Top 10 biz headlines: Jet Airways bidding, Infosys & TCS results, and more

Naresh Goyal bid for Jet Airways to Infosys and TCS results, Business Standard brings you top 10 business stories that made news on Friday

Naresh Goyal submits EoI as crisis-hit Jet Airways stares at closure

Jet Airways, started by Naresh Goyal more than 25 years ago, seems to be on the brink of closure as the lenders’ consortium, led by State Bank of India, has so far failed to infuse the committed interim fund of Rs 1,500 crore to revive the airline.

The crisis, resulting in the suspension of Jet’s international flights at least till Monday, grounding of around 90 per cent of its planes and a protest march by the employees of the airline, is learnt to have prompted the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to call a meeting with officials in the civil aviation ministry Friday evening. Read more...

Infosys Q4 profit rises 10.5% to Rs 4,078 crore, meets Street estimates

Infosys on Friday posted a mixed set of numbers for the March quarter as well as the entire financial year 2018-19 (FY19) but gave a muted estimate on revenue growth for the current year, apart from slashing its operating margin forecast for the second consecutive year. Read more...

TCS net profit up 17.7% to Rs 8,126 crore in Q4, crosses $20-bn revenue

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday reported robust numbers both for the fourth quarter of 2018-19 and the full financial year, with the country’s largest IT services company crossing the $20-billion revenue mark for the first time. Growth in net profit as well as revenue exceeded Street expectations, though margin contracted a bit in the fourth quarter. Read more...

At 0.1%, India's industrial growth falls to 20-month low in February

A contraction in manufacturing output, especially in the sensitive capital and consumer goods segment, pulled down industrial growth to a 20-month low of just 0.1 per cent in February.

The bottom crawling growth rate follows a 1.43 per cent growth in the previous month of January. Read more...

SC orders status quo on funds payout in Essar Steel insolvency case

ArcelorMittal’s entry into India’s steel market could be delayed further after the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the status quo on the distribution of funds among operational and financial creditors from the Luxembourg-based firm’s Rs 42,000-crore resolution plan for Essar Steel India. The apex court also asked the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to expedite hearing in the matter. Read more...

Uber hints at serious cash burn to step up market share in India

American cab-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc has mentioned its India business, the largest after the US market, prominently in its initial public offering (IPO) filing. The draft prospectus for the biggest IPO in the world since Alibaba’s in 2014 has projected a major cash burn for Uber in trying to get a significant market share in India. Apart from Uber’s India business, the filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) refers to local rivals including Ola, Swiggy and Zomato while citing the risk factors. Read more...

CERC okays new tariff plan for Adani Power's Mundra plant in Gujarat

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on Friday approved Adani Power's revised power purchase agreement (PPA) for its Mundra power project (4,620 Mw) with Gujarat. The relief for the power generator comes after seven years of pleading for pass through of increased cost of imported coal.

The CERC approved the new terms of the PPA and tariff structure for Adani Mundra, which was devised based on the recommendations of a High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted by the Gujarat government last year.  Read more...

RBI should not cut its policy interest rate any further, says IMF

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not cut its policy interest rate any further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. It should, instead, keep the powder dry to fight an unexpected financial market turmoil that may hit after June this year if the US and China don’t reach a long-term trade agreement, it warned. Read more...

First weekly decline for indices in 2 months as investors turn cautious

The benchmark indices clocked their first weekly decline in nearly two months, as investors turned cautious ahead of the start of the earnings season and polling for the general elections.

The indices, however, rose on Friday boosted by gains in index heavyweight ITC. The Sensex gained 160 points, or 0.41 per cent, to close at 38,767, while the Nifty gained 47 points, or 0.4 per cent, to end at 11,643. Read more...

A steel slump gives India a whole new area to worry about

Bang in the middle of an election season, here is one more big cause for worry for Modi government. Reports have just revealed that India's finished steel exports slipped markedly — by more than a third — in the 2018-19 fiscal, according to the Economic Times.