Brigade Group Announces Q1 FY21 Financial Results Operational Highlights (Q1FY21)

Residential

Achieved 0.4 mn sq ft. of new sales in Q1 FY21 valued at Rs. 250 Crore vs 1 mn sq ft. valued at Rs. 593 Crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year

Realization per sft has gone up by 14% compared to the same period in the previous year

Jasper Block at Brigade El Dorado of 0.62 mn sft launched during the quarter

Strong pipeline of 16.24 mn sq ft. and upcoming 2.06 mn sq ft. to be launched in FY21

Lease rental:

Leasing segment for offices remains stable with over 95% collections

Construction of the Brigade Twin Towers development has commenced

Hospitality:

All hotels are operational with Ministry of Home Affairs and State Government protocols in place

Average occupancy of 11% due to impact of COVID-19 & lockdown

All non-essential capital expenditure and renovation has been deferred to reduce cash outflows

Various cost saving measures taken including reduction of manpower costs of about 40% and reduction of about 70% in other overheads during the quarter

Financial Highlights:

Consolidated Performance Q1FY21 vs Q1FY20: 

Total Revenues at Rs.214 crores vis-à-vis Rs. 717 crores

EBITDA at Rs. 58 crores vis-à-vis Rs. 191 crores

EBITDA margin at 27%

PAT/(Loss) after Minority Interest at Rs. (53 crores) vis-à-vis profit of Rs. 41 crores

Commenting on the results, Chairman & MD Mr. M.R Jaishankar said, “While this quarter was  impacted by COVID-19, our continued focus on digital marketing,  online booking of apartments  and collections have yielded results even though most of the first quarter was under lockdown.    Despite the pandemic, our total collections for the quarter was Rs. 376 crores. The rental collections from Office in the Leasing Segment is stable. Although the biggest impact has been in the hospitality and retail segment, all efforts are being taken to improve their performance and we are positive that these segments will normalize soon.”

COVID-19 Impact & Outlook

Company outlook:

Construction has resumed at 30% labour strength post unlock 1.0 & has now crossed 50%. We expect to reach 100% by end of Q3 FY21

Green shoots are visible in residential business with a pickup in enquiries and sales

Office business remains stable with 95% collections, retaining a positive outlook

Business in malls and hotels will pick up gradually along with the improvement in economy

Brigade has a strong balance sheet and is in a good position to manage operations while maintaining liquidity to meet business obligations

Industry outlook:

Rate reduction by RBI and consequent low rate of interest for housing loans is a big positive

Adequate liquidity in the economy has helped restrict the damage

Recent announcement by RBI to allow banks to restructure loans in impacted sectors is a step in the right direction

Economy is expected to rebound in the later part of the calendar year; however, GDP contraction is expected for the financial year

Operational Impact:

Construction activity was impacted because of intermittent lockdowns

Lower revenue recognition in real estate segment was due to government office shutdowns

Malls and Hotels underperformed because of the lockdown, travel restrictions and weak consumer sentiment

Collections were impacted because of the reasons mentioned above though partially mitigated by prudent capital expenditure and reduction in overheads

Relief & Efforts:

John’s Health Centre at Brigade Meadows was inaugurated on June 24, 2020

Donation for purchase of an ambulance by St. John’s

Donation for purchase of prefabricated 5 bed ICU module to K C General Hospital

Donation for purchase of ventilator to Sri Vasavi Hospital

Dry ration to more than 3000 families in Bangalore

Sustenance allowance provided to migrant workers and supported them with ‘dry rations

80,000 Meals provided during lock down period

Workers engagement programmes viz. exercises, aerobics, yoga, as well as workers’ counselling

Awards and Recognitions:

Brigade Enterprises Ltd. has been recognised as one of India’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For 2020, in one of India’s largest workplace study conducted by the Great Place to Work®️ Institute and The Economic Times.

This year, Brigade Enterprises Ltd has been "Ranked 43", in the coveted Top 50 category, across companies. Brigade Enterprises Ltd also has the distinction of being among India’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For, 10 years in a row.

Brigade Hospitality Services Ltd. has been ranked 3rd amongst India’s Great Mid -Size Workplaces in 2020 by the Great Place to Work Institute and The Economic Times.

Ameyo Reaches Turnover of Rs. 90 Cr in FY 2020 with 27% EBITDA

Ameyo, a leading provider of Omnichannel Customer Engagement Technology today revealed business results from FY 19-20, a year during which the company grew at 30% with 27% EBITDA to reach a turnover of Rs. 90 crores.

Over the last few years, Ameyo has been pivoting its revenue model from licenses to a subscription business with 50% recurring revenue of Rs. 45 crores in FY 19-20.

The firm has a presence in 60+ countries with international business contributing to almost 43% of the turnover at Rs. 38.4 crore

Commenting on this growth, Bishal Lachhiramka, Co-founder & CEO, Ameyo, mentions, “Ameyo has continued to grow at a steady pace with profitability, thanks to our focus on creating products & solutions that provide value to our customers. With COVID-19 and the focus on digital transformation, our growth has been accelerated. We will continue to focus on creating solutions for the unique problems of emerging geographies.”

During Q1, 2020, Ameyo grew its customer base by over 100 percent, adding HDFC ERGO General Insurance, Sridhar Insurance, Apollo Health and Lifestyle, Zolo, BYJU’S, D.Light, STC Channels, LR Data, SP Madrid, Toppr, Jubilant FoodWorks, Spice Money, Rebel Foods (Faasos), The Muthoot Group, Vistaprint, and many more.

Ameyo recently launched the RBI compliant Video KYC engagement platform with omnichannel capabilities that allow the Regulated Entities (REs) to reduce onboarding drop-offs by 20% and reduce the cost of KYC by 90%. The solution is built for scale and operates even at low internet bandwidth and a variety of devices to target the masses.

Sachin Bhatia, Co-founder and Global Sales & Marketing Head at Ameyo, adds, “Contact centers are going to play a pivotal role in the post-COVID-19 times, as they provide the last line of human to human interaction between brands and consumers. We are very bullish about the next wave of growth with our new product launches that enable brands with remote solutions for Sales, Onboarding, Customer Service, and Collection use cases.

In the near future, Ameyo plans to launch a series of solutions in the AI space using their own IP as well as by partnering with market leaders in the space. The firm has invested in AI to use sentiment analysis in the routing of interactions and is planning to use it for three main purposes i.e. Intelligent Routing, Assisted Service, and Quality Monitoring.

Geographically they will continue to expand into newer markets in Southeast Asia, ME, and Africa and have recently also entered the markets of South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Vietnam.

The 400+ employees strength company initially started off with solutions for contact center channels like voice and email but today they are catering to all social media and chat platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Play Store, Instagram, Twitter, and Viber.

About Ameyo

Ameyo is an Omnichannel customer engagement platform that helps businesses go remote with its 3 Unique Remote Contact Center Solutions and help them streamline their customer service, customer support, and collection processes.

Ameyo's robust platform is available for on-cloud and on-premise implementation with private, public, as well as hybrid instances. It has pre-built integrations with all significant industry-grade CRMs. Ameyo provides strong omnichannel capabilities of Voice, IVR, ACD, Dialers, Email, Chat, and Social Media such as Instagram, Google Play, Twitter, Facebook & WhatsApp. 

L&T Technology Reports Q1 FY21 Results Medical and Telecom & Hitech Segments Show Resilience, Announces Acquisition of Orchestra

L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), India’s leading pure-play engineering services company, announced its results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Key financial parameters for Q1FY21:

USD Revenue at $171 million

Revenue at ₹12,947 million; down 4% YoY

EBIT margin at 12.1%

Net profit at ₹1,173 million; down 42% YoY

 

LTTS has executed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% stake in Orchestra Technology, a specialist technology solutions provider for the Telecom industry. Orchestra is based in Texas, USA and will enable LTTS to strengthen its capabilities in network engineering and modernization.

“With many industries operating at limited capacity on account of the pandemic, Q1 was a challenging quarter as expected. Still, we had a good performance in two of our segments - Telecom & Hitech and Medical, and our large deal engine continues to churn wins. Free cash flow generation was strong during the quarter and the healthy cash position sets us up well for the future.  Looking ahead, we see a path for recovery backed by good order bookings and a healthy pipeline. We expect both revenue and operating margin to show sequential improvement over the remaining quarters of the current fiscal.

The acquisition of Orchestra will enhance our offerings in the areas of Network Engineering & Enterprise Mobility and provide us strategic access to Telecom service providers who are investing in next generation digital systems for 5G and IoT networks.

As customers redraw their business plans, we are working with them to improve operating efficiency, finetune sourcing and production plans, and prepare for faster go-to-market.  Our newer set of offerings like Frugal Manufacturing, Telehealth solution and i-BEMS Shield are seeing good traction in the market. The large deal discussions we are having with customers are a notch higher in terms of criticality and adoption of new age technologies, which we believe will pave the way for greater mind share and competitive differentiation”, said Dr. Keshab Panda, CEO & Managing Director, L&T Technology Services Limited.

During the quarter, LTTS won 9 multi-million dollar deals across all major industry segments which includes one deal with TCV of USD30mn plus and two deals with TCV of USD15mn plus. On a YoY basis, LTTS has increased its USD10mn+ clients by 5 and its USD1mn+ clients by 3.

Industry Recognitions:

* TechCircle honored LTTS with the Business Transformation Award in the “New Markets” category to our IT and HR functions jointly for leading digital transformation at LTTS with innovative solutions.

* Enterprise IT magazine conferred LTTS’ IT Team with the “COVID-19 Super Hero Award” for their tireless efforts to help LTTS’ workforce during lockdown.

Patents

At the end of the first quarter, the patents portfolio of L&T Technology Services stood at 525, out of which 385 are co-authored with its customers and the rest are filed by LTTS.

Human Resources

At the end of Q1FY21, LTTS’ employee strength stood at 16,641.

Students of Global Indian International School Shine in CBSE Class X and XII Exams

Students of Global Indian International School (GIIS), a network of premier international schools, achieved noteworthy academic feats in the recently announced CBSE Class X and XII results. The examinations were held in February 2020, before the nation was under lockdown due to the emergence of Covid-19. 

Commenting on the performance of GIIS students, Mr. Rajiv Bansal, Director-Operations, GIIS India said “It is extremely gratifying to see our students perform well in the board exams with many students scoring centum (100) and near perfect scores (99) in various subjects. At GIIS, our NINE Gems Framework is designed to focus on the holistic development of our students and academic excellence is a critical aspect of our pedagogy. The constant support from our teachers and the sincere efforts of our students has enabled GIIS to achieve such good results across the country. We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements and want to thank the parents for their constant support in nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.”

Out of 7 GIIS campuses in India, students of Noida, Surat, Ahmedabad & Whitefield (Bengaluru) campuses appeared for their Class X exams and achieved a 100% pass percentage. While students of GIIS Surat & Noida campuses appeared for Class XII exams, this being the first batch for GIIS Noida.

Sameeksha Srivastava, student of GIIS Noida topped her Class X batch with 97.6% while Dhanay Agarwal and Priyamvada Sinha scored 96% and 95% respectively to secure the second and third positions. Nehal Kaul, a science student of Class XII topped the school with 96.6% marks followed by Ronit (science) and Pratham Chhabriaa (commerce) scoring 90.4% and 86.2% respectively. Pratham Chhabriaa has also been selected and received a scholarship in University of Waterloo in Canada, where he will be doing his Honours in Economics with Business.

Batch of Class X in GIIS Surat achieved 100% pass percentage. Kanishka Khandelwal topped the class with 94%, followed by Ishan Mittal and Suraj Rajput with 92.8% and 90% respectively. With respect to class XII, Neha Mishra topped the class with 91.2%, followed closely by Khushboo Mishra with 90.4%, both from the Commerce stream.

A scholar at the Advanced Learning Centre for bright students by IISC, Bengaluru, Sri Uma Maheshwari from GIIS Whitefield campus topped her class scoring 96.4%, and a perfect 100 in Mathematics in CBSE Class X examinations. Among other toppers from the batch, Anirudh Pradyumnan Srinivasan scored 95.6% and Himanshi Sarkar secured 3rd position with 94.4%. And Rushil Verma, who has scored a centum (100 marks) in Hindi, is an achievement worth mentioning.

At GIIS Ahmedabad, student Vaidehi Thanaki topped the batch with 93% in her Class X CBSE examinations. Aakriti Roy and Gaurav Nathani with 91.8% and 91.6% secured the second and the third rank respectively. The campus also achieved a 100% pass percentage.

GIIS’ focus on delivering quality education to its students with a strong emphasis on enhancing their learning outcomes has been a crucial factor in the excellent performance showcased by its students.

EuroSchool Bangalore Students Secure 100% Results in CBSE Examination

All three Bangalore campuses of EuroSchool (Whitefield, Yelahanka and Chimney Hills), have announced great performance in the CBSE Class X results of 2020 having witnessed 100% results.

Miss Ariya Samir Wadekar from EuroSchool Whitefield scored 97%, topping the three campuses in Bangalore. Ten students of EuroSchool Whitefield scored above 90%. The highest marks in Maths was 100 and 99 in Second Language.

Ms. Shruthi Arun, Principal, EuroSchool, Whitefield, said “It is a proud moment for us at EuroSchool, Whitefield as our students once again, have excelled in the Class X results reflecting years of hard work. It is the deep commitment of our faculty that has helped our students to prepare not just for the board exams but also for their professional careers and life after school. 

Miss Ariya Samir Wadekar from EuroSchool Whitefield says about her success, “Enjoy your present and work hard towards your goals. I invested my time in reading curriculum books, reference books, getting extra information from the teachers and combining all these to ensure clear understanding about a topic before moving to next. Just remember, whatever you are going to do is in your hands.”

Ms. Shruti Sampoorna Mishra from EuroSchool, North Campus, Bangalore scored 95% topping her school. She scored 99% in Second Language, 98 in Maths and 93 in Science. Ms. Brunda M from EuroSchool, Chimney Hills scored 91.60%, topping her school, followed closely by Ms. Greeshma D Holeyannavar, with 90%.

The current academic module at EuroSchool lays emphasis on learning with technology. The virtual schooling programme runs on the proprietary Digital Learning Ecosystem (LMS) ARGUS ensuring effective Home Engagement with students to ensure #UninterruptedLearning.

EuroSchool currently has a presence of 11 Schools across six cities in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Surat.

About EuroSchool International:

EuroSchool, is a network of 11 K-12 Schools, across 6 cities in India. A division of EuroKids Group, the School Operates on the philosophy of ‘Discover Yourself’ wherein the core focus is to encourage children to realise latent talent, ascertain areas of interest, hone individual skills, thereby uncovering varied facets of their personality. The profound realisation that the skills that are required to face the challenges we will be up against in the future must be imparted from a young age evolved into the philosophy of ‘Discover Yourself’ which is delivered via the ‘Balanced Schooling’ pedagogy. Their Learn - Reinforce - Practice - Apply methodology, paves the way for the students to do well in academics, with the co-curricular activities helping children to develop their creative, sporting and musical aspirations. 

All EuroSchools are affiliated either to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or the Indian Council of Secondary Education (ICSE) and select EuroSchools also offer the CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education (IGCSE).  It is India’s 1st chain of Schools to receive the ‘Safe School’ certification from a global audit firm.

Garware Technical Fibres Consolidated Net Profit Rises by 12% in FY20

Garware Technical Fibres Ltd. (Formerly Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd.), a leading manufacturer of technical textiles for the Indian and global markets, has announced its financial results for the quarter and twelve months ended 31st March 2020. 

Q4 FY20 Highlights:

* Consolidated Revenue reduced by 13% to INR 253 Cr in Q4 FY20 as compared to INR 290 Cr in Q4 FY19

* Consolidated Net Profit has decreased by 2.5% to INR 36 Cr in the quarter as against INR 37 Cr in the corresponding period of FY19

* Consolidated EPS for Q4 FY20 is at INR 16.32; this is a decline of 2.5% over Q4 FY19

* Standalone Revenue reduced by 16% to INR 244 Cr in Q4 FY20 as against INR 290 Cr in Q4 FY19

* Standalone Net Profit has increased by 100% to INR 73 Cr in the quarter as against INR 37 Cr in the corresponding period of FY19

* Standalone EPS for Q4 FY20 is at INR 33.45; this is a rise of  100% over Q4 FY19

FY20 Highlights:

* Consolidated Revenue reduced by 6% to INR 953 Cr in FY20 as compared to INR 1018 Cr in FY19

* Consolidated Net Profit has increased by 12% to INR 141 Cr as against INR 126 Cr in FY19

* Consolidated EPS for FY20 is at INR 64.22; this is an increase of 12% over FY19

* Standalone Revenue reduced by 7% to INR 945 Cr in FY20 as compared to INR 1018 Cr in FY19

* Standalone Net Profit has increased by 42% to INR 178 Cr in FY20 as against INR 126 Cr in FY19

* Standalone EPS for FY20 is at INR 81.35; this is a rise of  42% over FY19

Management Comments:

Stating his views on the results, Mr. Vayu Garware, CMD, Garware Technical Fibres Ltd. said, “The topline and profit performance for the fourth quarter was subdued due to the impact of the lockdown on account of the coronavirus. Particularly, dispatches of our international sales were significantly impacted despite having a strong order book. Domestic sales from depots around the country could also not take place as planned. While the current Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose significant challenges in the first quarter of this year, since approximately 60% of our business caters to end users who are in food related industries, we are hopeful of a reasonable recovery in the second half of the year subject to any unforeseen issues.”

About Garware Technical Fibres Ltd. (Formerly Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd.): (BSE: 509557 / NSE: GARFIBRES)

Garware Technical Fibres Ltd. (formerly Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd.), an ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 certified company is a leading player in Technical Textiles specializing in providing customized solutions to its customers worldwide. Globally, the company is known for its applied innovation in the field of sports, fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, agriculture, coated fabrics and geo-synthetics. The company’s products are manufactured in state-of-art facilities at Wai and Pune and marketed in more than 75 countries.

Exide Life Insurance in FY 2019-20 Delivers Strong Growth of INR 29 Crs, up 141% in Profits

Exide Life Insurance, a 100% owned subsidiary of Exide Industries, reported a growth of 141% in Profits Before Tax (PBT) at INR 29 Crores in the Financial Year ended March 2020, compared to INR 12 Crores in the previous Financial Year (FY 18-19). This is the eighth consecutive year in which the Company has reported profits.

The Company has continued its emphasis on protection products resulting in the protection business mix increasing from 9% of Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) in FY 18-19 to 11% in FY 19-20.

The Company has achieved its highest ever Claims Settlement Ratio at 98.15% and has a healthy Solvency Ratio of 210% versus the regulatory requirement of 150%.

Continuing with a very strong track record of declaring bonus payouts to participating policyholders every year since inception, the Company has announced Policyholder Bonus distribution of INR 324 Crores in FY 2019-20, a growth of 13.1% over previous FY.

Commenting on the results, Kshitij Jain, MD & CEO, Exide Life Insurance said, “Our primary focus remains value creation for customers and shareholders. Our long term strategy is to grow new business faster than the industry while continuing to improve on the quality of business.

Our commitment to this philosophy has paid off and our business performance has manifested in superior returns to our policyholders, with us being able to pay bonus to participating policyholders every year since inception. Needless to say we live by our promise and our core brand essence of Lamba Saath, Bharose Ki Baat.”

Policyholder Bonus

Considering the surplus that arose over the Financial Year in the Participating fund, the Company announced policyholder bonus of INR 324 Crores in FY 2019-20, a growth of 13.1% over FY 2018-19

Solvency Ratio

The solvency ratio of the Company stood at 210% as on 31st March 2020, compared to the regulatory requirement of 150%.

Assets under Management

The Company’s Assets under Management (AUM) recorded a growth of 10% over the last financial year and stands at INR 15,795 Crores.

Profit Before Tax (PBT)

During FY 2019-20, the Company recorded Profit Before Tax of INR 29 Crores, compared to INR 12 Crores in FY 2018-19. 

Claim Settlement Ratio

The Company continued its growth journey with ‘Individual Claims Settlement Ratio’ improving to an all-time high (since inception) of 98.15% in FY 2019-20. The Company paid death claims worth INR 213.70 Crores (Individual INR 88.95 Crores and Group INR 124.75 Crores) during the Financial Year 2019-20.

Renewals and Persistency

The Company achieved 12% growth in individual renewal premiums at INR 2,221 Crores with improvement in persistency ratios for 13th month, 25th month as well as 37th month.

Protection Business Mix

The mix of protection business was further strengthened to 11% of the individual new business premium (Annualized Premium Equivalent).

Life Insurance Coverage (Sum Assured)

The Company has increased its total coverage and now has total Sum Assured of INR 3.44 Lakh Crores as on 31st March 2020.

Awards

The Company’s all round performance on value creation continued with receiving external recognition in various areas of business. Some of the noteworthy awards won are:

1.    Exide Life Smart Term Plan voted as Product of the Year 2019

2.    Helmet Saves CSR initiative won:

a.    Best BTL campaign for a socio economic program in Masters of Modern Marketing

b.    Brandvid (Gold) Best brand integration in Music Video

c.    Brandvid (Silver) – Best brand film for Social initiative

d.    FICCI best CSR initiative in Life Category 

Abbott to Supply More Than a Million Tests of IgG Lab-Based Antibody Tests to India

Medical Milestone

* Abbott's SARS-CoV-2 IgG test can be used for highly-reliable, large-scale antibody testing, in line with the ICMR recommendation for the use of IgG CLIA (Chemiluminescence immunoassay) tests

* Abbott's antibody test is being deployed by many hospitals and labs across the country to understand the extent of infection in population exposed, as well as for surveying high risk or vulnerable populations *

* Test demonstrated reliable results with 99.6% specificity and 100% sensitivity for patients tested 14 days or more after symptoms started 

Abbott announced has that it has begun supply of its laboratory-based serology blood test for the detection of the antibody, IgG (Immunoglobulin G), that identifies if a person has had the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Abbott has the capacity to provide millions of tests to India and is already in the process of delivering antibody tests to leading government and private hospitals and labs in Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Gujarat.

"Abbott is pleased to contribute to ICMR’s COVID-19 antibody testing strategy to use IgG CLIA antibody tests. Abbott’s recently launched SARS-CoV-2 IgG test can be used to understand the spread of transmission in high risk populations such as healthcare workers, immune-compromised individuals, frontline workers, or those in containment zones. These tests also provide valuable information to the public health officials about the spread in asymptomatic cases, helping us assess the impact of our public health efforts now and guide our COVID-19 response moving forward,” said Narendra Varde, General Manager and Country Head at Abbott’s diagnostics business in India.

Mumbai’s Hinduja hospital was one of the first hospitals to evaluate the test in India. Dr. Tester F. Asha Vaid, Chief of Labs (Admn), Director Lab Research at Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, said, “This test is useful to clinicians and the community – our initial testing has yielded specific results for patients who were RT-PCR positive for COVID-19.”

Dr. Jayanthi Shastri, Professor & Head Microbiology, Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Mumbai said, “For a city like Mumbai, it’s critical to assess the level of exposure of population in the community, which can be done ward-wise, guiding authorities on re-assessing containment strategies. The test gains significant relevance in high-risk populations such as front line and healthcare workers, where outcomes will enable us in understanding contagiousness of COVID-19.”

Dr. Ujjwayini Ray MD (AIIMS), Consultant Microbiologist, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata said, “We have found that patients who have clinically recovered or are on path of recovery have developed significant levels of IgG antibody against COVID-19. The IgG assay could be included in the discharge policy of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.”

Abbott's SARS-CoV-2 IgG test specifically identifies the IgG antibody, which is a protein that the body produces in the late stages of infection and may remain for up to months and possibly years after a person has recovered. The test is used on the ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments**, which are installed in hospitals or laboratories throughout India and can run up to 100-200 tests per hour to help with reliable antibody testing during the pandemic.  Independent researchers** found the test to have 99.9% specificity and 100% sensitivity for patients tested 17 days or more after symptoms began.***

Abbott designed its test to detect the IgG antibody specifically as it can better help physicians determine recovery from infection, versus looking at a combination of antibodies. Abbott is also developing an IgM antibody test.

About Abbott's Diagnostics Leadership

Abbott has long been a global leader in infectious disease testing, including the development of the first HIV test. The company created a Global Surveillance Program 25 years ago to monitor HIV and hepatitis viruses and identify mutations to ensure the company's tests remain up to date. Abbott also has a long-standing discovery program that identifies new or unknown pathogens and develops tests to address these new threats.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries. In India, Abbott was established in 1910, and is one of the country's oldest and most admired healthcare companies. With over 12,000 employees in the country, Abbott in India is helping to meet the healthcare needs of consumers, patients and doctors throughout urban and rural India.

Brigade Group Announces Q4 FY20 and FY20 Financial Results

Key Points 

* Highest ever pre-sales of 4.3 mn sft  in FY20 and Collections of Rs. 2,539 Crores

* Brigade Enterprises Limited’s Consolidated Revenues for the year ended 31st March 2020 was Rs. 2,682 crores as compared to Rs. 3,027 crores for FY19. PAT after Minority Interest was at 131 crores as compared to Rs.240 Crores for FY19.

Operational Highlights:

* Achieved 3 Mn sq ft. of sales in FY20 compared to 3 Mn sq ft. in FY19 (44 % increase)

* Sale value of Rs. 2,377 Crores in FY20 vs Rs. 1,644 Crores in FY19. (45 % increase)

* Achieved 1 mn sq ft. of new sales in Q4 FY20 vs 0.9 mn sq ft. in Q4 FY19 (10 % increase)

* Sale value of Rs.651 Crores in Q4 FY20 vs Rs.520 Crores in Q4F Y19 (25 % increase)

* Leased 5 Mn sq ft. of new office area in FY20 which is estimated to yield rental of Rs.237 Crores.

* Collections are at 2,539 Crores in FY20 compared to 2,242 Crores in FY19 (13% increase)

* Commenting on Company’s performance, Mr. M.R. Jaishankar, Chairman and Managing Director, Brigade Enterprises Limited:

“FY20 has been Brigade’s best operational performance where we have sold an area of 4.3 million sft. All our business segments- Residential, Lease Rental and Hospitality, have performed strongly in FY20   and the same is reflected in the numbers. The unprecedented crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic resulting in the nationwide lockdown has had a negative impact on all sectors. However, we expect business to gradually pick up from the 3rd quarter of this financial year ”

Financial Highlights

Standalone Performance FY20 vs FY19:

Total Revenues at Rs.1994 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 1929 Crores

EBDITA at Rs.635 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 605 Crores

EBDITA Margin at 32% vis-à-vis 31%

PAT at Rs. 261 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 234 Crores

Consolidated Performance FY20 vs FY19:

Total Revenues at Rs. 2,682 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 3,027 Crores

EBDITA at Rs.713 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 844 Crores

EBDITA Margin at 27% vis-à-vis 28%

PBT (Before Expectational Items) at Rs.180 Crores vis-à-vis 427 Crores

PAT after Minority Interest at Rs.131 Crores vis-à-vis Rs.240 Crores

Collections increased by Rs.297 Crores in FY20 when compared to FY19.

Consolidated Q4 Performance (Q4FY20 vs Q3FY20) 

Total Revenues at Rs. 644 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 569 Crores

EBDITA at Rs.144 Crores vis-à-vis Rs. 172 Crores

EBDITA Margin at 22% vis-à-vis 30%

PBT (Before Expectational Items) at Rs.7 Crores vis-à-vis Rs.36 Crores

Net Profit after Minority Interest at Rs. 3 Crores vis-à-vis Rs.49 Crores

New Launches in Q4 FY20 & FY20

Launched 4 real estate projects aggregating to 2.5 Mn. Sft. in Q4 FY20.

Total area of 5.3 Mn. Sq. ft. has been launched in FY 20 across all business segments.

Final Dividend

The Board had  declared  and paid an Interim Dividend of Rs. 1.00 per equity share  in March 2020 (10%). There is no final dividend recommended by the Board. The Interim Dividend  paid in March 2020 will be the final dividend for the financial year 2019-20.

COVID 19 relief efforts and initiatives

Around 9,500-10,000 migrant workers supported with ‘ Dry Ration’ and money was remitted to their Jan Dhan Bank Accounts/given in hand.

Provided 3,65,000 meals during the lockdown period to migrant workers and economically weaker section of the society.

Over 7 truck loads of rice distributed in Chennai.

Dry rations provided to more than 3,500 families in Bangalore and bread loaves of over 11,500 provided in slums.

Outlook

The Group is currently developing about 21.4 million Sq. ft across Residential, Office, Retail and Hotel segments. Further, launches to the extent of about 4.5 million Sq. ft. are planned for the financial year 2020-21.

Castrol India Announces Second Interim Dividend for FY 2019; Recalls Final Dividend for FY 2019

The Board of Directors of Castrol India Limited, at a meeting held today, declared a second interim dividend of INR 3/- per equity share for the financial year ended 31 December 2019. Simultaneously, the Board recalled the earlier recommended final dividend of INR 3/- per equity share for the same period (2018: final dividend INR 2.75/- per equity share).

The delay of the 42nd Annual General Meeting of the Company from April to July due to the national lockdown on account of the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted many shareholders, small and institutional.

The Board took this decision to pay an interim dividend during these unprecedented times to help release payment earlier to the shareholders.     

“Castrol India has always valued the enduring relationship it has with its investors. These are extraordinary times which require organizations to take extraordinary measures in order to support various stakeholders,” said Mr. R Gopalakrishnan, Chairman of Board of Directors after the meeting.  

This second interim dividend, is in addition to the previously declared interim dividend of INR 2.50/- per equity share (2018: interim dividend INR 2.25/- per equity share) for the financial year 2019. 

Syntel's Q3 results outshines Wall Street expectations

Syntel's revenue for the third quarter increased one percent to $104.7 million (Rs.506 crore), compared to $103.8 million (Rs.502 crore) in the prior-year period, and increased five percent sequentially from $100.1 million (Rs.484 crore) in the second quarter of 2009.

Sequential revenue improvement was driven by its Applications Outsourcing service offering, and growth was broad-based across all verticals. During the third quarter, Applications Outsourcing accounted for 74 percent of total revenue, with Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) at 18 percent, e-Business contributing six percent and Team Sourcing at two percent.

The Company's gross margin improved to 49.3 percent in the third quarter, compared to 44.3 percent in the prior-year period (500 bps increase) and 48.2 percent in the second quarter of 2009 (110 bps increase). Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses were 18.1 percent in the third quarter, compared to 19.1 percent in the prior-year period and 20.8 percent in the previous quarter.

Syntel's income from operations expanded to 31.2 percent in the third quarter as compared to 25.2 percent in the prior-year period (600 bps increase) and 27.4 percent in the second quarter of 2009 (380bps increase).

"Increasing stability in the business environment and a gradual improvement in customer confidence had a positive effect on our top line during the third quarter," said CEO and President Keshav Murugesh. "While our clients remain comfortable in moving forward with cost reduction initiatives, they are now increasingly willing to discuss longer-term business plans and strategic technology investments."

"The strong financial and operating discipline at Syntel has been evident in our financial performance during a very difficult nine month period. We expect that as demand for offshore services improves, costs of doing business in India will increase resulting in margin pressure. Syntel continues to invest in the people, infrastructure and new services necessary to drive long-term sustainable value for all of our key stakeholders."

Based on current visibility levels and an exchange rate assumption of 47.0 rupees to the dollar, the Company is updating 2009 guidance from Revenue of $395Mn (Rs.1,910 crore) to $415Mn (Rs.2,007 crore) and EPS of $2.40 to $2.50 to Revenue of $405Mn (Rs. 1,959 crore) to $408Mn (Rs.1,973 crore) and EPS of $2.60 to $2.65.

Agencies

Report indicates 13 new WiMAX deployments in April

The need of the hour is to get data from one point to another as fast as possible. The availability of internet on the move has become necessity for many. The global WiMAX network has been growing significantly over the past years, with the advancements in telecommunication technology. According to a latest report published by WiMAX Forum, there have 13 new WiMAX network deployments in the month of April.

WiMAX Forum has started publishing its report starting this month that will contain an executive summary, global deployment update, POPS summary, monthly featured operator profile, certification update, regulatory update, survey data results and a third party research update. It will track a total of 468 WiMAX deployments in 139 countries.

According to a research by the Forum, currently WiMAX deployments cover over 430 million POPs globally. By the end of 2010, this number would reach almost 800 million POPs worldwide.

Countries like Iran and Chile have started showing more interest in WiMAX technology. The Iranian Communication Regulatory Authority has granted four six-year licenses for operators to offer fixed WiMAX services in the country. In Chile, the government announced that it had awarded a license for 30 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band to INVERCA Telecommunications.

Last year, there were 82 products that were launched, which were certified by the WiMAX Forum and the first quarter of 2009, 15 products of WiMAX Forum Designated Certification Laboratories were WiMAX Forum Certified. The products are used by 25 base station vendors, 27 subscriber station vendors and four mobile station vendors.

A survey conducted in the first quarter by the WiMAX Forum Network Operations Task Force with the sample consisting of 70 WiMAX operators. In response to a question on the importance of certification, 89 percent of respondents were of the opinion that their company would require WiMAX Forum Certification for devices. Also, 74 percent of respondents to a question on sales channels plan to sell WiMAX devices through general retail stores.

Agencies