24 July 2009;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:SEOUL: South Korea Hyundai Motor Co said second-quarter net profit rose 48% to a record high as robust sales in China and India helped it ride out the global auto slump. Hyundai Motor - which along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp forms the world's fifth-biggest automotive group - said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it earned 811.85 billion won ($650 million) in the three months ended June 30. It posted net profit of 546.9 billion won a year earlier. Company spokesman said that the profit was the biggest ever for a single quarter. Total sales revenue during the three-month period, however, fell 11% to 8.08 trillion won from 9.11 trillion won. Hyundai said it grabbed 5% global market share for the first time despite what it said was a 15% decline in demand for autos worldwide during the first half of 2009. The company's performance was strong in China and India, where Hyundai has built factories to meet increasing vehicle demand in the two fast growing economies. Hyundai did not provide a breakdown for the second-quarter, but in separate presentations, it said its Chinese and Indian units helped boost earnings in the first half of this year.
PMO seeks OilMin’s comments on issues raised by Anil Ambani
23 July 2009;dailypioneer.com:New Delhi: Amid a legal battle on gas supply between Mukesh and Anil Ambani groups, Prime Minister’s office has sought comments from Petroleum Ministry on allegations by the younger Ambani that it was siding with the other side. In a communication sent earlier this week, PMO has asked the Petroleum Ministry for comments on issues raised by Anil in a letter, wherein the industrialist urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to direct the ministry to “cease from overtly and covertly attempting to intervene in our commercial dispute with RIL”. Anil’s letter was first reported on Monday, two days after the Petroleum Ministry moved the Supreme Court seeking annulment of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mukesh-led RIL and Anil group firm RNRL. “We have recently seen a spate of unfortunate public utterances with unusual frequency, by various functionaries in the Petroleum Ministry... In a manner not witnessed in any other part of the Government that too on a matter that is sub-judice in the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” Anil’s letter said. The Petroleum Ministry, in its petition, had also sought a stay on the June 15 Bombay High Court decision that directed RIL to supply gas to RNRL at $2.34 per mmBtu, a price that is 44 per cent less than the government-prescribed rate. The Supreme Court will hear on September one admissibility of the petition, along with the cross petitions filed by the two brothers challenging the High Court decision.
23 July 2009;dailypioneer.com:Mumbai: Top energy firm, Reliance Industries Ltd, is expected to post a dip in quarterly profit on tighter refining margins, while leading oil producer ONGC is forecast to say profit fell on lower crude prices. Reliance, the country's largest listed company with a market value of $60 billion, began pumping gas from its vast, newly developed field off India's east coast in April, which should help it offset shrinking refining margins in coming quarters. Reliance, controlled by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani, was producing 28 million metric cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas on June 25 from the Krishna-Godavari basin and aims to reach peak output of 80 mmscmd by December, which would double the country's natural gas output. The company struck a deal in February to absorb subsidiary Reliance Petroleum, giving it full control over the world's largest refinery operation, in the western state of Gujarat. "The increase in oil and gas production, and ramp up of production at the new refinery, should help Reliance post higher profit numbers in quarters to come," said Deepak Pareek, a research analyst at Angel Broking. Reliance Industries has been locked in a legal dispute over terms of a gas supply agreement reached in a 2005 family settlement with Reliance Natural Resources, controlled by Mukesh Ambani's younger brother, Anil Ambani. Analysts said Reliance's gross refining margins (GRMs), a key measure of profitability, would have fallen to $7-$9.5 per barrel in the June quarter from $15.7 a year earlier, tracking the decline in Asia's benchmark Dubai crack margin . Regional refining margins declined mainly on anticipated lower demand for fuel products, with little sign of strong recovery given the fragile world economy, analysts said. In a report on Thursday, Fitch said it expects Asian refiners to face cashflow pressures as new plants are commissioned in 2009 and 2010 at a time when regional demand for refined products is likely to fall despite economic growth in China and India.
Toyota to launch new Camry next week to boost sales
22 July 2009;hindustantimes.com:New Delhi: The world's largest carmaker, Toyota, will launch a new edition of its luxury sedan Camry in the Indian market next week to revitalise the sales of the model. The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, plans to launch the new Camry with some changes in its looks after the sales of the model fell drastically by over 75 per cent during the April- June period. A senior company official told PTI that the new Camry would have some additional features, including new front grille, headlamps, fog lights and rear view mirrors with indicators, to attract luxury car buyers. Camry is sold in India as a completely-built-unit (CBU). According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) lost significant share of the premium car market to its rival SkodaAuto during the first quarter of the current fiscal. While TKM sold 44 units of Camry in Q1 against 182 units in the year-ago period, SkodaAuto handed over keys of its recently upgraded luxury sedan Superb to 541 customers in the same period. SkodaAuto registered an over eight-fold jump in the sales of Superb over 67 units sold in the April-June period in 2008. Camry with a 2.4 litre engine is priced between Rs 20.97 lakh and Rs 22.58 lakh, while the 1.8 litre Superb is available for Rs 18.89 lakh, both in ex-showroom, Delhi.
22 July 2009;economictimes.indiatimes.com:NEW DELHI: India's crude oil production rose by over four per cent in June, but refineries turned 3.7 per cent less crude oil into petroleum products. Crude production rose 4.1 per cent to 2.75 million tonnes despite a 3.5 per cent fall in output of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to 2.02 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the Petroleum Ministry here today. The higher output may be because of Reliance Industries beginning oil production from its Krishna Godavari basin MA oilfield. ONGC's 4.5 per cent drop in output dragged down total production during April-June by 1.3 per cent to 8.26 million tonnes. The output of the state-run firm fell to 6.12 million tonnes from 6.4 million tonnes as its prime Mumbai High produced 4.7 per cent less products at 4.25 million tonnes. Refineries converted 13.15 million tonnes of crude into products in June as opposed to 13.65 million tonnes in the year-ago period. Reliance Industries' old Jamnagar refinery processed 10.3 per cent less crude oil at 2.86 million tonnes. During April-June, refinery production was down 4.1 per cent to 38.38 million tonnes with Jamnagar seeing a 8.7 per cent drop to 8.59 million tonnes. Natural gas production was up 36.3 per cent to 3.58 billion cubic metres in June on back of output from RIL's KG-D6 fields. In April-June the output was up 19.5 per cent to 9.92 bcm.
Essar Oil ties up $920 mn to fund refinery expansion
22 July 2009;business-standard.com:New Delhi: Ruias-owned Essar Oil has tied up $920 million to fund the expansion of its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat to 16 million tonnes, CEO Naresh Nayyar said. “We have received approval for the debt from ICICI Bank, IDBI and SBI and we hope to sign loan agreements sometime next month,” he told PTI from Mumbai. The Vadinar refinery, situated five kilometres away from Reliance Industries’ twin refineries in Jamnagar district, currently operates at 133 per cent of its nameplate capacity of 10.5 million tonnes a year. “The expansion will cost us $1.6 billion or Rs 7,810 crore. Of this, Rs 4,600 crore is debt and the rest equity,” he said, adding that the expansion would be completed by December 2010. “We are on track for mechanical completion by December 2010. Overall, 35 per cent of the project work has been completed till date,” he said. The company will in Phase II add a new 18-million-tonne-a year processing unit at an investment of close to $4.4 billion by December 2011. “Phase II would be taken up later. Currently we are concentrating on Phase I expansion,” he said. Nayyar said the financial closure (or tying up funds) for phase I of the refinery expansion will be completed with the signing of the loan agreement next month.
