Reliance Industries Net Debt may Cross Rs 1 Lakh Crore

The net debt of Reliance Industries , India's largest oil refiner, is expected to rise to Rs 1 lakh crore before the launch of its digital services business, Reliance Jio Infocomm, in December (net debt is outstanding debt less cash & cash equivalents). The company has spent about Rs 75,000 crore so far to build Jio's infrastructure and digital applications. It has borrowed Rs 30,000 crore and contributed another Rs 30,000 crore as equity so far. Before that, RIL spent Rs 15,000 crore to buy the spectrum, said company officials.

The company is looking to draw in another Rs 25,000-30,000 crore before the roll-out. The overall capital expenditure for the first quarter of this financial year was Rs 32,651 crore. The company was debt-free on a net basis until 2012 because of its higher cash flow from refining. The petrochemical and refinery expansions, and digital services business of Jio have consumed most of the debts that RIL has raised.

Jio's beta testing has begun at the company headquarters in Mumbai, Reliance Corporate Park (RCP). The company is constructing 30,000 towers and a 250,000-km long optical fibre network across India. About 80 per cent of the country will be digitally connected during the time of launch, said officials.

For the petroleum and refining business expansion, RIL has spent about $12 billion and is looking to invest $5 billion. The additional capacities will come completely on stream by 2016/17.

The company has an outstanding (consolidated) debt of Rs 1,70,814 crore at the end of the first quarter, compared to Rs 1,60,860 crore as on March 31, 2015. Cash and cash equivalents as on 30 June 2015 were at Rs 87,391 crore. About 15 per cent of the reserves have been deposited in banks, while the rest are in mutual funds, corporate deposits and government bonds and other marketable securities. The interest cost was at Rs 902 crore in the first quarter as against Rs 505 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Interest cost was higher mainly on account of the rupee depreciation during the quarter.

RIL's turnover fell by 23 per cent to Rs 83,064 crore because of the 43.5 per cent year-on-year decline in benchmark (Brent) oil price. Lower product prices affected the export value, which fell by 44.9 per cent to Rs 36,717 crore. Cost of raw materials declined by 39.1 per cent to Rs 50,305 crore.

The operating profit increased by 13.2 per cent to Rs 10,177 crore because of the higher contribution from refining and petrochemicals business. Profit after tax was higher by 4.4 per cent at Rs 6,222 crore. Basic earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter ended June 2015 was Rs 21.1 as against Rs 20.3 in the corresponding period of the previous year.

IDFC up 5% on Banking Licence Recepit

As Infra financial firm IDFC on Friday morning announced its receipt of the formal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) since the news of which the comapny's stock has rallied almost 5 per cent on the BSE.

The stock since the morning has been hovering around a 5 -7 per cent rise.

The scrip opened at Rs 153 on the morning opening trade gradually rising to hit the day's high at 11:52 am of Rs 163.50.

At the moment the stock is trading roughly around the Rs 160 mark.   

Subsequently it has turned out ot be one of the top gainers for the day till now on the BSE.

IDFC has almost completed the process of demerger of financial undertaking into IDFC Bank.The demerger was in accordance with RBI conditions which require IDFC to transfer the relevant business activities to the proposed IDFC Bank.

All new banks are to be set up through a non-operative financial holding company, according to RBI guidelines. IDFC Bank was established as a public limited company to carry out business of banking pursuant to approval granted by the Reserve Bank in April 2014.

74 pc Indians think country's economic conditions good: Pew

WASHINGTON: More Indians are today bullish about the country's economic state than they were a year ago as nearly three-fourth believe the economy is doing well, despite concerns about a worldwide recovery, according to a new study. 

Pew Research in a report released on Thursday said 74 per cent of Indians they interviewed believed the country's economic conditions are good, a 10 per cent jump from a year ago. 

"In emerging markets, half or more in 14 of 21 countries see their economy as negative. The gloomiest are Ukrainians (94 per cent), Lebanese (89 per cent) and Brazilians (87 per cent)," the report said. 

IDFC Gets RBI Nod for Starting Banking Operation, Shares Surge 7%

New Delhi: Infrastructure financing firm IDFC Ltd on Friday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted banking licence to IDFC Bank for undertaking banking business in the country.

"The RBI on July 23, 2015 has granted Banking Licence to IDFC Bank Limited for undertaking banking business in India under Section 22(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949," IDFC said in a stock exchange filing.

IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services Pvt Ltd emerged successful out of 25 contenders for new bank licences issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April last year.

Bandhan Financial got RBI approval last month.

IDFC Bank plans to start operation from October 1 with an initial loan book of around Rs 55,000 crore. The bank proposes to start operations with 20 branches.

It has almost completed the process of demerger of financial undertaking into IDFC Bank.

The demerger was in accordance with RBI conditions which require IDFC to transfer the relevant business activities to the proposed IDFC Bank.

All new banks are to be set up through a non-operative financial holding company, according to the guidelines. IDFC Bank was established as a public limited company to carry out business of banking pursuant to approval granted by the Reserve Bank in April 2014.

Shares of IDFC rose as much as 6.8 per cent on Friday as compared to a flat Nifty.

Lupin Q1 net profit falls 16% at Rs 525.02 cr

Drug firm Lupin on Thursday reported a 15.96 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 525.02 crore for the quarter ended June 30, mainly on account of decline in its overseas sales.

The company had posted a net profit after taxes and minority interest of Rs 624.74 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Lupin said in a filing to BSE.

Consolidated total income from operations also witnessed a decline to Rs 3,150.23 crore during the quarter under consideration as against Rs 3,340.82 crore for the same period, a year ago.

Commenting on the results, Lupin Managing Director Nilesh Gupta said: Slowdown in approvals in the US dampened growth during the quarter, even as the company continues to improve on gross margins. The company remains focused on evolving its research pipeline, ensuring compliance, operational excellence and acquiring meaningful assets, he added.

The company's revenue within India rose to Rs 993.56 crore for the quarter under consideration from Rs 865.11 crore during the year ago period.

The revenue from its operations outside India declined to Rs 2,156.67 crore during the quarter as against Rs 2,475.71 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Lupin said. The India formulations business grew by 16 per cent, recording sales of Rs 885.1 crore for Q1 FY2016 as compared to Rs 761.5 crore for Q1 FY2015, it added.

During the quarter, the board of directors have resolved to seek the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing AGM to raise additional funds for an amount not exceeding Rs 7,500 crore or an equal amount in foreign currency ... to pursue growth opportunities, as also increasing the authorised capital of the company by Rs 100 crore, Lupin said.During the quarter, the company filed five Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) and received six approvals from the USFDA. Cumulative ANDA filings with the USFDA stood at 215, as on June 30, 2015 with the company having received 117 approvals to date, Lupin said. Shares of Lupin closed at Rs 1,728.80 per scrip on BSE, down 5.23 per cent from its previous close.