Thursday, January 19, 2023

PN RAO - Bengaluru’s Legendary Fashion Brand Is Eyeingre-Entry Into Women’s Business Wear Segment In Its Centenary Year



The legendary 100-year old fashion brand P N RAO, which was born in 1923 is celebrating its centenary year. With 5branches in the city and 2 in Chennai, the brand enjoys a rich legacy and has been known for dressing up the who’s who of the city who have an eye for bespoke tailoring and fine clothing. As a big tribute to this milestone, the brand is eyeing its re-entry into the women’s business wear segment.

Speaking at a press conference MachenderPishe, ChandramohanPishe, Naveen Pishe and Ketan Pishe – Partners of P N RAOsaid, “P N RAOhas contributed immensely to the Indian retail industry and built a unique reputation of its own as an iconic made in India brand”.

KetanPishe, Partner,P N RAO,said “From a humble beginning, the brand has grown along with the city and holds a very special place in the hearts of Bengalureans and Chennaiites. Celebrating 100 years is a big milestone for us which speaks volumes about our brand and our vision and mission. While we are committed to offering the finest apparels to our customers and understand our client’s psyche, we are constantly evaluating ways and means to raise the bar and expand our customer base”.

It will be interesting to know that P N RAOstarted as a ladies tailoring brand which took immense pride in dressing up the British ladies in the pre-Independence days. Post-Independence, the founder’s eldest son Mr. P N Panduranga Rao learnt the art of gentspattern making which led to the brand branching off into men’s wear and has till date remained committed to offering the best in men’s wear.

“P N RAOhas built one of the largest bespoke tailoringunits on the outskirts of Bengaluru which is completely solar powered which demonstrates our commitment to the environment and clean and safe and hygienic manufacturing of our apparels”, added Naveen Pishe, Partner, P N RAO.

With its intention of re-entry into the women’s wear business clothing, the brand will round up into a holistic fashion wear brand for both men and women. P N RAOhas always made sure that the brand remained relevant and updated in fashion wear in these 100 years and hence has been a name to reckon with, since its inception. Today with this announcement the history of glorious craftsmanship and service is going to repeat itself in women’s wear industry.    

On this special occasion the brand has announced their future strategies of further expansion and specializations. The brand also felicitated top 100 names of Persons / Brands / Institutions of Bengaluru city, who have been instrumental in contributing to the city and hence creating a name for the city. Alongside they also launched the brand’s coffee table book which coversnot just the brand journey, but also the city journey.

To pay respect to this great lineage the bust of late Shri PisheNarayan Rao was also unveiled.

About P N RAO:

P N RAOstarted their journey back in 1923, pioneered by Pishe Narayan Rao. In the earlydays British officers and ladies of high rank counted on the stylised, customized perfection attuned by PN RAO. The empire expanded over the years with their characteristic suave and grace blending tradition and contemporary innovation. Over the decades, they defined men’s beau monde across the nation. The brand has become synonymous with class and quality. P N RAO has been the choice of men’s wear with their seven stores, spread across Bengaluru and Chennai. Constant upgrade and superior quality have buttoned up their suit of success. In the post-independence era this brand has revolutionized men's tailoring under P N Panduranga Rao and starred as a trend setter in ‘ready to wear’ clothing. P N RAO is having one of the largest bespoke tailoring facilities in the country with solar powered units in Hoskote industrial belt.

OneWeb And Marsh’s Mission Critical Collaboration Continues; Remaining Gen1 Launches Insured


* Following an insurance agreement in October 2021, Marsh has completed the placement of insurance for OneWeb’s remaining Gen1 constellation launches

OneWeb, the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, and Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, today announced that their relationship will continue through in 2023, covering launches from the U.S. and India.

OneWeb signed an agreement for an aggregate insured value of more than $1 billion through Marsh in September 2021 and now that relationship will cover the remaining satellite launches for OneWeb to complete its Gen1 constellation. The insurance programme has continued to underpin the development of OneWeb’s communications capabilities in established and new markets.

This month, OneWeb completed its 16th launch to-date, on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX in Florida, to bring its total constellation to 542 satellites – more than 80% of its Gen1 constellation. This milestone followed the resumption of the business’ satellite deployments, with OneWeb’s successful 14th launch on a LVM-3 rocket from NewSpace India Limited at Sriharikota, India, in October 2022 and a SpaceX launch in December on another Falcon 9. OneWeb remains on track to initiate global coverage in 2023, while its connectivity solutions are already live in the wider Arctic region including Canada, Alaska, the UK and beyond.

Srikanth Balachandran, OneWeb’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “Marsh has been pivotal in supporting OneWeb’s mission since 2021 and we are proud to collaborate with an insurance broker that shares our global ambitions. As we continue to progress towards activating our coverage across the world in 2023, we will benefit from the security of the insurance programme through Marsh, and the expertise of their teams across UK and India.”

Chris Lay, Chief Executive, UK & Ireland, Marsh, said: “OneWeb has made tremendous progress in building its Gen1 constellation. The next series of launches will enable the business to activate its coverage solutions globally, and are strategically important to OneWeb’s success. The continuation of our highly innovative insurance programme, and the guidance of Marsh’s global colleagues, demonstrates that Marsh and OneWeb remain committed to creating a more connected future for all.”

Sanjay Kedia, Chief Executive, Marsh India, added: “The recent launch at Sriharikota and the enthusiastic participation of several Indian insurance players are positive and significant contributions to the global space sector. We are proud of our work with OneWeb, and we are delighted to see how our teams work collectively to deliver satellite launches in a safe, secure and responsible manner.”

About OneWeb

OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at http://www.oneweb.world

About Marsh

Marsh is the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor. With over 45,000 colleagues operating in 130 countries, Marsh serves commercial and individual clients with data-driven risk solutions and advisory services. Marsh is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue over $20 billion, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. For more information, visit mmc.com, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe to BRINK.

Happiest Minds Reports Revenue Growth In Constant Currency Of 26% And EBITDA Of 26.3%, Well Above Guidance


* Reported numbers on revenue growth and profitability continue to be industry leading

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE:HAPPSTMNDS), a ‘Born Digital. Born Agile’, digital transformation and IT solutions company, today announced its consolidated results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022 as approved by its Board of Directors.

Financial highlights

Quarter ended December 31, 2022

·         Revenue in constant currency grew by 2.8% q-o-q and 22.6% y-o-y

·         Operating Revenues in US$ stood at $45.3 million (growth of 2.1 % q-o-q: 19.8% y-o-y)

·         Total Income of Rs 37,468 lakhs (growth of 4.3% q-o-q; 28.2% y-o-y)

·         EBITDA of Rs 9,726 lakhs, 26.0% of Total Income (growth of 3.1% q-o-q; 26.5% y-o-y)

·         PAT of Rs 5,758 lakhs (decline of 3.1% q-o-q; growth of 17.7% y-o-y)

·         Free cash flows of Rs 9,315 lakhs

·         EPS (diluted) for the quarter of Rs 3.98

Nine months ended December 31, 2022

·         Revenue in constant currency grew by 26.0%

·         Operating Revenues in US$ stood at $131.9 million (growth of 23.5% y-o-y)

·         Total Income of Rs 106,397 lakhs (growth of 29.7% y-o-y)

·         EBITDA of Rs 27,935 lakhs, 26.3% of Total Income (growth of 31.4% y-o-y)

·         PAT of Rs 17,333 lakhs (growth of 34.3% y-o-y)

·         Free cash flows of Rs 26,534 lakhs

·         EPS (diluted) for half year of Rs 12.01

Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, said “We have delivered yet another quarter of excellent performance on all fronts. On revenue growth + EBITDA, a metric that we closely track, we are at 55.2%, which reflects our ability to drive consistent profitable growth. We are delighted with the recognitions received by Happiest Minds on corporate governance. The ICSI award in this quarter was preceded by the Golden Peacock award for corporate governance in the previous quarter. Happiest Minds stands for excellent corporate governance and these awards represent a dual confirmation on our disclosure, transparency and governance practices.“

Venkatraman N, MD & CFO, said “Happiest Minds’ year-to-date revenue growth of 26% in constant currency and EBITDA of 26.3% continue to be industry-leading and well above the guidance we have given for the year. Accolades that we received for our governance and disclosure practices coupled with our results make the quarter results that much more pleasant”

Joseph Anantharaju, Executive Vice Chairman, said “Our clients are investing heavily in cloud, experience and analytics as part of their strategic Digital initiatives. They continue to see us as a strategic and differentiated partner, given our positioning as a ‘Born Digital . Born Agile’ company and our technology depth. This has resulted in a strong pipeline of large deals, many of them with Fortune 500 companies.”

Clients:

·         230 as of December 31, 2022

·         9 additions in the quarter

Our People - Happiest Minds:

·         4,611 Happiest Minds as of December 31, 2022 (net addition for the quarter 30)

·         Trailing 12 months attrition of 20.9%

·         Utilization of 80.1%, from 80.6% in last quarter

Q3 FY23 Key Project Wins:

·         For one of the largest bottlers of beverage brands in America, Happiest Minds was chosen to establish Microsoft Power Platform COE for them.

·         For a US-based workforce development company, Happiest Minds was selected to build their next-generation mentorship platform.

·         For a global leader in the design and manufacturing of advanced analytical, test and measurement instrumentation, Happiest Minds was selected as a partner for front-end development and automation.

·         For a leading US labor and employment law firm, Happiest Minds is helping them automate their processes with Microsoft Power Platform 

·         For a large consulting company in the US, Happiest Minds is providing managed database services

·         For a Danish bank, Happiest Minds is digitally transforming their trading platform using Low-Code No-Code (LCNC) platform.

·         For a major telecom operator in the Middle East, Happiest Minds is providing Security Assessment services.

·         For a multi-national BPO and consultancy company headquartered in Europe, Happiest Minds is providing cloud, security and network management services.

Recognitions and CSR:

·         Happiest Minds has won GOLD for its 2022 Integrated Annual Report at the League of American Communication Professionals (LACP) Spotlight Awards 2022

·         Happiest Minds is recognized among ‘India’s Top 25 Best Workplaces™ in IT & IT-BPM 2022’ by Great Place To Work® Institute

·         Happiest Minds has won CULT.fit ‘India’s Fittest Disruptors 2022 Award’

·         Happiest Minds wins multiple awards at the ICSI National Awards 2022

·         ‘Best Governed Company’ in Medium Category

·         CS Praveen Kumar Darshankar presented the ‘Governance Professional of the Year’

·         Ashok Soota conferred ‘ICSI Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance’

·         Priya Kanduri conferred ‘Outstanding Leadership Award’ at Internet 2.0 Conference, Dubai

·         Sushilkumar Nahar recognized as a ‘Game Changer’ at the CIO100 Awards 2022 

Analyst Mentions

·         Happiest Minds is a ‘Leader in Enterprise Software’ – Zinnov Zones

·         Happiest Minds is a ‘Leader in Software Platform Engineering’ – Zinnov Zones

·         Happiest Minds is a ‘Leader among SMSPs for ER&D Services’ – Zinnov Zones

·         Happiest Minds is a ‘Leader among SMSPs in Data & AI Engineering’ – Zinnov Zones

·         Happiest Minds is a ‘Major Contender in Everest Managed Detection & Response (MDR) Services PEAK Matrix’  - Everest

Godrej & Boyce Adopts Global Technology To Optimize Customer Experience In The Intralogistics Sector


~The Material Handling arm of the company plans to increase its spends on technology by 100% with a focus on the retail and manufacturing sectors

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, has recently announced that its Material Handling business, plans to significantly boost investment in IoT-based technology and data, to enhance customer experience, global footprint and increase market share.

The overall intralogistics businesses of Godrej & Boyce include Material Handling solutions, Storage solutions, and intralogistics solutions through a joint venture with Koerber (Godrej Koerber). They have a total turnover of 1800cr, growing at a consistent 12% CAGR.

The Material Handling division has recently established strategic alliances with tech giants to launch disruptive solutions that are expected to increase customer efficiency. The pilot project has shown an increase of 12-15% in customer efficiency through better utilisation of their assets, monitoring the movement of the assets and monitoring of key performance parameters such as productivity, energy consumption, vehicle performance etc.

Mr Anil Lingayat, Business Head- Godrej Material Handling, Godrej & Boyce said, “The advancement of technology has become a necessity for the intralogistics sector to connect, automate, and analyze the success of operations. Material Handling business has been continuously focusing on digitization and connecting across the value chain. With new connected products, it is going to enhance the customer experience by leveraging the power of IoT, cloud, and analytics”.

While this business has a strong presence across sectors, it plans to strengthen its presence in Pharma, F&B and cold storage applications.

Godrej Material Handling has planned to double its investments in technology at multiple stages of operations including manufacturing, sales, and sustainability across its value chain. Since the implementation of Salesforce CRM, Godrej Material Handling has witnessed a 10% increase in user experience efficiency due to technological advancement. The business is expanding its capacity by 4x as it believes demand growth from the industry.

Union Bank of India Signs “MoU With Tata Hitachi” For Extending Equipment Finance


Union Bank of India entered partnership with M/s. Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Private Limited (Tata Hitachi) for extending Equipment Finance to the Customers of Tata Hitachi. Under the partnership, Union Bank of India and Tata Hitachi have mutually agreed to pool their resources together and be associated with each other for mutual benefits. The wider reach of the Bank will help both Union Bank of India and Tata Hitachi to extend the best offering to the buyers of Tata Hitachi across the country and to increase the Bank’s portfolio under Equipment Finance. 

(The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at Bengaluru by Shri Alok Kumar, Field General Manager, Bengaluru, Union Bank of India and Shri K Somaskandan, Chief Financial Officer, M/s. Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Private Limited. Shri Raghavendra Maravapalli, Head of Sales Administration, Tata Hitachi also present at the occasion. 

AU Small Finance Bank Delivers Strong And Consistent Performance In Q3’FY23 Amidst Challenging Macro Environment


 – Delivers highest ever quarterly profit of Rs 393 Cr, PAT grows by 30% YoY and 15% QoQ, Asset quality continues to improve sequentially with Gross NPA at 1.81% and Net NPA at 0.51%, Balance sheet crosses Rs 80,000 Cr 

The Board of Directors of AU Small Finance Bank Limited at its meeting held today, approved the financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. 

Executive Summary 

Q3’FY23 was another quarter of strong and consistent performance across parameters delivering healthy & calibrated loans and deposits growth, stable margins and asset quality, and sustained traction across credit cards and other digital initiatives amidst a challenging macro environment.  

The Balance sheet size crossed Rs 80,000 Cr mark and the Net worth of the Bank has reached Rs 10,540 Cr, a growth of 5x in ~5 years (since start of the Bank in April’2017). The quarter also saw collection efficiencies sustaining at 107%, resulting in further improvement in asset quality. During the quarter, the Bank opened 42 new touchpoints (net addition 35) and its physical network now spread across 1,015 touchpoints across 21 states and 3 UTs. The Bank also established its presence in 2 newer states this quarter namely Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. 

1.    Q3’FY23 Financial Highlights 

Business 

Bank’s total balance sheet grow by 4% QoQ and 17% YTD to Rs 80,703 Cr  

Deposits grew by 5% QoQ and 16% YTD to Rs 61,101 Cr 

CASA at 38% as against 42% as on 30-Sep’22 and 37% as on 31-Mar’22 

Gross Advances grew by 7% QoQ and 20% YTD to Rs 56,335 Cr; CD ratio at 91% 

90% of loan book is retail in nature and 93% of the loan book is Secured 

Averaged Cost of Funds for Q3’FY23 is at 6.0% 

CRAR at 22.0% and Tier I at 20.0% as on 31st Dec’22; including interim profits, CRAR was at 24.2% and Tier 1 at 22.2% as on 31st Dec’22 

Profitability 

Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 2,413 Cr, up 8% QoQ and 36% YoY  

NII at Rs 1,153 Cr, up 6% QoQ and 41% YoY  

Net profit stood at Rs 393 Cr for Q3’FY23, up 15% QoQ and 30% YoY  

Net Interest Margin (NIM) for the quarter was stable at 6.2%  

RoA stood at 2.0% and RoE at 15.2% even as we invest significantly in people, digital, branding, products and distribution to build a future ready bank 

Asset quality  

Bank’s Asset quality improved on QoQ basis with GNPA at 1.81% vs 1.90% as on 30th Sep’22 

Net NPA was stable at 0. 51%; Restructured advances declined to 1.4%   

Provision coverage ratio at 72% against 71% as on 30th Sep’22; Including technical write-offs, the PCR was at 75% 

Apart from provision of Rs 693 Cr against GNPA pool, Bank has, additionally, maintained following provision buffer 

Provision against restructured book at Rs 127 Cr (16% of restructured book)  

Contingency provision of Rs 98 Cr (0.2% of advances) 

Floating provision of Rs 41 Cr (0.1% of advances) 

Standard provisions of Rs 176 Cr (0.3% of advances) 

9M’FY23 Profitability highlights  

NII at Rs 3,212 Cr, up 40% YoY 

Total income for 9M’FY23 stood at Rs 6,632 Cr up 34% YoY 

Net profit for 9M’FY23 stood at Rs 1,003 Cr, up 28% YoY   

RoA stood at 1.8%, RoE at 14.8% for 9M’FY23; RoE impacted due to capital raise in Aug’22 

2.    Digital and Payment business 

The Bank’s digital properties like AU 0101, Video Banking, Credit cards, UPI QR etc. continue to see strong momentum 

Bank issued ~90K credit cards during the quarter taking the total live credit cards to 3.9 lacs; total installed UPI QR reach 8.7 Lac+  

2.4 Lac+ Savings Account opened digitally via Video Banking since launch last year and total relationship value of these accounts now at Rs 1,000+ Cr 

3.    Awards and Recognitions 

Certified ‘Great place To Work’ for 3rd consecutive year  

Awarded with ‘Company with Great Managers 2022 Award’  

Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) at its 18th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo and Awards 2022 under the category of “'Payment and SFBs” awarded AU SFB with: 

Best Technology Bank 

Best Digital Engagement 

Best Financial Inclusion 

AU SFB was awarded certificate of recognition for ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance’ under the ‘mid-sized listed corporate’ category by Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) at their 22nd National awards  

Adjudged ‘Best Small Finance Bank’ by BT-KPMG for 2022 

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank said, “Q3’FY23 was another quarter of strong and consistent performance across all key parameters supported by sustained underlying business momentum and strong capital base. Despite the challenging environment around inflation and liquidity, we were able to maintain margins, deliver growth in loan market share, improve asset quality, focus on productivity while achieving our highest ever quarterly profits.  

Our constant endeavor is to be an increasingly sustainable Bank and we have recently announced a plethora of progressive HR policies, some of which are among the industry first like “Menstrual leave for women employees” and an “AU Forever Pass” for our outgoing employees. I am also pleased to share that AU has been recognized as a Great Place to Work for the 3rd consecutive year in a row and has been recognized for ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance’ by Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). We recently released our first Sustainability Report which is externally assured by PwC and marks another step in our sustainability journey.   

I believe India is well placed in the post pandemic world. Our favorable demographics, stable democratic set up, and increasing impact of technological innovations like India Stack coupled with structural reforms are helping India emerge as a knowledge and technology leader in the world. Overall, our Bank is well positioned to capitalize on the emerging opportunities, and the recent acknowledgment as ‘Best Small Finance Bank’ by BT-KPMG will inspire us further”. 

About AU Small Finance Bank: 

AU Small Finance Bank Limited (AU SFB/AU) is a scheduled commercial bank, a Fortune India 500 Company and the largest Small Finance Bank in the country. Starting its journey from the hinterlands of Rajasthan, today AU is the largest Small Finance Bank with a deep understanding of the rural and semi-urban markets that has enabled it build robust business model facilitating inclusive growth. With 27+ years legacy of being a retail-focused and customer- centric institution, AU started its banking operations in April 2017 and as on 31st Dec’22, it has established operations across 1,015 banking touchpoints while serving 35.7 Lakh customers in 21 States & 3 Union Territories with an employee base of 27,753 employees. As on 31st Dec’22, it has a balance sheet size of ? 80,703 Cr, net worth of Rs 10,540 Cr, deposit base of Rs 61,101 Cr and Gross Advances of Rs 56,335 Cr. AU SFB enjoys the trust of marquee investors and is listed at both the leading stock exchanges viz. NSE and BSE. It has consistently maintained a high external credit rating from major rating agencies CRISIL, CARE Ratings and India Ratings. 

Great Learning To Host ‘Career Talks’ Webinar For Indian Students


*  sessions and 9 experts come together for a one-day marathon webinar to discuss career-building techniques across the most popular domains in the industry 

Great Learning, a leading global edtech company for higher and professional education is hosting ‘Career Talks’ webinar for students and working professionals on LinkedIn in-most demand domains like Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Software Development, Management, Digital Marketing and Data Science. The focus of this specially curated webinar day is to provide a platform for professionals to connect with industry experts and know in detail the trends, skills and opportunities of this domain and how individuals can look at building their careers in 2023, across these domains that are in vogue. Additionally, it will also assist students in understanding how to set themselves apart from their peers, by bringing a competitive edge and utilising in-demand abilities.

This one-day webinar covers six different sessions and will be led by nine domain experts from organisations such as Wipro, Ola, GE, Nissan, Walmart and others. Each session will begin with a brief overview of the domain, a detailed discussion on the required skills-sets and further delve into the importance of developing domain-related capabilities. Thereafter, every session will be followed by a Q&A session with the industry experts.

The webinar will be conducted from 2 PM (IST) on 24th January 2023 (Tuesday) with each session lasting 45 minutes. For more on this and for free registration, aspirants can log on to Career Talks 2023

About Great Learning

Great Learning is a part of BYJU'S group and a leading global ed-tech company for professional training and higher education. It offers comprehensive, industry-relevant, hands-on learning programs across various business, technology and interdisciplinary domains driving the digital economy. These programs are developed and offered in collaboration with the world's foremost academic institutions like Stanford Graduate School of Business, MIT Professional Education, The University of Texas at Austin, National University of Singapore, The University of Arizona, Deakin University, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIIT-Delhi and Great Lakes Institute of Management. Great Learning is able to leverage the high qualified, world-class faculty at these universities together with its vast network of 5600+ industry expert mentors to deliver an unmatched learning experience for 6.6 million learners from over 170+ countries around the world.

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