1:45 pm Defaulter? Jaiprakash Power Ventures said it was likely to default on
payments for convertible bonds worth USD 200 million due on February 13 this
year, as it could not generate enough revenue from its operations. Jaiprakash,
which has been weighed down by debts and a sharp downturn in the performance of
the Indian power sector, said in a statement on Wednesday the company was
confident of its ability to pay its dues under the bonds by March 31, 2016.
1:30 pm Result: Aban Offshore beat street expectations by reporting a 62
percent growth (year-on-year in consolidated net profit at Rs 130 crore. Good
operational performance due to decline in expenses pushed the bottomline
higher.
Profit
was expected at Rs 85 crore on revenue of Rs 992 crore for the quarter,
according to the average of estimates of analysts polled.
Consolidated
total income of the offshore drilling services provider (to oil companies) grew
1 percent to Rs 1,003 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 from Rs 994.3
crore in same quarter of last fiscal.
Total
expenses slipped 1 percent on yearly basis to Rs 669.78 crore during the
quarter due to lower cost of materials consumed, rental charges for machinery
and insurance cost.
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The
market started to skid after the Nifty almost touching 9000-level. The 50-share
index is up 15.10 points at 8925.60 ahead of Jan F&O series expiry
tomorrow. The Sensex is up 42.56 points at 29613.60. About 1073 shares have
advanced, 1583 shares declined, and 254 shares are unchanged.
HDFC
is up 3 percent followed by Maruti, ICICI Bank, Coal India and SBI. Among the
losers are Bharti, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel and Tata Power.
Analysts
say traders are cautious because of the Fed's first two-day policy meeting of
the year that concludes tonight, and policymakers will likely restate their
"patient" approach to raising rates, while also voicing faith that
the economy will continue improving.
The
Federal Reserve is expected to signal it remains on track to begin raising
interest rates later this year, as the central bank shows confidence that low
inflation and rising risks from abroad have yet to derail the US economic
recovery.