Business

Bengaluru, April 18 (IANS) IT software giant Infosys on Thursday declared a 30 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 7,969 crore for the January-March quarter of 2023-24, up from Rs 6,128 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

The company reported a revenue of Rs 37,923 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, according to a stock exchange filing.

Infosys also declared a final dividend of Rs 20 per equity share and a one-time dividend of Rs 8 per share.

India’s second-largest IT services company also announced the acquisition of In-Tech Holding GmbH, an engineering, research and development services provider.

Infosys share price went up 0.34 per cent on Thursday to settle at Rs 1,419.25, ahead of the fourth quarter results.

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Seoul, April 18 (IANS) The combined vehicle sales of South Korea's leading automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia fell 1.3 per cent from a year ago in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 in Europe, industry data showed on Thursday.

According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association both automakers sold a combined 2,78,432 units in Europe during the January-March period, down 1.3 per cent from the same period last year.

The data showed Hyundai Motor's sales inched up 1.3 per cent to 1,35,281 units, while that of Kia dropped 3.6 per cent to 1,43,151 units, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The combined market share of Hyundai and Kia for Q1 in Europe stood at 8.2 per cent, down 0.5 percentage points from last year.

For March alone, the combined sales of the companies fell 5.6 per cent on-year to 1,12,692 units. Sales of Hyundai declined 5.2 per cent to 53,357 units, and that of Kia shed 5.9 per cent to 59,335 units.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor and Kia have entered into a strategic partnership with leading battery company Exide Energy, as part of their electric vehicle expansion plans in India.

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New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Hindustan Zinc Limited on Thursday announced that it has now become the third-largest silver producer globally as per the World Silver Survey 2024 conducted by The Silver Institute in the US.

"The company's Sindesar Khurd Mine now stands as the world's second largest silver-producing mine moving up from last year's fourth position," the company said in a statement.

Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc, said: "Silver plays a pivotal role in the global energy transition and our recent record silver production of 746 MT paves the way for Atmanirbhar Bharat. Hindustan Zinc's production growth of 5 per cent year-on-year is attributed to increased ore production and enhanced grades."

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The trend of rising foreign portfolio investment in India witnessed in the first week of March continued in the second week, says V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

FPIs were big sellers in January and modest buyers in February. But in March they turned big buyers having bought equity worth Rs 35,665 crores through March 15. This figure includes some bulk deals executed through the stock exchanges and, therefore, is not a true indicator of FPI activity. However, the rising trend of FPI investment continues, he said.

He said that an important feature of FPI investment for many months now has been its erratic nature. FPIs have been changing their strategy in response to the changes in the bond yields in the US.

Therefore, now that US bond yields have again spiked up in response to stubborn inflation, FPIs may again turn sellers in some of the days, going forward, he added.

An important trend in the market in March is the weakness in the mid and smallcaps and the resilience in largecaps. This also has persuaded FPIs to reduce the selling in the large-caps and even buying in limited quantities in sectors like banking, telecom and automobiles, he said.

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New Delhi, March 7 (IANSlife) It was a houseful of stars at the debut of the Gucci Ancora S/S 24 collection in Mumbai. From Indian global brand ambassador Alia Bhatt to Vijay Varma, Athiya Shetty, Ahan Shetty, and Vedang Raina, there were many stylish celebrities spotted at the event. The house celebrated with an exclusive cocktail party held at the new flagship store in Jio World Plaza. Guests attending enjoyed the preview over drinks and a curated DJ set and live music performance.

Sabato De Sarno's creative vision for Gucci, encapsulated in the ever-evolving narrative of "Gucci Ancora," unfolds as a vibrant tapestry weaving together the joys of life, passion, humanity, and the irreverent glamour that defines the essence of the brand.

Bhatt played in a deep V-neck suit. Set to convey the essence of Gucci Ancora alongside the collection's arrival in stores, the House is orchestrating a series of events that will sweep through major cities worldwide.

Throughout February and March, notable takeovers and activations will be unveiled in key cities—from New York to Shanghai. Each locale will transform into a canvas, breathing life into the Gucci Ancora vision through carefully curated and immersive experiences.

The celebration provided a unique yet accessible opportunity for guests to intimately experience the exquisite craftmanship and irreverent glamour defining the collection.

IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in

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New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) SpiceJet on Thursday announced the successful resolution of Rs 413 crore dispute with Echelon Ireland Madison One Ltd.

The airline said that the settlement with Echelon Ireland Madison One Ltd will result in savings of Rs 398 crore for SpiceJet.

As part of the agreement, SpiceJet will acquire two airframes, enhancing the airline's fleet and operational capabilities.

"This settlement marks the third major resolution for SpiceJet following its recent fundraising. These successful settlements have resulted in total savings of INR 685 crore for the airline, further solidifying SpiceJet's financial stability and balance sheet," said the spokesperson.

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said: “We are pleased to announce the successful resolution of our dispute with Echelon Ireland Madison One Ltd, marking another significant milestone for SpiceJet."

He said that this settlement not only underscores our commitment to financial prudence but also enables us to further fortify our fleet with the acquisition of two airframes.

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New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) Visual communication platform Canva on Thursday announced its partnership with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to train educators in visual communication and generative artificial intelligence (genAI) tools throughout CBSE-affiliated schools in India.

The programme is aimed at enhancing digital creativity skills among principals and teachers and is expected to benefit over 840,000 educators and more than 25 million students across CBSE schools in the country.

"Today’s industry needs an evolved pedagogy that nurtures creativity and design literacy early amongst students and helps enhance their employability factor. Canva will help empower teachers and students in integrating visual communication into their classrooms," Jason Wilmot, Head of Education, Canva, said in a statement.

The first phase of the training series will begin with nearly 30,000 teachers undergoing orientation and workshops aimed at learning about innovative teaching methodologies.

The teachers will also be welcomed to join the ‘Canva for Teachers’ community to continuously improve their digital storytelling capabilities, the company said.

"We are truly excited about the association with Canva to equip teachers with newer tools to enhance the learning experience in the classroom," said Biswajit Saha, Director (Skilling), CBSE.

"Providing such access to our educators will help them save time in design tasks and inspire our students towards a new era of creativity and design," he added.

The partnership will involve a comprehensive series of workshops to demonstrate the full potential of Canva to educators, from enabling classroom design thinking and enhancing lesson plans to refining educational materials and fostering meaningful engagement in the classroom.

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New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) The 3.7 per cent decline in the small-cap index this week when Nifty appreciated by 0.5 per cent is a big underperformance, says V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Large-caps are outperforming mid and small-caps. This trend is likely to continue since valuation in the broader market remains highly elevated and the regulator has sent a clear message regarding the froth in the segment, he said.

“Investors have time, even now, to switch from small-caps to fairly valued large-caps and partly to fixed income products. At this stage in the market, safety should be given priority over return," he said.

Bank Nifty is emerging stronger led by private sector majors like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Ind Sind Bank and Kotak Bank. Three, regulatory action on some NBFCs have impacted sentiments in the entire NBFC space, which, in turn, is improving sentiments in the high quality private banking space, he added.

In February 2024, Nifty Next 50 emerged as a best performing index with a growth of 6.68 per cent, exhibiting consistent performance. The index has seen consecutive growth during the last three months, six months and one year of 22.85 per cent, 32.8 per cent and 58.36 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the mid-cap, small-cap and micro-cap indices experienced a decline of 0.3 per cent, 0.65 per cent, and 1.39 per cent respectively, as per Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company.

The realty sector maintained its upward trajectory and surged by 6.3 per cent, leading as the top performer, while the FMCG index saw a 1.9 per cent decline, marking it as the worst performer.

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Los Angeles, March 7 (IANS) Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey enjoys tasty meals at home in Texas with his wife Camila Alves McConaughey.

Camila often shares her adventures in the kitchen, and beyond, on her website ‘Women of Today’.

For Southern Living, the married couple, who share sons Levi, Livingston, and daughter Vida, spoke about the recipes that the family loves most, reports ‘People’ magazine.

“The most requested recipe in the house for me to make by Ma Mac and Matthew—would be the no-mayo coleslaw”, Camila told Southern Living, referencing her popular coleslaw recipe that uses olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice in place of mayonnaise.

As per ‘People’, their children’s taste buds crave for something sweeter. “For the kids, it's the honey chicken," Camila added.

In that recipe, wings and drumettes get marinated and baked, and then drizzled with honey before going under the broiler. Matthew chimed in with one of their more hearty favourites.

“I'm going to say the one you're forgetting… stroganoff,” he said.

Camila responded: "Oh yeah I forgot about that! Brazilian chicken stroganoff.”

Matthew shared that the family doesn’t eat it as often as they'd like. "Chicken, and cream, and corn — it's sinfully good. But we can't eat that one every night", he said.

All of Camila's recipes are available on Women of Today. The McConaugheys, who unveiled their new joint tequila brand Pantalones Organic Tequila in October, also revealed their favourite tequila cocktails.

"My idea of a perfect drink: Pantalones reposado on the rocks,” Matthew told the outlet.

“I will not shy away from a good margarita. I won’t at all. But because I like my tequila, I like to drink a little more of it. I like to drink it on the rocks, straight so I don’t get all that sugar content.”

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Bengaluru, March 7 (IANS) Enterprise software major Salesforce has strengthened its presence in India with a 35 per cent growth (year-on-year) in new business driving efficiency, productivity and success for customers across industries, it said on Thursday.

Leading Indian businesses such as Air India, Atomberg, Narayana Health and Jaipur Rugs, among others, collaborated with Salesforce to create digital strategies focused on increasing productivity, driving efficiency and revolutionising interactions with customers in a new era of AI innovation.

“Its been a year of phenomenal growth and India continues to be a bright spot for Salesforce globally. This is a golden era of technology adoption in the country and we are excited to be a part of this digital transformation journey,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO and Chairperson, Salesforce India.

Globally, the company registered revenue of $34.9 billion for fiscal 2024, an increase of 11 per cent year-on-year.

In India, the company recently announced the expansion of its Bengaluru office and its flagship Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad reinforcing India as a leading talent, knowledge and global innovation hub for the company.

Currently, Salesforce has 11,000 employees in India, across sites in Hyderabad and Bengaluru as well as Mumbai, Gurugram, Pune and Jaipur.

Salesforce said it continues to hire in India for roles across technology and product, sales, business support and customer success, making India the second largest talent hub for the company. The company’s growth in India is also supported by an ecosystem of established strategic partners, startups, over 2 million Salesforce developers, and more users of Trailhead - its free online learning platform - than any market outside the US.

“We continue to focus on empowering businesses to harness the power of AI. I’m excited to bring the power of our trusted, unified ‘Einstein 1 Platform’, to deliver unprecedented customer success in the region,” said Bhattacharya.

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