Sensex earnings up 19 per cent

Core Q3FY10 Sensex earnings increased 19.1 per cent year-on-year Y-o-Y against consensus estimated increase of 23.5 per cent.

Core Q3FY10 Sensex earnings increased 19.1 per cent year-on-year Y-o-Y against consensus estimated increase of 23.5 per cent. This performance may be attributed primarily to base effect. Revenue increased 27.4 per cent and EBITDA margin excluding BFSI rose 108 basis points bps to 24.6 per cent Y-o-Y. The rise was primarily led by sectors like auto,cement,metals,engineering and capital goods,oil and gas,FMCG,power and IT. Sectors like real estate,pharma and telecom were a drag on Sensex profitability,says a note from Edelweiss.

After the results,Edelweiss has downgraded its Sensex EPS estimate for FY10 by 3.2 per cent from Rs 885 to Rs 857. The revision,says the note,was primarily on account of downward revision in earnings estimates of heavyweights like Reliance,ONGC,Tata Steel and State Bank of India. For FY11,Edelweiss has downgraded its Sensex EPS estimate marginally by 0.2 per cent,from Rs 1,078 to Rs 1,075 after the results.

Birla launches capital protection fund

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund BSLMF has launched BSL Capital Protection Oriented Fund Series 1,which offers an alternative to investors who invest in traditional investment options like fixed deposits. This is a 27-month close-ended fund that seeks to provide capital protection by investing in high-quality debt securities maturing in line with the tenure of the scheme. The fund will also provide capital appreciation by investing a part of its corpus in the equity market.

Said A. Balasubramanian,chief executive officer,Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund: Given that today investors in India have over Rs 37 lakh crore in fixed deposits,BSL CPOF Series 1 offers us an opportunity to provide these investors an alternative investment avenue. Investors with safety on their mind and a time horizon of two to three years are our target audience. He further added: The fund intends to invest 90 per cent of it capital on the debt side in high-quality debt instruments. The rest 10 per cent of capital will be invested in equities in high-growth stocks.

CRISIL has given a AAA rating to BSL CPOF Series 1. The minimum application amount is Rs 5,000 and multiples of Rs 10 thereafter during the new fund offer period. The fund is benchmarked against CRISIL MIP Blended Index. The NFO will be open for subscription till March 5,2010.

Redemption of units will be allowed only when the scheme matures. However,the fund will be listed on stock exchanges,and investors will have the option to buy and sell units of the fund there.

Cholamandalam MS to sell insurance online

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Chola MS,a joint venture between Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group of Japan has launched Click Easy Car Insurance on its new website,cholainsurance.com. Customers can now buy and renew Chola motor policies online. The company will soon offer other retail products like travel,health,home and personal accident policies on the web. The company aims to sell 5 per cent of its retail policies online in 2010-11 and increase this figure to 20 per cent in three years. Said S.S. Gopalarathnam,managing director,Chola MS: For tech-savvy and time-constrained customers Click Easy Insurance promises simplicity,convenience and interactivity in buying insurance at the click of a mouse.

Sugar sector to profit from shortages

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Global sugar production in 2010 will be around 159 mt,down from 154 mt in 2009. With global consumption increasing,2010 will be the second consecutive year when there will be a deficit. The deficit is expected to be of the order of 8.4 mt in 2010,says Fitchs recently published outlook on the sugar sector.

In India too there will be a near-term deficit. Supply shortages will mean that the price of cane will remain high. This mismatch between supply and demand is expected to benefit sugar mills.

The liquidity position of sugar mills,says the report,will improve significantly in 2010 mainly because of increase in profitability and free cash flows. This period of above-normal profits is expected to put sugar companies in a better position to handle pressure during the next down cycle. The industrys capex plans remain moderate.

During the past six years 2003-09 demand for sugar has grown at a compounded annual rate of 4.4 per cent. A growing population and higher consumption on account of rising per capita income have contributed to the growth in demand.

Max New York Life launches scholarship programme

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Life insurer Max New York Life has launched I-Genius,a comprehensive parent-child nurture programme. The programme will entail five initiatives I-Genius Scholarship to recognise and reward talent,I-Genius Parenting for providing parenting guide,I-Genius Advantage for children-related queries,I-Genius Secure to understand parents concerns and find solutions,and I-Genius Talent to nurture sporting talent. The company plans to touch more than 50 lakh children and 40 lakh parents through the I-Genius program. I-Genius Scholarship involves multiple-level evaluation. Children from the third to the eighth standard can participate and win more than 3,000 prizes worth Rs 2 crore. Registration for this scholarship will be open from February 8,2010 till March 31,2010. The winner of the mega scholarship of Rs 20 lakh will be announced on 14th November,2010.