Q3 Corporate Scorecard - Tata Metaliks, Bharat Forge

Tata Metaliks Q3 PAT jumps 132%

For Q3 ended December 31, 2004, Tata Metaliks has reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 19.57 crore, up 132 per cent compared with a net profit of Rs 8.43 crore in Q3 December 2003.

Net sales have risen 86.5 per cent to Rs 74.24 crore (Rs 39.80 crore). Operating profit margin (OPM) has risen sharply to 41.2 per cent from 29.52 per cent. The results are strong even on a sequential basis.

PAT has risen 12.7 per cent from Rs 17.35 crore in Q2 September 2004. OPM, too, has risen on a sequential basis from 35.81 per cent in Q2 September 2004. Firm prices of pig iron have led to the robust financial performance of the pig iron major.

Tata Metaliks' Rs 50-crore programme for expanding its pig iron capacity at the Kharagpur facility, from 1.6 lakh tonne to 3 lakh tonne, is expected to be commissioned shortly.

The expansion would further boost the company's performance in the coming years. Tata Metaliks had applied for prospective licences for iron ore mines.

The company had also applied to the government of India for the coking coal block.

The move to tie up raw material needs stemmed from rising input prices. Meanwhile, Tata Metaliks is also looking at mergers and acquisitions as part of its growth strategy.

Swaraj Mazda net up at Rs 5.80 cr

The commercial vehicle maker reported a net profit of Rs 5.80 crore for Q3 ended December 2004, marginally higher than the net profit of Rs 5.40 crore in Q3 ended December 2003.

Net operating revenue rose 20 per cent to Rs 138.30 crore (Rs 115.30 crore). On a sequential basis, the net profit declined 10.7 per cent from Rs 6.50 crore in Q2 ended September 2004. Sales were flat on a sequential basis.

Meanwhile, Punjab Tractors (PTL) has decided to sell its 15 per cent stake in Swaraj Mazda to its joint venture partner Sumitomo Corporation of Japan. PTL currently has a 29 per cent stake in Swaraj.

Sumitomo has 10.4 per cent and Mazda Motor has 15.6 per cent stake in Swaraj Mazda. Actis got an entry into Swaraj Mazda through its acquisition of the Punjab government's 24 per cent stake in Punjab Tractors last year.

It later raised its stake in Swaraj by acquiring additional shares from open market which triggered mandatory open offer.

Aurobindo Q3 net dips 70%

Aurobindo Pharma has reported a 70 per cent dip in its net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2004. Net profit for the third quarter plummeted to Rs 10.59 crore compared with Rs 35.62 crore for the same period last year.

Total income for the quarter was marginally lower at Rs 323.34 crore as compared to Rs 325.39 crore for the corresponding period last year. On a sequential basis, the total income for the third quarter was higher by 19 per cent and the net profit was up by a whopping 313.68 per cent.

During the quarter, higher interest costs of Rs 10.42 crore (Rs 7.81 crore) and depreciation at Rs 12.58 crore (Rs 9.09 crore) were absorbed.

These higher expenses were on account of investments in research and development and production infrastructure for regulatory markets. The company has also written off R&D expenditure of Rs 10.37 crore (Rs 8.14 crore) during the quarter.

The company has also accelerated the DMF/ANDA filings programme and the third quarter witnessed 11 DMFs filings (cumulative 64) and five ANDA/formulation dossier filings (cumulative 15) in the US and European Union. In the US, the company has filed seven DMFs (cumulative 22) and five ANDAs (cumulative 11) in Q3.

During the quarter, another major milestone has been crossed in its foray into the regulated markets with the successful inspection of the audit of the manufacturing facility by the USFDA. The company has also received USFDA approval for its ANDA for metformin.

Metformin is indicated for the treatment of diabetes. This is the third product approval that the company has received from the USFDA for marketing in the US. The product is one among the top ten products in terms of volumes in the US.

Bharat Forge net up 25.50% at Rs 41.43 cr

Bharat Forge has posted a 25.50 per cent growth in net profit in the quarter ended December 31, 2004, compared with the corresponding previous period. Total income (net of excise) grew by 46.33 per cent during the period.

The Kalyani group-controlled forgings maker's net profit went up to Rs 41.43 crore in the quarter ended December 2004 against the corresponding previous period's Rs 33.01 crore.

Total income, excluding excise, stood at Rs 311.25 crore at the end of the third quarter of the current year (Rs 212.69 crore). The country's largest exporter of auto components has reported a 76 per cent growth in exports to Rs 149.4 crore in the third quarter of the current year while domestic revenues grew by 27 per cent to Rs 161.5 crore.

Profit before tax increased by 37 per cent to Rs 65.4 crore. The company and its subsidiary have achieved strong consolidated performance during the quarter with revenues, EBIDTA and PBT at Rs 529 crore, Rs 123 Crore and Rs 93 crore, respectively.

Baba N Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, said, "The surge in export revenues during the quarter is a result of the company's strategy to focus more on exports. On a consolidated basis, the extremely healthy numbers reported for the quarter are a testimony to our global business model beginning to show results. With the completion of our capex program, we will be further able to accelerate the rate of growth in the business."

During the quarter, the company acquired CDP Aluminumtechnik (CDP AT) Germany. The acquisition has significantly enhanced its product range and technological capabilities.

AztecQ3 net zooms up to Rs 4.65 cr

Aztec has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 4.65 crore for Q3 ended December 2004 compared with a net profit of Rs 0.20 crore in Q3 ended December 2003.

Bottomline growth has been led by top line growth. Consolidated revenues rose 145.5 per cent to Rs 25.59 crore from Rs 10.42 crore. For the nine-month period April-December 2004, the company has reported a net profit of Rs 11.30 crore compared with a net profit of Rs 1.13 crore in April-December 2003.

Revenues jumped 116 per cent to Rs 62.03 crore from Rs 28.71 crore. Aztec delivers services in five key technology areas of data management/ business intelligence, integration engineering, mobile applications, secure identity management and web services.

Within these technology areas, the company provides services such as software product engineering, application development and integration, migration & porting, testing and quality assurance, maintenance & technical support, and professional services.

In September 2004, Aztec entered into an agreement to acquire Disha Technologies India, an independent software product testing company, in a cash and stock deal worth $12.1 million.

This acquisition will help Aztec offer expertise in a critical component of the software product lifecycle and, more effectively, address the needs of the ISV segment, Aztec had said at the time of the acquisition.

Disha will operate as an independent testing company to meet market needs.