• Hinduja TMT FY-01 net Rs 464 million

    Submitted by ITV Production on Apr 11, 2002

    Hinduja TMT Ltd today announced a net profit of Rs 464.02 million for the year ended 31 March, 2002 as compared to Rs 420.66 million for the corresponding period last fiscal. Fourth quarter net profit stood at Rs 160.14 million as compared to Rs 39.99 million in the corresponding period last fiscal, an over four-fold jump.

    The company posted total income of Rs 729.68 million for the year, up from Rs 617.25 million in FY-01.

    Barring unforeseen circumstances, HTMT expects its IT revenues to increase 100-110% and the net profit therefrom to increase by about 70 per cent in FY 2002-03 on the basis of contracts on hand. The bulk of the contribution would come from the IT enabled business, a company release states.

    HTMT‘s employees in its IT division was 953 as on 31st March 2002 as compared to 358 in the previous year due to the ramp up in the company‘s IT enabled business. The total number of employees in HTMT‘s IT enabled business increased from 111 as on 31 March 2001 to 773 as on 31 March, 2002 (Call center business - 472 and claims processing business was 301). HTMT‘s workforce is likely to grow beyond 1500 at the end of the current fiscal, the release states.

    According to HTMT vice-chairman Solomon Raj: "Going by the current trend and available opportunities, we are likely to emerge as a leading IT enabled services Company with a brand for quality and customer care. As the company implemented its call center business during the 3rd quarter of the last financial year, the real impact of ramp up in our IT-enabled orders would be reflected in the current year."

    Barring unforeseen circumstances, HTMT expects its IT revenues to increase 100 - 110 per cent and the net profit there from to increase by about 70 per cent in FY 2002-03 on the basis of contracts on hand. The bulk of the contribution would come from the IT-enabled business.

    HTMT‘s book value as on 31 March 2002 was Rs 110 per share and the basic and diluted earning per share stands at Rs 13.04. The company continues to remain debt free with cash on hand for the year ended 31 March 2002 amounting to Rs 417.5 million.

    HTMT, besides positioning itself as an operating IT company, through its subsidiaries is expanding operations in the areas of cable television, broadband Internet, local television programming, movie channel and movie based programming. Fascel, HTMT‘s joint venture with Hutchison Max, continues to be the largest single circle (excluding metros) cellular operator in the country, the release states.

  • Kohli starts work Monday as Star News president

    Submitted by ITV Production on Apr 11, 2002

    Star India finally made it official today. The Rupert Murdoch-promoted company announced the appointment of Ravina Raj Kohli as president - Star News Channel. Kohli starts work Monday and will be spearheading the new Star News operation scheduled to delink from Prannoy Roy‘s New Delhi Television on 31 March 2002.

    Kohli is expected to be in Los Angeles within the next two weeks to get a first hand look at how Murdoch‘s Fox News operation is run. It is the Fox News formula on which the new Star News will be modelled - meaning lots more focus on entertainment, sports and business as an adjunct to politics.

    Kohli will report directly to Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea who, while announcing the appointment, said: "We are very pleased to have Ravina join us at this exciting juncture. Ravina‘s experience in the creative business of television will bring to the news category in India a fresh boost and new energy. I am confident that with her leadership, Star News will achieve new heights as the pace-setter in news broadcasting."

    "I am ready for the challenge ahead, and look forward to working with Asia‘s most dynamic company, building on the popularity and success of Star News - and breaking new ground," an official release quoted Kohli as saying.

    One thing that seems clear is that Star News will not be operating out of the Star India head office in the western Mumbai suburb of Andheri. A likely possibility as far as office premises go is the Worli area of central Mumbai. A whole new complex where the news operations will be housed is just one part of the start-up costs of the news channel which will have a completely new look - new ID, logos and everything else. Star has reportedly earmarked Rs 2500 million for just the first year of operations. That is huge money and is likely to shake up all the players in the business.

  • Kohli starts work Monday as Star News president

    Star India finally made it official today.

  • Sameer Nair elevated to Star India COO

    The man who is widely regarded as the creative brain behind the rise of Star Plus to its pre-eminent position in Indi

  • Sameer Nair elevated to Star India COO

    Submitted by ITV Production on Apr 10, 2002

    The man who is widely regarded as the creative brain behind the rise of Star Plus to its pre-eminent position in India‘s channel stakes - Sameer Nair, executive V-P, head of content & communication, Star India - has just had a whole lot more added to his plate. Effective today, Nair is the chief operating officer (COO) of the Rupert Murdoch-promoted numero uno Indian cable and satellite TV network.

    One immediate change that Nair‘s promotion makes in the executive scheme of things is that Tarun Katial, V-P, programming Star Plus, Star Movies and Star World, will be devoting all his energies now to Star Plus. The new COO revealed that the next two months would be see some additional reorganisation.

    Nair joined Star in 1994 in charge of Star Movies. Thereafter he moved on to lead movie acquisitions and headed the on-air promotion and presentation department. In 1999, Nair took over as the programming head of Star Plus and soon became the executive vice-president, programming for the whole network.

    While Nair shares with Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea the credit for the phenomenal success of Kaun Banega Crorepati and making Star Plus the No 1 channel, the responsibility of getting Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan to host KBC was entirely his.

    Born and brought up in Mumbai, Nair started his career with UDI Yellow Pages in Mumbai where he spent two years. He then moved on to spend another four years at Goldwire, an advertising agency in Chennai. Nair also worked as an independent ad filmmaker in Chennai for a year and a half.


  • Sameer Nair elevated to Star India COO

    The man who is widely regarded as the creative brain behind the rise of Star Plus to its pre-eminent position in Indi

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