Metals drive up the markets

Mon, 10 May 11:30 am

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The benchmark indices continued their climb upwards in the previous two hours of trade. Buying interest is seen across the board lead by stocks from the metal, realty and banking space. Only stocks from the healthcare space are seen trading in the red, albeit marginally. BSE-Sensex is trading higher by 291 points while NSE-Nifty is trading 95 points above the dotted line. BSE-Midcap Index is trading higher by 1.8% while BSE-Smallcap index is trading 2% above Friday’s closing. The rupee is trading at 45.04 to the US dollar.

As per a leading financial daily, Maruti Suzuki has asked its 200 odd vendors to reduce costs across the board. With increase in competition, the company has taken stringent measures to contain its costs. Now to maintain its competitive edge the company has asked its vendors to also cut their component costs by 3%. This cut would work out to be a saving of Rs 7,000 per car at FY10 production levels. However, as per the company, this cut is necessary to maintain car prices as the company is facing a rising raw material costs scenario. The company is also working on a new engine which will be more fuel efficient. Maruti is facing competition in its small car segment. With these measures, the company is seen concentrating on combining value for money with performance to maintain its leadership in the small car market.

NIIT Ltd announced its results last Friday. Sales during the full year FY10 grew by 4% YoY. The company’s operating margins grew at a faster pace of 32% YoY on the back of a slow increase in expenditure (1% YoY). Operating margins during FY10 stood at 13.1% as compared to 10.3%, on the back of efficient cost containment measures and decrease in headcount. The company’s net profits during the year remained flat. Bottomline performance was mainly impacted by higher forex losses and depreciation costs.

Growth during the year was mainly on the back of a 45% YoY increase in sales of its school learning business. However, this segment is the company’s lowest contributor to sales. The largest contributor to sales is the corporate learning solution segment. This witnessed a sales decline of 6% YoY. The key reason behind the same is the continued weakness in corporate spending globally. During the quarter ending March 2010, the company reported a 2% YoY decline in sales. However, profits grew by 41% YoY on the back of a 31% YoY increase in margins.