Tata Power Company posted an unexpected net loss of Rs 115 crore in the April-June quarter, hit by higher finance costs and foreign exchange losses.Analysts had forecast a net profit of Rs 264 crore compared with Rs 146 crore in the same period a year ago.Tata Power, part of the salt-to-steel Tata Group, has been expanding its business abroad, including in Africa and the Middle East.But its biggest domestic power plant, Mundra, located in Gujarat, has come under financial stress as a regulatory decision allowing it to pass on the rising costs of imported coal to customers has yet to be implemented.Ratings agency Moody's cut its ratings outlook to "negative" from "stable" on Tata at the start of July, citing "material covenant breaches on bank debt" for the Mundra project.(Reuters)
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Energy major Reliance Industries and state-run exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas have signed an initial agreement to consider sharing Reliance's offshore infrastructure at the KG basin, off India's east coast.Reliance and ONGC will conduct a joint study over the next nine months to work out a formal agreement and firm up commercial terms, the two companies said late on Saturday.Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, operates India's largest offshore gas field but has struggled with a slump in gas production over the past two years. It is estimated to have spent close to $8 billion to develop its blocks in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin.ONGC, which has also struggled to maintain production from its aging wells off India's west coast, hopes to produce from six to nine million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of gas by 2017 from its offshore east coast blocks, adjacent to Reliance's blocks there.The agreement will minimise ONGC's initial capital expenditure and help in early monetisation of its deep water fields, ONGC Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva said in a statement.(Reuters)
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Swiss cement maker Holcim said on Wednesday, 24 July it would increase its stake in Ambuja Cements Ltd as part of a restructuring of its operations in India.Holcim will increase its shareholding in Ambuja to 61.39 per cent from its current stake of just over 50 per cent, the Zurich-based firm said in a statement.Ambuja will in turn acquire Holcim's 50.01 per cent stake in ACC Ltd. Both Ambuja and ACC will continue to operate as separate entities."The transaction is expected to be neutral on Holcim's earnings per share in the first full year following the completion of the transaction and accretive thereafter", said Chief Executive Bernard Fontana.(Reuters)
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Modi government’s 'Ujjwala' scheme for providing clean fuel and LPG subsidy is targeting 20 crore poor households by 2019 which is expected to raise demand by 20 million tonnes. However, if you are not eligible for subsidised LPG, the increasing prices of LPG will pinch your pocket. Here are the few alternatives you need to try:
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