The approval has potential to further strengthen the company`s Rest of the World (RoW) business that has shown good growth in the last several years.

Provogue to enter Real Estate ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Provogue is planning to enter in residential development. 20-40% land from Prozone will be converted and used for residential project. Liberty International, which is Provogue's partner in Mall Destinations, will continue to remain partner even in the housing projects.

Aptech filed a petition with the US Securities & Exchange for an IPO for its subsidiary in China

Shares of Aptech Ltd, a global learning solutions company, gained 16.11% on the National Stock Exchange on Tuesday on reports that the firm had filed a petition with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering for its subsidiary in China.

Lupin net rises 25% ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Drugmaker Lupin recorded a 25% growth in its net profit at Rs 140.1 crore during the first quarter ended June 30, 2009, against Rs 112 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, on the back of robust sales across its geographies.

The Mumbai-based company’s net sales also grew by 26% to Rs 1,085.6 crore during the quarter from Rs 862.3 crore in the year-ago period. Company has seen growth in all markets. While India grew phenomenally, growth was also good in the US and Japan. Innovative market strategies, focus on niche therapy segments and developing difficult-to-make products helped it post strong performance over the past 13 quarters.

Lupin has increased its R&D spend to Rs 68.5 crore, or 6.3%, of net sales. Correspondingly, the company’s tax liability fell to 20% this quarter (Rs 36.4 crore), against 22% in the year-ago period.

The company, which acquired a number of companies in FY09, continues to maintain its growth momentum in the US and Europe, with these markets contributing a third of its total revenues. Formulation sales for the US and Europe grew by 40% to Rs 355.1 crore from Rs 253 crore in the year-ago period, and contributed 45% of net sales for the quarter. Lupin’s Japanese subsidiary Kyowa contributed 12% of its overall revenues with a growth of 42% to Rs 130.7 crore during the quarter.

Lupin has received final approvals for two of its abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while it continues to work with the USFDA with respect to the warning letter issued by the US authority for its Mandideep plant.

Punj Lloyd gabs oreder worth Rs 167 crore from GAIL(Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

The company has bagged order worth Rs 167 crore from GAIL, reports CNBC-TV18.

Aptech to launch 'English Express'

IT training and education major Aptech Ltd is all set to launch a new brand, proposed to be called English Express, to meet the needs of English language training in the country.

Aptech Ltd has already acquired four centres of Bangalore based First English Education Institutes Limited (FEEIL). Rebranding of is currently underway. In the next twelve, Aptech plans to open about 30 English Express centres across the country.

The company curently has diversified across various subsidiaries involved in businesses such as Aviation Training (Avalon), IT (Aptech Computer Education) and hardware training (N-Power). Besides, the company is also present in assessment solutions (ATTEST), content development (Aptech Learning) and animation education (Arena). Arena is currently the largest in animation education in the country.

The company will expand the centres overseas after reaching a particular scale in India. Currently, the company has operations across 35 countries such as China, Brazil, Russia, Vietnam and many African countries.

Indage promoters pledge 97% of their shares (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

The promoters of Indage Vintners Ltd have pledged at least 97.9% of their 25.42% stake in the company, an August analyst report of Bank of America Merrill Lynch said. The pledging of almost all the shares of the Chougule family marks a dramatic decline for the firm, which is short of working capital and has mounting debt due to overseas acquisitions.

A slowdown in the domestic market, where wine sales declined in the past few months, has also contributed to the tight financial position in the company.

Indage’s slide is also illustrative of a growth strategy gone wrong. Indage, formerly known as Champagne Indage Ltd, acquired three wineries in Europe in less than a year between 2007 and 2008 for approximately Rs500 crore.

“These overseas buys had resulted in a huge financial trouble for the company as these acquisitions did not deliver the expected revenue and also due to some previous liabilities of these entities that was to be paid off by the company,” said an executive who is leaving the firm.

In India, the company has vineyards on around 2,500 ha and wineries in Nashik, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh with 20 varieties under commercial plantation and at least 137 varieties under nursery cultivation. It has at least 10 offices and around 700 employees globally.

Provogue India to buy back shares worth Rs 50 cr(Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Garments maker Provogue India today said it will buy back shares worth Rs 50 crore from its shareholders through open market route at Rs 100 a piece..

The buy-back is subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

Shares of Provogue India were trading at Rs 66.50 on the BSE, up 1.99 per cent from previous close.

Buy NCC, target of Rs 174: Motilal Oswal ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Motilal Oswal has recommended a buy rating on Nagarjuna Construction Company ( Part of rakesh Jhunjhunwala Holding) with price target of Rs 174 in its report dated August 4, 2009.

They have revised the earnings downward by 3% for FY10 and expect NCC to report net profit of Rs 1.9 billion in FY10 (+26%YoY) and Rs 2.4 billion (+24.8%YoY) in FY11. At CMP, the stock quotes at reported PER of 17.5x FY10 earnings of Rs 8.5 and 14.2x FY11E earnings of Rs 10.5.

As per Jun 09 shareholding pattern of Nagarjuna Construction Company, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his wife hold 6.51% (1,49,00,000) shares.

Company Update: Punj Lloyd (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Punj Lloyd (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio) has completed its QIP placement with the issuance of 2.8 crore equity shares at Rs240.2/share (a premium of Rs238.2/share), raising funds to the tune of Rs670 crore.

The overall equity dilution post this QIP placement would be around 9.2% and the company’s total equity share capital would be Rs66.3 crore.

QIP proceeds will be used to strengthen its financial position, along with the option to use the funds for the likely acquisition of capital assets and equipment, augmenting working capital, investing in new initiatives, collaborations and joint ventures, among others.

Estimated revised EPS, after equity dilution, stands at Rs11.7 and Rs20.5 for FY2010E and FY2011E, respectively.

As per Jun 09 shareholding of Punj Lloyd, Rakesh jhunjhunwala continues to hold 1.66% (50,40,000 shares)

MiD DAY Pune readership crosses One lac mark (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

MiD DAY, a pro-innovation organisation, through this unique approach has managed to secure a readership of over 1,00,000 in Pune .

MiD DAY adopted its focussed; micro-distribution strategy to engage Young Urban Mobile Professionals whereby it distributed the newspaper only in key 7 upscale and commercial areas that has the paper’s desired core Sec A & B audiences.

MiD DAY, today, is the urban India’s favourite afternoon pick-me-up newspaper. A growing, loyal readership combined with a clear marketing and distribution strategy, has resulted in creating a profitable niche for the newspaper in the Pune market. It certainly has helped the brand to deliver the desired audience to advertiser base and clearly marks the success story in this region

MiD DAY, today, is the urban India’s favourite afternoon pick-me-up newspaper. A growing, loyal readership combined with a clear marketing and distribution strategy, has resulted in creating a profitable niche for the newspaper in the Pune market. It certainly has helped the brand to deliver the desired audience to advertiser base and clearly marks the success story in this region

As per Jun 09 shareholding pattern, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala continues to hold 4.26%(2,250,000 shares) in Mid - Day Multimedia.

Punj Lloyd Net Profit up 14% ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala portfolio)

Engineering, procurement and construction Co. Punj Lloyd (Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Holdings) announced that its consolidated net profit increased by approx 14 per cent to Rs. 127.16 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009 as compared to Rs. 111.85 crore in the the same period last year.

Total income rose to Rs. 2,979 crore from Rs. 2,658.16 crore.

The company has the order book of approx Rs 30,000 crores.

As per Jun 09 shareholding pattern, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala continues to hold (1.66%) 50,40,000 shares of Punj lloyd.

Angel Broking puts a target of Rs 299 for Punj lloyd ( Part of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio)

Read a report by angel broking on Punj lloyd at http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/27091242/Angel-Broking-puts-BUY-on-Punj.html

As per Jun 09 shareholding pattern, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala continues to hold (1.66%) 50,40,000 shares of Punj lloyd.