Key benchmark indices could rise today, 20 January 2015, tracking positive Asian stocks. Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 28 points at the opening bell.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Praj Industries, BASF, Excel Cropcare, and Rallis India unveil their October-December 2014 earnings today, 20 January 2015.
Shares of companies engaged in mining of iron ore, manganese, bauxite and copper and shares of companies in the cement, aluminium and steel sectors which are the user industries of these minerals, will be in focus after Minister of Steel and Mines Narendra Singh Tomar yesterday, 19 January 2015, said that simplification and transferability brought in the MMDR Act, 1957 through the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 will attract private investment in the mining sector. Addressing a meeting of mines ministers and secretaries from across the country, Tomar said that the ordinance is a revolutionary step in revival of mining sector in the country, hitherto stagnated due to various reasons. He added that the classification of minerals will lead to their better scientific exploration and with more power to the states mining process will be expedite. Citing the example of falling levels of iron ore production in the country, Tomar urged state governments to revive mining in all earnestness. Mining ministers and secretaries from different states expressed optimism over the amendments, and offered constructive suggestions for its implementation on the ground level, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement. It was agreed that delays in environment and forest clearances had to be resolved by MoEF for providing unhindered support in growth of mining.
Hindustan Zinc's net profit rose 38.11% to Rs 2379.37 crore on 20.42% rise in total income to Rs 4665.29 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013. The result hit the market after market hours on Monday, 19 January 2015.
The increase in revenue in Q3 December 2014, was driven by higher zinc LME and lead & silver metal volumes, partly offset by lower silver price and refined zinc volume. EBITDA rose 14% to Rs 2089 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013 as a result of better revenues and lower cost of production.
The company's cash and cash equivalents increased by 5% from the end of Q2 September 2014 and 20% from Q3 December 2013. As on 31 December 2014, cash and cash equivalents were Rs 28980 crore, out of which Rs 26687 crore was invested in mutual funds and Rs 2,283 crore in bonds. The company follows a conservative investment policy and invests in high quality debt instruments.
Sindesar Khurd mine expansion is proceeding better than planned, although Rampura Agucha underground shaft project is behind schedule. The board has approved deepening of the open cast mine by 50 metres which will extend mine life to FY 2019-20 and ensure a stable transition from open pit to underground at Rampura Agucha. The pre-stripping work will start in the current quarter, Hindustan Zinc said.
Mr. Agnivesh Agarwal, Chairman - We continued to deliver solid performance in the third quarter. Zinc market fundamentals are favourable and we remain committed to increasing production and controlling costs to drive profitability of our operations. Looking ahead, we believe that opportunities lie in our ability to execute against our long-term strategic priorities, which will continue to differentiate Hindustan Zinc and drive shareholder value.
Reliance Capital will be watched. With respect to a news item captioned "Reliance Cap eyes on Goldman India's MF unit", Reliance Capital clarified after market hours on Monday, 19 January 2015, that the company is continuously engaged in evaluating opportunities and as and when any transaction is finalised resulting in a disclosable event, the Stock Exchanges will be promptly informed as required under Clause 36 of the Listing Agreement.
Mindtree's net profit rose 2.5% to Rs 140.80 crore on 2.6% rise in revenues to Rs 911.70 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q2 September 2014. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 19 January 2015. There were 201 active clients of the company as of 31 December 2014. The company added one client to $50 million category in Q3 December 2014. The company has 13,323 employees as of 31 December 2014. It added 1,016 employees during Q3 December 2014 on a gross basis. Trailing 12 months attrition stood at 18.1%, company said.
Mindtree also announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Discoverture Solutions LLC (Discoverture), a leading provider of insurance solutions based in the US. This acquisition is an all cash transaction for $15 million, payable over 18 months and earn outs based on future revenue targets. This Agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and statutory/regulatory approvals. With this acquisition Mindtree gained access to marquee clients and added 300 experts across US, UK, Canada and India.
Discoverture has a strong track-record of deploying solutions based on major P&C insurance platforms, enabling clients to transition to a more modern, agile environment. The addition of Discoverture, combined with Mindtree's existing range of technology services and consulting combine for a full-suite of offerings to transform and run a world-class insurance technology platform.
Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO and MD, Mindtree said, We continue to successfully implement our strategy of establishing deep expertise in our targeted industry sectors. This acquisition accelerates our journey to be amongst the Top 3 service providers in the Global P&C services industry.
Gaurav Johri, Senior Vice President, Banking Financial Services and Insurance, Mindtree, said, P&C insurers must continuously modernize technology and processes to drive business efficiencies and provide an experience that delights their customers. The combination of Mindtree's P&C expertise with Discoverture's capabilities will result in a world-class team which will rank among the leaders in this space.
Steve Addair, President, Discoverture said, We are excited to be part of the Mindtree team and add our technology and expertise to its large and growing insurance practice. As part of Mindtree, we can now engage our proven skills and technology with its full service capabilities to deliver greater value to insurance clients.
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Discoverture has subsidiaries in the UK, Canada and Bhubaneswar, India.The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. BMR Advisors acted as the sole financial advisors for the transaction.
Pharma, cement and telecom stocks led the upmove as key benchmark indices edged higher on the first trading session of the week on Monday, 19 January 2015. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 140.12 points or 0.5% to settle at 28,262.01, its highest closing level since 5 December 2014.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 433.72 crore yesterday, 19 January 2015, as per provisional data.
Asian markets rose after China reported its economy had not slowed as far as many had feared, a rare glint of brightness amid gloom over the global outlook. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by 0.57% to 2.04%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite was off 0.10%.
China's National Bureau of Statistics said the economy grew 7.4% last year and 7.3% in the October-December 2014 quarter. Beijing had targeted 7.5% growth for last year.
The US stock market was closed on Monday, 19 January 2015, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday.
In Europe, the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to undertake monetary policy review on Thursday, 22 January 2015. The ECB may introduce a large-scale bond-buying program on 22 January 2015.
Meanwhile, uncertainties over the status of Greece including its possible exit from the eurozone are likely to persist until the early election in the country on 25 January 2015. Greece is set to hold snap elections on 25 January 2015 after it failed to elect a new president in a third round of voting late last year. The Greek leftist opposition party Syriza leads opinion polls ahead of national elections on 25 January 2015. Syriza has demanded debt relief from the eurozone and promised to roll back the austerity and reform measures that the country has undertaken in exchange for the international bailout that the government negotiated in 2012.
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