Hyderabad: Market research and brokerage firm Religare Hichens Harrison has issued a first cut note on Infosys Technologies Ltd’s Oct-Dec quarter resulrts for the financial year 2009-10. The Religare Hichens Harrison has rated the stock with BUY, with a target price of Rs.3,080 against the current market price of Rs.2,490. Here is the first cut note for you.
 

Exceptional quarter:

Infosys has reported better-than-expected Q3FY10 results. The quarter’s performance was exceptional on both the volumes and cost management front. Though growth was led by BFSI, key verticals like telecom and manufacturing too witnessed a strong revival of 6.7% QoQ each. We maintain our Buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 3,080.

Quarterly results

- Revenues for Q3FY10 in dollar terms stood at US$ 1,232mn, a growth of 6.8% QoQ and 3.9% higher than our estimate of US$ 1,186mn. This is despite Q3 being a seasonally weak quarter.

- Cross-currency movement had a positive impact of 0.9% on revenues.

- Revenue growth for the quarter was supported by strong volume growth of 5.3% QoQ.

- Pricing, even in constant currency terms, has improved as the contribution from fixed priced projects remained stable QoQ at 38.3% of revenues.

- In rupee terms, revenues were Rs 57.4bn, reporting a lower growth of 2.8% QoQ due to rupee appreciation.

- The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 35.5%, an expansion of 100bps QoQ, against our expectation of a 130bps QoQ decline to 33.2%. The strong margin performance is despite salary hikes and increased SG&A investments in the quarter. Margin resilience is largely attributed to the 150bps QoQ improvement in utilisation including trainees.

- Net profits (IFRS) were Rs 15.6bn and grew 1.8% QoQ as against a 12% QoQ decline guided by the management. 

FY10 and Q4FY10 guidance

- As expected, the management has raised its FY10 guidance.

- Revenue guidance in dollar terms has been raised by 3% and is now expected to be US$ 4.75bn–4.76bn, a growth of 1.8–2%.

- EPS under Indian GAAP is now pegged at Rs 106.85–107.06, a YoY growth of 2.2–2.4%. This is an increase of 7% as compared to the earlier guidance of Rs 100.

- For Q4FY10, revenues are guided to be US$ 1,240mn–1,250mn, a QoQ growth of 0.7-1.5% which we believe is conservative considering the strong growth witnessed in Q3FY10.

Other highlights

- BFSI grew the strongest in the quarter with 10.1% QoQ growth. In BFSI, revenue contribution from Insurance increased by 110bps QoQ to 8.5% of revenues.

- The telecom vertical witnessed a revival, growing 6.7% QoQ as compared to the 1.5% QoQ decline witnessed in Q2FY10.

- The US geography grew 7.8% QoQ in reported currency whereas Europe was flat in constant currency terms.

- In services, ADM grew the fastest at 10.6%; however the growth is attributed to increased contribution from application maintenance to 24.5%.

- Application development too, which is discretionary in nature, grew 4.9% QoQ after declining for four consecutive quarters.

- Forex gains in the quarter were limited to Rs 200mn.

- The company added 8,719 and 4,429 employees on gross and net basis respectively.

- Utilisation (excluding trainees) improved 300bps QoQ to 76.2%.

- Attrition inched upped in the quarter to 11.6%.

Business outlook announced by Infosys for 2009-10 full year end March.:
The company’s outlook (consolidated) for the quarter ending March 31, 2010 and for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, under Indian GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is as follows:
Outlook under Indian GAAP – consolidated*
Quarter ending March 31, 2010
• Income is expected to be in the range of Rs. 5,675 crore and Rs. 5,721 crore; YoY growth of 0.7% to 1.5%
• Earnings per share@ is expected to be in the range of Rs. 25.62 and Rs.25.83; YoY decline of 9.0% to 8.3%
Fiscal year ending March 31, 2010
• Income is expected to be in the range of Rs. 22,473 crore and Rs. 22,519 crore; YoY growth of 3.6% to 3.8%
• Earnings per share@@ is expected to be in the range of Rs. 106.85 and Rs. 107.06; YoY growth of 2.2% to 2.4%
* Conversion 1 US$ = Rs.45.75 considered for quarter ending March 31, 2010.
-The Earnings per share is expected to be in the range of Rs.25.42 and Rs.25.63 under IFRS; YoY decline of 10.3% to 9.5%
–The Earnings per share is expected to be in the range of Rs.106.42 and Rs.106.63 under IFRS; YoY growth of 1.5% to 1.7%

Chennai: Withstanding a 33% contraction in demand for medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles, Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland has registered a net profit of Rs 190 crores during 2008-09, keeping intact its profitable track record of 60 years. On a reduced sales volume of 54,431 vehicles (83,307 nos), sales turnover is at Rs 5,981.07 crores (Rs 7,742.58 crores), with other income contributing Rs 49.62 crores (Rs 57.61 crores).

Faced with a steep fall in demand, the Company had curtailed production by resorting to lesser number of working days starting November’08 which has brought down operating costs, contributing to lower “other expenses” at Rs 493.21 crores (Rs 541.20 crores). Employee costs during the year have been contained at Rs 566.18 crores (Rs 616.09 crores). However, financial expenses rose to Rs 118.71 crores (Rs 49.74 crores), reflecting higher borrowings to meet capex commitments, higher working capital requirements and higher interest rates.    Profit from ordinary activities before tax was lower at Rs 208.45 crores (Rs 638.15 crores) with income tax claiming a lower Rs 12.45 crores (Rs 161.84 crores) and fringe benefit tax Rs 6.0 crores (Rs 7.0 crores). Net profit from ordinary activities after tax is Rs 190.00 crores (Rs 469.31crores). 

Analyzing the composition of vehicle demand, said Mr R Seshasayee, Managing Director: “One disturbing trend in the segmental shift is the steeper fall in demand for higher capacity vehicles such as tractor trailers and multi-axle vehicles, at least temporarily retarding the modernization of India’s vehicle composition”.  These are also segments where Ashok Leyland has a stronger presence and the maximum model options. This segmental reversal and the relatively robust demand in the Eastern region impacted the Company’s goods volumes.   The redeeming feature was the bus demand which was down just 9.7%. The Company improved its market share in buses by 0.5% and retained the number one position. Overall, the share of non-cyclical business has gone up to 50% from 34% in 2007-08, with the engines business fetching a revenue of Rs 404 crores (Rs 204 crores). This represents higher volume of genset engines (11,264 nos) and transformation of the business stream from mere trading in engines into ‘the Power Solutions Business’ through greater value addition. 

Mr Seshasayee said that the slowdown forced a quick redrawal of the capex plans. Investment plan for 2009-12 has been scaled down from Rs 3,000 crores to Rs 2,000 crores, yet protecting Product Development outlay.   While the additional 20,000 engine capacity at Ennore is on ground and the Ras Al Khaimah bus plant is operational, the Uttarakhand unit will go on stream with an initial capacity of 50,000 vehicles by end this fiscal. 

The diversification JVs are progressing. The joint venture with John Deere for construction equipment is progressing a pace. As for the light trucks JV with Nissan, with respect to the various products, development activity is on track and on schedule.  Under consideration is optimization of investments by making use of existing facilities of both the partners.  The two partners are also evaluating the possibility of enlarging the product range in the manufacturing plan, including some additional products from Nissan’s global portfolio of Light Commercial Vehicles.  The economic slowdown and the delay in land acquisition together have pushed the project dates back around six months.  Current assumption for start of volume production is 2011.

In partnership with AVL Austria, the Company has developed two versions of the new generation Neptune engines: the 4 cylinder engine in the 160-230 hp range and the 6 cylinder engine in the 270-380 hp range. The Neptune engine will power the modern truck range to be built on the modular UNITRUCK platform, to be launched in April 2010. The Product Development at Ashok Leyland is currently under migration to GENMOD, the transformational matrix management process with breakthrough performance targets for future vehicles.

The Company is extending its lean management initiatives to Marketing. Under its new Working Capital Management initiative, pipeline inventories are being reduced through various measures including warehouse rationalization.

The Company has so far received orders totaling over 2,800 buses, out of the total orders for 5,330 buses released under JNNURM.  Out of over 14,000 buses sanctioned, tenders have been released for over 11,200 buses. 

“For our country, the worst seems over. For the industry, demand for medium and heavy commercial vehicles can swing in single digits in the current year – the upward swing predicated upon a stable, progressive and responsive government at the Centre”, said Mr Seshasayee.

Reliance Communications (RCOM) announces its financial results for the financial year ended March 31, 2009. Key Highlights:
Net Profit up by 9.4% to Rs. 5,908 crore (US$ 1,165 million)
Revenues HIGHER BY 20.3% AT Rs. 22,941 crore (US$ 4,523 MILLION)
EBITDA higher by 13.3% at Rs. 9,288 crore (US$ 1,831 million)
EBITDA margin stable at 40.5%, among the highest in India                                   
Fast track NETWORK EXPANSION ACCELERATED WITH Rs. 19,417 CRORE (US$ 3.8 BILLION) CAPITAL EXPENDITURE DURING THE year, 35% lower capex than original guidance of Rs. 30,000 crore
Only company to have nationwide gsm & cdma services in india
Second largest mobile operator in india with 73 million subscribers

Mumbai, April 30, 2009:Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) today announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the year ended March 31, 2009.

Highlights of the financial performance for the year are:

Net Profit of Rs. 5,908 crore (US$ 1,165 million), higher by 9.4% compared to Net Profit of Rs. 5,401 crore (US$ 1,350 million) in the last year.

EBITDA at Rs. 9,288 crore (US$ 1,831 million), growth of 13.3%. EBITDA margin stable at 40.5%with strong contributions across all businesses – Wireless, Global and Enterprise

Revenue growth of 20.3% at Rs. 22,941 crore (US$ 4,523 million) from Rs. 19,068 crore (US$ 4,765 million).

Commenting on the results, Mr Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications Limited, said:

“Reliance Communications have completed the World’s largest network roll-out in FY2009 ahead of schedule and at a very competitive cost which is approx 35% lower than original guidance. We are confident of improved performance in the coming years.”

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

RCOM launched its GSM services all over India
RCOM announced the world’s largest customer experience program and launched GSM services in 11,000 towns all over India. RCOM has launched its GSM services in just 11 months from the receipt of start-up GSM spectrum in January 2008. RCOM added over 11.3 mn wireless subscribers during the quarter, an increase of 110% compared to the previous quarter and also increased its town coverage from 11,000 to 20,000 in just 3 months. RCOM GSM is the state of the art next generation network with digital voice clarity and India’s first nationwide enhanced EDGE network for fast internet access. RCOM GSM will also offer widest R-World mobile content offering entertainment, music, news, cricket, bollywood, maps and search and one-click set-up and access to email and social networking offering communication convenience of a PC.

RCOM announced India’s fastest internet service “Netconnect Broadband Plus”
RCOM recently rolled-out its fastest internet service “Broadband Plus” with the downlink speed of upto 3.1 Mbps which is 30% faster than any other wireless broadband offering. This makes Netconnect Broadband Plus best suited for video streaming, video surveillance, rich media content & superior Internet browsing. Netconnect Broadband Plus service will be available in 35 major cities with seamless handover to high speed 1x service covering 20,000 towns and 4.5 lakh villages as well as all major road and rail routes across the country covering 99% of India’s Internet population.

Acquisition of Global Managed Network Services provider VANCO Group
Reliance Globalcom, subsidiary of RCOM, signed an agreement to acquire Global Managed Network Services provider VANCO Group who have strong presence in developed markets with the annual revenue of US$ 365 mn (Rs. 1,550 cr) through secure long-term contracts with large enterprise customers. VANCO have over 220 MNC customers which includes AVIS, British Airways, Siemens and Virgin Megastores. VANCO’s services are available in over 40,000 locations across 163 countries. 90% of VANCO’s revenue is from developed markets like UK, US, France and Germany.  FLAG’s reach & capacity along with VANCO’s long-term relationships & expertise would be a perfect combination to offer high margin value-added services to enterprise customers.

Reliance launched BIG TV, added 1.4 million DTH subscribers
RCOM launched its DTH services “BIG TV” in August 2008. Within 90 days of launch, BIG TV acquired over 1 million subscribers. This is the fastest ramp up ever achieved by any DTH operator in the world. BIG TV would be tapping into the existing customer base of Reliance ADA Group companies to rapidly gain market share. The subscribers can enjoy over 200 channels, 32 on-demand channels, which is highest in the industry. The product is available in 1 lakh retail outlets across 6,500 towns.

RCOM repurchased its FCCBs at a discount
RCOM has repurchased its zero coupon Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) with face value of US$ 64.7 million (approx Rs. 320 crore) in different tranches at a discount to their face value.

Total Income up 14.28%; Premium compacts and sedan segment drive topline growth
Hyderabad, April 24, 2009: India’s number one carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited today announced its financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2009 and for the full year 2008-09.
 Fiscal 2008-09 
The company’s Total Income (Net of Excise) (Income from Operations plus Other Income) for the financial year 2008-09 climbed to Rs 21,453.8 crore. This is the highest Total Income (Net of Excise) ever in the company’s history, and marks a growth of 14.28 per cent over 2007-08. The growth in Total Income (Net of Excise) included higher realisations, largely contributed by the company’s popular hatch-back Swift and premium sedan Swift Dzire (Diesel and Petrol variants).
Net Profit during the year stood at Rs 1,218.7 crore, down 29.6 per cent over 2007-08. 
The company’s EBDITA for the year stood at Rs 2,433.4 crore, a fall of about 22 per cent over the previous year.
During the year, commodity prices went up sharply and remained high for most part of the year. Forex fluctuations were also adverse and impacted the bottomline significantly.
In recent months, commodity prices have eased.
With regard to foreign currency exposure, the company’s exports in 2009-10 are expected to be higher and cover its imports.
Dividend
The Board of Directors recommended a dividend of 70 per cent for 2008-09. (Fiscal 2007-08: 100 per cent).
Quarter 4
The company registered Total Income (Net of Excise) (Income from Operations plus Other Income) of Rs 6,538.3 Crore during January-March 2009, a growth of 30.26 per cent compared to January-March 2008.
Net profit during January-March 2009 was Rs 243.1 crore vis-à-vis Rs 297.7 crore during January-March 2008.
While there was a 17 per cent growth in unit sales during the quarter, the adverse foreign exchange movements during the year, impacted the bottomline in Q4 as well.
Highlights of 2008-09
In the fiscal 2008-09 Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 792,167 vehicles. The annual sales in 2008-09 is the highest ever by the company in its 25 year history. The previous highest annual sales were 764,842 units in 2007-08.
During the fiscal, Maruti Suzuki Swift crossed the 3 lakh-sales mark cumulative domestic sales since launch and became the quickest vehicle model to do so. During the fiscal, Maruti Suzuki’s Alto continued to be the preferred vehicle for the great Indian middle class crossing the 1 million-mark in cumulative sales in domestic market.
The company’s sales included exports of 70,023 units in 2008-09, up by 32.1 per cent over sales of 53,024 recorded in 2007-08. The 2008-09 export numbers, the highest ever by the company, was led by A star, the fuel efficient compact car launched in Europe during the year as Suzuki Alto. The export tally includes around 19,000 units of A-star exported to Europe including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland.
Fiscal 2008-09 marked Maruti Suzuki’s Silver Jubilee year in India. Over these 25 years the company has sold over 7 million (70 lakh) cars in the domestic market. Additionally, over half a million cars made by Maruti Suzuki have been exported world-over.
During the year, the company continued its focus on long term initiatives, despite the challenging market situation. These include:
Focus on R&D: Manpower strength to 730 engineers from 460 in end March 2008. Company plans 1,000 engineers in R&D by 2010
          New technology engine: Brand new facility for K-series engine launched on schedule
·          Launching new models: A star launched. Introduced Maruti 800 Duo – an alternate fuel option that runs on LPG and petrol
·          Annual capacity to manufacture expanded from 800,000 to one million units (Gurgaon plus Manesar plants)
·          Reached out to new segments of customers – government employees and rural customers – through innovative programmes
·          Export of A star (as Suzuki Alto) to Europe commenced as per schedule
·          Dedicated export port facilities for cars at Mundra completed, used for A-star shipment.
·          Network expansion:
o       Sales: From 600 sales outlets (in 393 cities) last year to 681 outlets  (in 454 cities)
o       Service: From 2,628 service outlets (1220 cities) last year to 2,767 (in 1314 cities);
o       TrueValue: From 265 outlets (in 166 cities) last year to 315 outlets (181 cities)
·          Increased Pre-owned car sales from 1.01 lakh units in 2007-08 to 1.23 lakh units in 2008-09
·          National Road Safety Mission launched – a nation-wide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to train 500,000 people in safe driving in three years. The network of Maruti Driving Schools further expanded and crossed 50 schools.
Accolades
During the year, the company, its products and services received many awards and accolades instituted by independent expert groups, media houses and research agencies.
These include:
A star as the “Car of the year”
A star as the “Best small car of the year”
K10B Engine as the “Automotive technology of the year” 
Maruti Suzuki as the “Manufacturer of the year”   
The company was rated No. 1 for a record 9th consecutive year in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Index Study.

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) today reported its financial performance for the year ended 31st
March, 2009. Highlights of the un-audited financial results as compared to the previous year are:
• Turnover increased by 8.3% to Rs. 150,771 crore (US$ 29.7 billion)
• Exports increased by 12.6% to Rs. 94,038 crore (US$ 18.5 billion)
• PBDIT increased by 5.1% to Rs. 25,428 crore (US$ 5.0 billion)
• Cash Profit before exceptional items increased by 2.7% to Rs. 21,566 crore (US$ 4.3 billion)
• Net Profit before exceptional items increased by 2.3% to Rs. 15,607 crore (US$ 3.1 billion)
• Gross Refining Margin at US$ 12.2 / bbl for the fiscal year 2008-09
• Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) was 20.7% for the fiscal year 2008-09
• Return on Equity (ROE) was 21.0% for the fiscal year 2008-09
• Net Debt to Equity is 0.24 as on 31st March 2009

Click here for full details…ril-fy09-media-release

Mumbai, April 23, 2009: Reliance Power Limited, a group company of the Reliance ADA Group, today announced its audited financial results for the financial year ended 31st March, 2009. The key financial results for the year are:
• Largest Project Finance debt raised in India for 3960 MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project.

• Won 4000 MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project along with a captive coal mine at a levelised tariff of Rs 1.77 per kwh.

• Access to captive coal mines having reserves of 2 billion tones – Largest in private sector in India.
• Net Worth of Rs 13,779 crore (US$ 2,717 million)

• Total Income of Rs 360.38 crore (US$ 71 million)

• Cash & Liquid Balances of Rs 10,334 crore (US$ 2,037 million)

Updates on the power projects being developed by Reliance Power – Milestones achieved include:

• Financing tied up for the Rs 19,400 crore Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project.

• Largest project finance debt to be raised in India.

• Favourable Debt:Equity of 75:25 against industry norm of 70:30.

• First integrated coal mining cum power project to be project financed in India.

• During the year the company won 4000 MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project along with a captive coal mine at a levelised tariff of Rs 1.77 per kwh.

• The company has now won 3 of the 4 Ultra Mega Power Projects and has access to captive coal mines having reserves of 2 billion tones.

• The implementation of the 2 x 300 MW Rosa Thermal Power Plant is ahead of schedule and the first unit of the plant achieved an important milestone of Boiler Hydro Test in a record time of 6 months from Boiler Drum lifting.

• During the year the company placed EPC contracts for Sasan (3,960 MW), Rosa Phase II (600 MW), Butibori (300 MW). Construction work has commenced on all these sites and is progressing.

• During the year the Mining Plans for all the coal blocks for Sasan Power Project were prepared and approved. Government of India also granted the environment clearance for the Moher and Moher-Amlori Extension Coal block.

• The Delhi High Court dismissed Tata Power’s petition against Government of India’s decision allowing usage of incremental coal from Captive mines allotted to Sasan Project at the admission stage itself on all grounds viz.

• There has been suppression of material facts.

• Tata Power does not have any locus standi to maintain the writ petition

• There was a delay in approaching court during which significant developments have taken place

• Petition is devoid of any public interest element.

• Hydroelectric projects:

• Infrastructure development activities commenced for 1000 MW Siyom and 700 MW Tato II.

• Defence Clearance has been obtained for Siyom Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

Axis Bank has reported a better than expected net profit of Rs.5.81 bn  in Q4FY09, a growth of 60.9% on a YoY basis and 16.1% on a QoQ basis.For the FY09, the net profit stands at Rs.18.15 bn, a growth of 69.5% on YoY. The profit during the quarter was driven by the strong growth in other income, predominantly trading income. Trading income for the quarter stands at Rs.166.16mn compared to Rs.44.64mn last year, a growth of 272%.
Axis Bank has restructured loans worth Rs.6.6 bn during the quarter, taking the total restructured loans to Rs.16.25bn in FY09, representing 1.74% of the gross customer assets. CASA deposits constitute 43% of the total deposits, reflecting an improvement from the Q3FY09 level. The bank has significantly reduced its non?funded exposure to the Gems & Jewellery segment.

The stock is currently trading at 1.5x P/BV for FY10E book value of Rs.325. We maintain “BUY” on the stock with a target price of Rs.567 discounting the FY10E book value by 1.7x.