Business

Chennai, Nov 3 (IANS) Nasdaq listed Cognizant Technology Solutions (Cognizant) closed the third quarter with a 2.4 per cent revenue growth.

According to Cognizant, the revenue for the Q3 went up to about $4.9 billion up from about $4.7 billion of Q3 2021.

The company follows the calendar year as its accounting year.

The earnings per share stood at $1.17 ($1.06 Q32021).

"Revenue and bookings were below our expectations as company specific fulfillment challenges were compounded by the impact of an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop," said Brian Humphries, Chief Executive Officer.

"We are confident the steps we are taking will return the company to accelerated growth over the medium to long term," he added.

According to Cognizant, financial services revenue declined 1.5 per cent year-over-year, but grew 1.6 per cent in constant currency.

Growth was driven by digital services among the public sector clients in the UK and insurance clients. Growth was offset by 180 basis points of negative impact related to the previously disclosed sale of the Samlink subsidiary (completed February 1, 2022), the company said.

Health Sciences revenue grew 3.8 per cent year-over-year, or 5.5 per cent in constant currency. Growth was driven by digital services among the pharmaceutical and healthcare payer clients.

Products and resources revenue grew 3.7 per cent year-over-year, or 8.2 per cent in constant currency, driven by digital services among logistics, automotive, consumer goods and travel and hospitality clients.

Communications, Media and Technology revenue grew six per cent year-over-year, or 10.4 per cent in constant currency, driven by strength among digital native companies, Cognizant said.

The total number of employees stood at 3,49,400 after adding 8,100 employees during the quarter under review.

The annualised voluntary attrition stood at 29 per cent, the company said.

As to the revenue guidance for the year, Cognizant said the fourth quarter is expected to be $4.72-$4.77 billion.

Full-year 2022 revenue is expected to be approximately $19.3 billion.

Cognizant also said it has agreed to acquire the professional services and application management practices of US based OneSource.

Once the deal is done, Cognizant will add 400 employees to its fold.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Nov 3 (IANS) Sony announced that it will launch the PlayStation VR2 on February 22, 2023 at a price of $549.99, along with a Sense controller charging station.

Pre-orders of the new headset will begin on PlayStation Direct from November 15 in the US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The key features of the PS VR2 Sense Technology includes eye tracking, 3D audio, and adaptive triggers and haptic feedback from the headset's Sense controllers which provides a unique gameplay experience.

Additionally, the new headset features 4000 x 2040Ahigh dynamic range (HDR) video format (2000 x 2040 per eye), which will provide next-generation gaming experience to the players.

"We've created the PS VR2 headset with comfort in mind, in a slightly slimmer and lighter design compared to our previous headset," the tech giant said in a blogpost.

"We're expecting more than 20 titles at launch," it added.

For a more customised feel, the VR2 also includes an integrated vent for extra air flow and a lens adjustment dial.

Earlier, Sony had also announced that it will launch the DualSense Edge wireless controller, the first-ever ultra-customisable controller developed by PlayStation, globally on January 26, 2023. It will be available for a price of $199.99

The controller would offer a host of hardware and software-based personalisation options, including button remapping, the ability to fine-tune stick sensitivity and triggers, options to swap between multiple control profiles, and a unique on-controller user interface, the company said.

--IANS
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By Arun Kejriwal
The week gone by had all the festivities on account of Diwali and the beginning of trading for Samvat 2079. There was just 'Muhurat' trading of one hour on Monday followed by a holiday on Wednesday which had disrupted and broken the market momentum. However, at the end of it all, markets did gain with a good showing for the week and they were up on three of the four trading sessions.



BSESNESEX gained 652.70 points or 1.10% to close at 59,959.85 points while NIFTY gained 210.50 points or 1.20 per cent to close at 17,786.80 points. The broader market saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 gain 1.17 per cent, 1.12 per cent and 1.05 per cent respectively. BSEMIDCAP was up 0.98 per cent and BSESMALLCAP was up 0.43 per cent.

The Indian Rupee gained 21 paisa or 0.25 per cent to close at Rs 82.47. Dow Jones had a terrific week and was up a massive 1779.24 points or 5.72 per cent to close at 32,861.80 points. It gained on all the five trading sessions with Wednesday being actually a flat day. The best of the week was reserved for Friday when it gained a massive 828 points. The impact of this rally on Friday is likely to be seen in our markets on Monday when we would see a gap up opening.

October futures expired on a positive note and the series gained in the last week. The series ended with gains of 918.85 points or 5.46 per cent at 17,336.95 points.

FSN E-commerce, the company which is listed under the brand Nykaa, continues to face the wrath of investors ever since it announced an unexpected bonus issue of 5 shares for every one held. The share price has been under pressure ever since the announcement was made on 3rd of October. The share price post bonus announcement was Rs 1,304.90, and has now fallen to Rs 983.15. The fall is Rs 321.75 or 24.65 per cent. The low was Rs 975.50, which is a new low for the share since listing. The company would be declaring results for the quarter on Tuesday the 1st of November and one cannot be sure about their quality.

The primary market is seeing a sharp flurry in activity with companies wanting to beat the validity of results of the June quarter ending in a fortnight's time. There is a spate of issues in the week ahead and the one following. The first of the block is DCX Systems Limited which is raising Rs 400 crore fresh and Rs 100 crore through an offer for sale. The company is into defence related activity primarily in the aerospace segment and is an Indian offset partner for Israeli companies amongst others. The issue opens on Monday the 31st of October and closes on Wednesday the 2nd of November. The price band is Rs 197-207. The EPS for the year ended March 22 was Rs 9.19. At this price the PE band is 21.44-22.52 times. Considering the huge shortfall in execution of pending offset contracts, the company has a huge future going forward. The business looks interesting and investment is warranted.

The second company is Fusion Microfinance Limited which is tapping the markets with a fresh issue of Rs 600 crore and an offer for sale 136.95 lakh shares. The issue opens on Tuesday the 1st of November and closes on Thursday the 3rd of November. The price band is Rs 350-368. The company has cleaned its books as far as provisions on NPA is concerned as of march 22 and has come with a clean slate to the markets. If one considers the EPS for March 22, it is a mere Rs 2.64 for the full year, while it is Rs 8.98 on a fully diluted basis for the quarter ended June 22.

Considering that the quarterly numbers are annualised for simplicity's sake we are talking of an EPS of Rs 35 to Rs 36 for the full year March 23. The EPS should be calculated on this basis. Another way to look at it is the price to book for the bank. The NAV for March 22 is Rs 161.67, which has improved to Rs 171.10 at the end of June quarter. The issue is priced at a price to book ratio of 2.27 based on March 22 numbers and 2.15 times June numbers. The company looks attractive and investment in the company should be considered.

The third and final issue for the week is from Global Healthcare Limited which is tapping the capital markets with its fresh issue of Rs 600 crore and an offer for sale of 507.61 lakh shares in a price band of Rs 319-336. The issue opens on Thursday the 3rd of November and closes on Monday the 7th of November. The company which uses the brand 'Medanta', operates five hospitals in the cities of Gurugram, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi and Indore. It is in the process of setting up a hospital in Noida which would take another 24-30 months to be commissioned.

The growth for the company would come from additional beds which are set up at the existing facilities. The company has compared itself with Apollo Hospitals, Max, Fortis and Narayana. In terms of revenues, it is smaller than all of these. The company has reported losses in the new hospitals that have been set up while the oldest and established one in Gurugram is the cash cow of the company. On a net basis the company reported an EPS of Rs 7.77 for the year ended March 2022. At this EPS, the PE band is 41.08 to 43.24 on a diluted basis. This compares favourably with Apollo and Max. Is similar to Narayana but is more expensive than Fortis. While the business is good and Dr Trehan, the founder, has a tremendous background, it appears that there is hardly anything on the table in the near term for investors.

While in the long term, the turnaround in the four hospitals and utilisation of land available in Gurugram would impact the hospital positively, this needs to be put into action to bear fruit. Investors should look at the company post listing or after the September results are announced.

Coming to the markets, we are well poised to touch the levels of 18050-18,150 on NIFTY and 61,000 on BSESENSEX. If these levels are crossed and sustained, we have further upside possible. Assuming these levels are crossed which may not happen this week as we have FED meeting for their interest rate hike considerations on Tuesday and Wednesday, we are in for sharp upsides.

How the US markets would react is anybody's guess. As far as a rally is concerned, we have already gained quite sharply. At best markets may consolidate or we may react small if all is well. If data and commentary is poor there could be a sharp correction as well. The market has very strong support in the region of 17,350-17,450 on NIFTY and 58,650-58,950 on BSESENSEX. This takes care of the previous top and also some more cushion on the downside.

The strategy would be to buy on any meaningful dips and sell on strong rallies. For some time now onwards, trade is going forward, with a positive bias.

(Arun Kejriwal is the founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services. The views expressed are personal)

--IANS
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By Animesh Singh
New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, which is considered to be the backbone of Indian economy, consists of a vast set of an estimated 6.34 crore enterprises in the country.



However a major roadblock in the growth of MSME sector is the lack of reliable data about enterprises operating in this sector.

Surprisingly, the last MSME survey was conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2015-16, i.e., six years ago.

This lack of reliable data, according to sources, is a major roadblock in the growth of the MSME sector.

Considering the fact that the MSME sector itself has undergone changes in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic had erupted and they needed urgent credit requirements, the need for a survey of the sector becomes all the more pertinent.

The government may consider conducting a survey of the MSME sector soon, sources said.

The survey would help estimate the actual number of MSMEs in the country along with realistic assessments of their credit requirements, they added.

Due to lack of regular survey, there is still a significant credit gap for the MSME sector and unmet demand remains substantial.

As per the U.K. Sinha, Expert Committee on MSMEs' report, the overall credit gap in the MSME sector is estimated to be Rs 20 lakh crore to Rs 25 lakh crore.

Along with the credit gap, the MSME sector is often not able to borrow at globally competitive rates since there is not sufficient and affordable financing available to financial institutions that target the MSME sector.

MSME enterprises also have to contend with delayed and erratic payments from their customers, which makes working capital management and financing very difficult.

Since few MSMEs have sufficiently predictable cash flows, it becomes difficult for MSMEs to access affordable financing to operate and grow their businesses.

Therefore, regular surveys of the sector would significantly help bridge the credit gap for MSMEs in the country, industry sources said.

--IANS
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By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) A Larsen & Toubro group entity, L&T Construction, Chennai, which is building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, has been accused of perpetrating an alleged fraud by its consortium contractor, while implementing Indias World Bank-aided tsunami alert projects in two eastern states.


The WB-funded project -- first in India as part of a global initiative for safety in coastal regions -- was intended to sound an advance warning to the disaster management authorities and people living on shoresides of any impending tsunami threats following earthquakes.

The backdrop was the massive devastation caused in many countries, including south India, by the deadly tsunami triggered after the Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011.

The multi-crore rupees prestigious pilot project -- Alert Siren Systems, part of a comprehensive Early Warning & Dissemination System (EWDS) -- came up in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, around 2018, touching the Bay of Bengal.

In February 2016, the Central PSU, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL), appointed L&T Construction as the main contractor, along with Telegrafia of Slovakia and its sole distributor for the sophisticated EWDS, Spectral India, New Delhi, to execute the project within nine months.

Spectral India named a representative, Pankaj Agrawal, to handle the routine work on its behalf with both Telegrafia and L&T Construction, and initially everything apparently worked smoothly.

"Somewhere, without our knowledge, Telegrafia quietly bypassed us to deal directly with Agrawal through his entity, Stalworth Systems, Mumbai. Later, Stalworth Systems claimed it is the India partner of Telegrafia," Spectral India Chairman B.C. Yesudas said.

Owing to the unholy dispute, the work on the critical WB project languished as Yesudas sacked Agrawal and pursued the matter with Telegrafia and L&T Construction, which bagged the contract to build the Lord Ram Temple in UP, around 2019/2020.

As the EWDS work halted, on April 2, 2018, the L&T shot off a stinker to Telegrafia, expressing ‘surprise' at the Slovakian company's agreement with Stalworth Systems of which it had no inkling.

"The bid document submitted by L&T qualifies only Telegrafia and Spectral India... Stalworth (Agrawal) came into the project as an authorised representative of Spectral India, to take the order and act on behalf of Spectral India," pointed out K. Rajaram, Executive Vice-President of L&T Construction.

Rajaram also complained to Telegrafia as to how Stalworth System's Agrawal had taken advance payments at all stages in the project, and yet was spreading canards to extract more money.

"He is not cooperating with our site staff, not involving them in commissioning activities, not following any QA procedures. Further, Stalworth, under silly pretexts, has abandoned the (Odisha) project since January 26, 2018," Rajaram said.

As Spectral India had terminated the services of Stalworth Systems, L&T Constructions said it was not possible to have any further dialogue with them, "nor we can hope to getting the (Odisha) project completed by Stalworth".

Rajaram urged Telegrafia to advise Spectral India to take over the Odisha project to help L&T Construction complete and hand it over to the government.

"Later, we were requested by the Odisha government to help out at the last-minute before top VVIPs from the Centre and state arrived for the inauguration. We obliged them as our national duty. However, till date, L&T has not cleared our dues of around Rs 20 crore -- though we saved their public reputation at a critical juncture," rued Yesudas.

Despite repeated attempts made by IANS, L&T Construction, Telegrafia and Stalworth Systems' Agrawal failed to respond to the issues raised by Spectral India.

Undeterred, Yesudas lodged a complaint in a New Delhi court against the trio of L&T, Telegrafia and Stalworth Systems, but he is mystified why the L&T -- which had exposed the mischievous role of Stalworth Systems to the Slovakian company -- failed to take independent action against them and also clear Spectral India's lawful dues.

"In August 2022, I had written to L&T to clear Special India's full outstanding of Rs 20 crore, plus Rs 200 crore as compensation for the loss of goodwill and forfeiting several other similar projects due to their mischief perpetrated in connivance with Telegrafia and Agrawal of Stalworth Systems," Yesudas added.

Oblivious of the corporate mini-tsunami raging in the background, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the state's EWDS on October 29, 2017, in the presence of top officials from L&T, Spectral India, etc., while the Andhra Pradesh project also took off in a low-key manner.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS
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London, Oct 23 (IANS) After releasing plans to scale EV and battery production in the US, BMW has announced it would also be adding a new battery assembly line and new cell varnishing lines at its plant in Germany's Leipzig.

The luxury automaker says the batteries will be used for its fully electric Mini Countryman crossover, reports the auto-tech website Electrek.

Earlier, a report said that BMW was moving production of its electric Mini models from the UK to Germany and China to streamline production.

Now, the luxury automaker is announcing adding additional battery capacity ahead of several highly anticipated Mini EV launches.

The 100 per cent electric version of the Mini Countryman is expected to debut in 2023, and will also be produced at the Leipzig plant.

In addition, the Mini Aceman is expected to launch in 2024, the brand's first all-electric MINI crossover sport activity vehicle (SAV).

Meanwhile, the company recently said it will invest $1.7 billion to build electric vehicles (EVs) in the US.

The investment includes $1 billion to prepare for producing electric vehicles at the company's existing US manufacturing facility in South Carolina and $700 million to build a new high-voltage battery assembly facility near Woodruff there.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) With the festival season in full swing, automobile dealers expect a huge spike of around 40 per cent in car and two-wheeler sales in the run-up to Diwali across the country.

Auto dealers say that between Navratri and Diwali, nearly two lakh passenger vehicles are likely to be sold while around 8 lakh units so far have been booked.

According to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the retail sales segment witnessed 57 per cent growth during Navratri period.

Similarly, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger vehicle sales saw 92 per cent year-on-year growth to 3,07,389 units in September.

The total passenger vehicle sales consisting of cars and vans in the domestic market stood at 1,60,212 units in September last year.

FADA President Manish Raj Singhania was quoted in media reports as saying that dealers are expecting record bookings as customers insist on deliveries during Dhanteras period.

According to auto retailers, sales rose by 11 per cent in September owing to enhanced supplies from manufacturers with the onset of Diwali season.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Oct 23 (IANS) Apple has started paying out $100 million cash reserve created as part of a class-action settlement to its App Store developers.

The tech giant agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the US developers concerned with App Store policies, in August 2021. The company agreed to create the Apple Smart Developer Assistance Fund as part of the settlement, which would pay out cash to affected developers, reports AppleInsider.

As per the report, several developers claim on Twitter that the company has begun distributing payments from the fund.

Developers had until May 20 to request to become "Settlement Class Members" from a separate administrator. The developers stood to get paid from $250 to $30,000 if they met the requirements.

All US based developers who sold paid apps or in-app purchases and subscriptions through the App Store between June 4, 2015 and April 26, 2021 were eligible for the fund.

Additionally, they had to generate revenue from the US storefront in each of the years between 2015 and 2021 that they held a development account that was equal to or less than $1 million.

Along with the fund, the settlement also brought about several changes to the App Store's policies, such as new pricing tiers, modifications to developer and consumer communication, and a commitment by the tech giant to maintain its 15 per cent reduced App Store commission for at least three years.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Oct 21 (IANS) Software giant Infosys softening its stand on moonlighting has allowed its staffers to take up external work with prior permission, sources stated on Friday. The company has intimated the employees on its new policy through email.

The email from the company states that any employee, who wishes to take up gig work, may do so, with the prior consent of their manager and BP-HR, and in their personal time, for establishments that don't compete with Infosys or Infosys' clients.

The corporate world has been discussing moonlighting for quite some time. Techies working for other companies has become a trend and concern in the industry with startups readily offering very attractive offers to utilize the skills of the talent working for other companies.

Rishad Premji, the Chairman of the Wipro repeatedly issued statements against moonlighting and had also asked the startups not to only focus on immediate fortune. The company had earlier announced the firing of hundreds of employees for integrity issues. Rishad Premji had also shared how an employee in an important position was shown the doors for lack of integrity and later the company did not give him a clean relieving letter.

He had also shared that it did not take more than 10 minutes to fire 20 staffers of higher positions who showed lack of integrity.

The insiders in Infosys stated that the step would help the company to find solutions for many challenges that are being faced presently. The decision would help the employee to carry out the work of his or her choice.

The step by Infosys will draw sharp criticism and set a new trend in the corporate world, experts say.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) The GST Implementation Committee of the GST Council has extended the due date of filing GSTR-3B return for the month of September for monthly filers by a day.

The earlier due date was October 20, which is now October 21, i.e. Friday.

The notification in this regard is under process, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a tweet.

The decision was taken as taxpayers had complained of slowness in GSTN portal, the Board said earlier.

"CBIC has received an Incident Report from GSTN regarding slowness in the System along with a proposal for extending the due date," it said on Thursday.

"We continue to monitor the matter closely and the proposal for extension is being examined in consultation with the GST Council so that there is no burden of late fees or interest on the taxpayer."

--IANS
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