Thursday, September 11, 2008

Global cues see markets open low

Weakness in global indices may weigh on the sentiment. Action today is likely to be stock-specific. However, the mood of the market is expected to remain negative after yesterday's loss and moving down FII inflows in domestic equities may help the local indices decline further. Among the key indices, the Nifty is likely target 4450 in near term and on breaching this level it is likely to target 4500, while the index has a key support at 4375. The Sensex has a likely support at 14500 and may face resistance at 14750.

On Wednesday the US markets manage a modest gain as investors scooped up shares battered in the previous session's selloff and sorted through Lehman Brothers' steep quarterly loss and restructuring plans. While Dow Jones gained 38 points at 11269 and the Nasdaq raise about 19 points at 2229.

Majority of the Indian floats ended in the green. Rediff was the biggest gainer and gain over 5.09% followed by ICICI Bank which was up 3.08%. Patni Computer, Infosys, Satyam, HDFC Bank, MTNL and VSNL were up 2-0.50% each. However, Dr Reddy moved down over 1.74% and Wipro lost over 0.18%.

Crude oil prices slipped marginally, with the Nymex light crude oil for September delivery slipped 68 cents to close at $102.58 a barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for December series moved down by $29.50 to settle at $762.50 an ounce.

Pre Market Watch - Sep 11 2008

The Indian Market is expected to have negative opening as Asian markets are trading lower. On Tuesday, domestic markets closed in red zone for second consecutive day due to the profit booking. Markets opened sharply lower as investors were afraid to take fresh positions on weak global cues and concern for inflation number along with IIP data due to be released today. Further market continued to trade weak and slipped sharply during last trading hours to end the day with losses. Weak European markets along with rise in black gold in Asian trade to $104.03 a barrel also fueled to the negative sentiment. NSE Nifty ended around 4,400 mark and BSE Sensex below14,700 level. Mid cap and Small cap stocks also showed weakness. From the sectoral front, all indices closed in red and Metal stocks were major sufferer of negative sentiment as closed with deep cut of more than 5% on reports that the steel ministry has recommended an additional 5% duty on iron ore exports over the present level of 15% in a bid to tame domestic prices of steel. Along with that, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, Reality, Power and Bank stocks also contributed to the gloomy situation. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 238.15 points at 14,662.61 and NSE Nifty ended down by 68.45 points at 4,400.25. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with loss of 69.27 points at 5,708.93 and by 61.19 points at 6,903.42.

We expect that market may remain volatile during the trading session ahead of inflation number for the week ended 30th August 2008 and IIP data.

The core sector data released two days before the IIP data for the month of July with indication of better industrial growth than previous months. The index of six core-industries grew at its fastest speed in July of current fiscal at 4.3%, backed by higher coal production and electricity generation. However, the index number for infrastructure output was much below than the 7.2% growth rate during the same month last year.

On Wednesday, the US market closed with marginal gains after rallying earlier on a drop in oil prices. Investor's uneasiness was on worries about financial shares like Lehman Brothers. Crude slipped to settle at $102.58 per barrel on the NYMEX. Lehman reported a third quarter loss of $3.9 billion, and is cutting its common stock annual dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.68.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed higher by 38.19 points to close at 11,268.92 followed by the NASDAQ index ended up by 18.89 points to close at 2,228.70 and the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 7.53 points to close at 1,232.04.

Indian ADRs ended mixed. In technology sector, Patni Computers ended higher by (2.57%) followed by Satyam advanced by (1.92%), Infosys ended up by (1.13%), while Wipro lost (0.18%). In banking sector ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained (3.08%) and (1.98%). In telecommunication sector, MTNL and Tata Communication rose (0.69%) and (0.57%). However, Sterlite industries decreased by (1.34%).

Today the major stock markets in Asia are trading lower. Hang Seng index is trading weaker by 324.37 points at 19,675.41 along with Japan's Nikkei trading down by 149.74 points at 12,196.89, Taiwan Weighted plunged 114.66 points at 6,343.35 and Singapore''s Straits Times declined 36.91 points at 2,585.50.

The FIIs on Wednesday stood as net seller in equity and net buyer in debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs2,023.10 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs271.70 Crore while the gross equity sold stood at Rs2,209.20 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs119.10 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity reported was (Rs186.20) Crore and net debt was Rs152.60 Crore.

The Indian rupee on Wednesday weakened and crossed the level of Rs45 per dollar for the first time since November 2006 due to the strong dollar demand from foreign banks and stock market losses that raised expectations of more foreign fund outflows. The partially convertible rupee ended at 45.10/11 per dollar, 0.62% weaker than Tuesday''s close of 44.84/85.

Today, Nifty has support at 4,302 and resistance at 4,491 and BSE Sensex has support at 14,350 and resistance at 14,993.

Gold Futures At 11 Month Low, Dollar At 11 Month High

Bottom Fishing Likely In Today's Session

Gold futures ended at their lowest level in nearly 11 months Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened, losing ground for an eighth straight session and tying a seven-year record for a string of losses. Gold for December delivery fell $29.50, or 3.7%, to $762.50 an ounce on COMEX, the lowest closing level since Oct. 24, 2007.

MCX benchmark Gold contract also crushed hard in the intra day session and went on to touch a low of 11306 and closed the session at Rs 11343 per 10 grams down Rs 211. After the last session carnage Gold is likely to take a tick upwards, as traders will look for the opportunities of bottom fishing. The prices can see levels of 11426 in today's session with Supports at 11300 and 11220 levels.

The dollar touched a fresh 11-month high against the euro just above the 1.40-level and held steady near 2 ½-year highs versus the pound at 1.7540. The greenback continues to remain favored amid burgeoning fears of rapidly deteriorating economic fundamentals, which consequently sent crude oil to an intra-day low at $101.43 per barrel. Also propping the dollar higher was the announcement from Lehman Brothers to sell off parts of its business to shore up its balance sheet, thereby tempering market jitters in the interim.

Traders will look ahead to US economic reports slated for release today, consisting of the July trade deficit, weekly jobless claims and the August Federal Budget. Consensus estimates expect the trade deficit to edge higher to $58 billion in July, versus a $56.77 billion deficit from the previous month. Weekly jobless claims are seen little changed at 440k versus 444k from the prior week. Meanwhile, the Federal Budget is forecasted to shrink to $106.2 billion for August, compared with $117.0 billion a month earlier.

Today's Pick - Cummins India

We recommend a sell in Cummins India from a short-term point of view. We notice in the charts of Cummins India that the stock has commenced a medium-term up move following the reversal from the support at Rs 225 in early July. However, this up trend started losing momentum in late August.

This was reflected by the negative divergence in the relative strength index (RSI). Moreover, the stock encountered resistance at Rs 325 (200-day moving average coincides with this level) and began declining. On September 10, the stock fell by 3 per cent, breaching the 21-day moving average conclusively. The daily and weekly RSI are heading towards the bearish zone.

The moving average convergence and divergence indicator also has signalled a sell and is declining. We are bearish on the stock from a short-term perspective. We expect the stock's decline to prolong until it hits our price target of Rs 270 in the approaching trading sessions. Traders with short-term perspective can sell the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 312.

Falling inflation may give bulls direction

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.

The weather has turned pretty hazy in Mumbai over the past few days, with isolated showers lashing the financial capital. The weather pattern in a way reflects the goings-on in the stock market of late. Most players are clueless about the near-term direction of the market amid mixed fundamentals. At the same time, there have been days when the bulls have managed to ward off the threat from the bears on positive newsflow. The yo-yo pattern is likely to continue for a while. Among the other worries is the relentless outflows by FIIs, which in turn is partly responsible for the fall in the rupee

Talking of macro-economic factors, inflation data will be released after the markets close today. It is likely to dip a bit from 12.34%. Some see it falling below 12% shortly, and if oil prices continue to slide, it may soon be in single digits again. The Government will also release IIP numbers for July tomorrow. Industrial output had grown by 5.4% in June. Data released by the Government yesterday showed that core sector growth for July slipped to 4.3% from 7.2% last year.

We expect the market to open in the red again. On the whole, the key indices will remain choppy while the broader market will continue to languish. Interest rate sensitives may see some spurt especially towards the end of the day in anticipation of a fall in inflation.

Keep an eye on Indian Hotels, as the company is likely to make a big announcement later today.

US stocks rose marginally on Wednesday, as investors snapped up the recently battered energy and technology shares, even as worries about the fate of Lehman Brothers and other financials kept a lid on the advance.

The S&P 500 advanced 7.53 points, or 0.6%, to 1,232.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38.19, or 0.3%, to 11,268.92, and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 18.89, or 0.9%, to 2,228.7.

Market breadth was positive. More than two stocks rose for each that dropped on the New York Stock Exchange.

The US market had found early solace in Lehman's restructuring efforts but shares of the Wall Street securities firm fell sharply late in the session, extending a 45% sell-off on Tuesday, after rating agency Moody's said it may downgrade its debt. S&P Ratings too expressed concerns about Lehman's earnings potential.

An acquisition of Lehman may be more likely in the wake of the brokerage firm's latest quarterly loss and steps it's taking to sell assets, according to some analysts. Moody's said it will probably downgrade Lehman if the firm doesn't do a deal soon.

Strong earnings forecasts from FedEx and Texas Instruments, a firmer dollar, and lower oil and gold prices lent some support to the US stocks. But lingering worries about the financial sector limited gains for the blue chips.

Lehman reported a nearly $4bn third-quarter loss, its biggest quarterly loss since it went public in 1994. The company also said it will spin off part of its commercial real estate assets and slash its dividend. Additionally, Lehman plans to sell a 55% stake in its investment management division.

Lehman shares were choppy on the news, ending lower after rising nearly 10% in the morning and almost 30% in pre-market trading.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to once again hold a key interest rate at 2% when it meets on Tuesday, there is a growing sense that the Fed may have to cut rates by the end of the year.

If the Fed does so, it would mark a dramatic change in the central bank's assessment of the economy. As recently as the Fed's last meeting in August, Fed members indicated that their next move would be to hike rates to fight inflation.

The Fed has left rates unchanged at its past two meetings and started to indicate that it was growing more worried about rising commodity prices, particularly oil. However, the US economy, which once seemed on track for a recovery in the second-half, has recently shown signs of weakening further.

Oil prices declined as the US government indicated weaker demand for gasoline, even as supplies of crude and gas dipped more than expected last week. US light crude oil for October delivery fell 68 cents to settle at $102.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since April 1.

Gasoline prices rose overnight, breaking a nine-day losing streak, according to a national survey of credit-card activity.

In the bond market, Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.63% from 3.57% late on Tuesday. The dollar rallied versus the euro and yen. COMEX gold for December delivery fell $29.50 to $762.50 an ounce.

European shares fell on Wednesday, with financials such as Royal Bank of Scotland leading the fall after Lehman's failure to secure a capital injection from Korea Development Bank and a hefty third-quarter loss. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index lost 0.8% to 277.35. UK's FTSE 100 closed down 0.9% at 5,366.20, while Germany's DAX 30 shed 0.4% to 6,210.32 and the French CAC-40 declined 0.2% to 4,283.66.

In the emerging markets, Russian equities fell sharply for a second session, as investors continued to exit the market amid pressure to meet margin calls. In Moscow, the dollar-denominated RTS index fell 4.4% to end at 1,334. It is down 42% year-to-date. The RTS index has fallen 19% only this month.

Brazil's Bovespa rallied 2.5% to 49,633. Brazil's central bank has lifted its key interest rate by 75 basis points to 13.75%. Mexico's IPC index ended virtually unchanged at 25,622. The ISE National-30 index in Turkey was down 2.5% at 48,787.

Market to remain sluggish

Bulls banged the bears on Monday after India pulled off a historic triumph at the NSG. But their joy, as expected was short-lived as the euphoria lost steam and markets ended lower for second straight trading session.

Scientists at CERN began a huge particle-smashing machine, intending to re-enact the conditions of the "Big Bang" that created the universe.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the biggest and most complex machine ever made and the platform, the largest scientific experiment in human history.

However, it was not a big bang day for Indian markets as weak global cues again dragged the sentiments on Dalal Street. The US stocks slumped overnight. Asian markets too ended lower by 1-2%. The metal, oil & gas and power stocks witnessed offloading.

Among the 30 components of the Sensex 24 stocks ended in the red and only 6 stocks ended in positive terrain. Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Sterlite Industries and Bharti Airtel were among the major laggards. On the other hand, Infosys, ITC and SI were among the major gainers.

Finally, the BSE benchmark Sensex closed at 14,662 losing 238 points and the BSE Nifty index slipped 68 points to close at 4,400.

In the overall market, 932 stocks advanced and 1,720 stocks declined. Whereas, 78 stocks were unchanged.

The IT stocks were in momentum after rupee weakened past the Rs45/US$ mark for the first time since November 20, 2006. The currency declined for a second day as the dollar rose against 14 of the 16 most-active currencies, according to reports.

Mphasis, Infosys and Financial Technologies were among the major gainers.

Shares of Usher Agro surged by over 12% to Rs191 after the company announced that it entered in MoU with Satake Corporation, Japan for expansion of Rice Milling Capacity by another 1 million ton.

Satake will be providing the plant & machinery for the interest free credit period of three years. The MoU provides that the Company will be extended with the technical know-how of the better use and production of bye products of rice, for exclusive right of use this technology in India for a specified period. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs192 and a low of Rs172 and recorded volumes of over 41,00,000 shares on BSE.

Shares of Sterlite Industries declined for second straight trading session on reorganization plans, the stock fell by over 12% to Rs507. The stock further took a hit after Macquarie Group cut share-price target by 28% on concern the company's reorganization plan would increase its capital and lower EPS.

The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs559 and a low of Rs505 and recorded volumes of over 40,00,000 shares on BSE.

Hydro S&S Industries, an Indian maker of polypropylene and plastic products was locked at 20% upper circuit at Rs41.45 after the board of directors of the company announced that they would meet on September 16, 2008 to consider buyback of equity shares. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs41.45 and a low of Rs39.1 and recorded volumes of over 16,000 shares on BSE.

Adani Enterprise surged by over 7% to Rs657 after Adani Power secured SEBI approval for IPO. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs705 and a low of Rs607 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on BSE.

The government is planning to transfer the power management functions of Power Grid Corp of India into a new entity. (Mint)
Dr. Reddy's is revamping its business model to focus on niche services; combining its custom pharmaceutical services (CPS) and API divisions. (Mint)
Bajaj Auto plans four new passenger and cargo vehicles. (Mint)
Saab AB, the Swedish maker of Gripen fighter plane, intends to establish an aerospace development centre in India with TCS. (Mint)
Educomp Solutions buys 50% in Eurokids for Rs390mn. (Mint)
Siemens Healthcare to pay Rs451mn on buyout of a diagonistic firm. (Mint)
IL&FS to pick up 50% stake in NTPC-Bhel venture. (Mint)
Temasek keen on part of Suuti stake in Axis Bank. (Mint)
Unitech in talks to sell stake in wireless unit. (Mint)
TCS, Infosys expect more delays in orders from US market. (Mint)
HCL Enterprise plans to form a venture capital arm. (BS)
Government restarts efforts to sell IFCI stake. (BS)
Electrotherm India signs a JV with Grasim for captive mining of coal block in Chattisgarh. (BS)
Gujarat NRE Coke plans rights issue. (BS)
L&T gets %160mn order from Petrobras. (BS)
Vodafone fears Essar may further dilute BPL stake. (BS)
A shareholder of GHCL has filed a petition to seek adjournment of the AGM on fears of destabilization of existing management. (BS)
Kingfisher Airlines plans to raise $400mn. (BS)
The research arm of Orchid Chemicals is planning public issue by June 2009. (BS)
Dewan Housing arm lines up $250mn real estate fund. (BS)
Japanese spirits giant, Suntory is looking to acquire 10-15% stake in United Sprits. (ET)
Reliance Industries incorporates two wholly owned subsidiaries for London and Singapore market. (BL)
Bharti promoters acquire additional 0.5% stake in Bharti Airtel for Rs8.3bn. (ET)
Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens, Alcatel, Huewai and ZTE submit bids for US$9bn BSNL tender. (ET)
Gammon India acquires 50% stake in Italy-based power company Sofinter. (ET)
Israel's SC stops Sun Pharma from closing Taro open offer. (ET)
Awaita properties acquire controlling stake in JPT Securities. (ET)
NHPC plans a follow on offer after its proposed IPO in October. (ET)
NTT DoCoMo in talks to pick up stake in Tata Teleservices. (ET)
Usher Agro enters in to MoU with Satake Corp, Japan for expansion of rice milling capacity. (ET)
Bank of Rajasthan enters into MoU with ICRA. (FE)
United Breweries, Heineken in discussion to resolve Asia-Pacific issue. (BL)
JSW Steel, Ispat Industries cut prices by Rs2,000 per ton effective from September 1. (BL)
Sel Manufacturing to set up textile park for an investment of Rs5bn. (BL)
Era Infrastructure secures order worth Rs1.29bn from AAI. (BL)
GVK Power & NPCIL plans to buy reactors from GE Westinghouse. (BL)
BPCL-Kochi refinery to set up bottoms upgradation project. (BL)
Reliance Industries evaluating development plans for D6 satellite fields. (BL)
Sobha Developers to construct 40 premium villas in Kerala for Rs1bn. (BL)
DLF secures SEBI approval to buy back shares worth Rs11.10bn at a price not exceeding Rs600/share. (BL)

Economy Front page

Shipping companies plan fixed rates for long term deals. (Mint)
Banks have three months left for complying with a directive by RBI to treat advances given to equity-oriented mutual funds as capital market exposure. (Mint)
India's ranking falls two notches to 122 in a global list that ranks the ease of doing business in 181 economies. (BS)
Core infrastructure growth slows to 4.3% in July from 7.2% in the corresponding period last year. (ET)
Rupee hits two-year low, breaches 45 against the dollar. (FE)
Finance Ministry seeks DoT to consult on the fees to be paid by telecom operators to extend license for 10 more years. (ET)
DTH service providers in talks with media planners and brands to sell space for advertisement. (ET)
Railways record 9% increase in freight traffic during April-August 2008. (ET)
Government to consider proposal to enable banks and financial institutions to fund acquisition of farm land overseas. (ET)
Private companies may be allowed to run, operate and own metro rail networks. (ET)
Central Drug Standard Control Organisation set to simplify regulatory norms for Pharmaceutical industry. (ET)
Government to consider TRAI proposal to hike FDI in news channels. (BL)


Subbarao defends tight monetary regime

Defending the Reserve Bank's tight credit policy, its new Governor D Subbarao on Tuesday said the apex bank would push financial sector reforms to accelerate high growth, but watch the scenario before unveiling any further monetary measures.

"Not tightening the monetary policy...would have eroded confidence in the economy...we will be monitoring the situation continuously and closely and take appropriate action," he said in his maiden press conference as RBI Governor here.

On financial sector reforms, Subbarao said that it was a key factor in financing our nine per cent growth over the last few years. "To sustain and accelerate this growth, financial sector reforms will remain important," he said.

However, he made it clear that financial sector reforms should promote inclusive growth through efficient and easily accessible financial services.

Elaborating on the runaway inflation, Subbarao said that without tightening of monetary policy, the impact on growth and the impact on the poor may have been severe.

He maintained that the inflation now at 12.34 per cent was, however, a short-term and global phenomenon and that its momentum has come down in the recent past.

The apex bank will watch those sectors which drive demand, in particular, those driving growth, Subbarao said.

Monetary policy transmission takes time, the RBI Governor said, adding that, "besides, we will also have to watch developments in the global markets and their potential impact on our economic management."

"The current high inflation is primarily an outcome of supply-side pressures as well as demand-side factors and is a short-term phenomenon, largely driven by international commodities, crude oil, metals and food prices," he said.

To support a healthy growth, inflation and inflationary expectations are to be contained, he said.

"The current high inflation is primarily an outcome of supply-side pressures as well as demand-side factors and is a short-term phenomenon, largely driven by international commodities, crude oil, metals and food prices,"Subbarao said.

In a bid to contain inflation, the apex bank had hiked its Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and short-term repo rates by 1.5 per cent and 1.25 per cent respectively since April.

Subbarao said the recent moderation in growth was only a cyclical down-turn, adding that,"the structural India growth story is still intact and credible."

The Government and the RBI would shortly bring out a comprehensive report of the committee on Financial sector assessment, he said.

"We need to draw a roadmap that responds to our immediate and medium term needs. Obviously this is a shared responsibility of the Government, the RBI and indeed all other regulators," Subbarao said.

An average 9 per cent growth in the economy in the past few years waas mainly led by the rise in private consumption, increasing private investment and surge in exports, Subbarao said.

"I believe these engines of growth are still on track," he said.

Rupee ends at over 45 per dollar

At 45.12/13

Rupee weakened past 45 per dollar for the first time since November 2006 on Wednesday as stock market losses raised expectations of more foreign fund outflows while strong dollar demand from foreign banks weighed.

Rupee ended at 45.12/13 per dollar, 0.62 percent weaker than Tuesday's close of 44.84/85

BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - Sep 10 2008

Deal Date Scrip Code Company Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
10/9/2008 533016 AUSTRAL COKE OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 1273819 242.10
10/9/2008 533016 AUSTRAL COKE H.J. SECURITIES PVT. LTD. B 151835 247.64
10/9/2008 533016 AUSTRAL COKE MATRIX EQUITRADE PVT LTD B 402510 243.82
10/9/2008 533016 AUSTRAL COKE MATRIX EQUITRADE PVT LTD S 402510 243.87
10/9/2008 533016 AUSTRAL COKE OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 1273819 242.23
10/9/2008 533016 AUSTRAL COKE H.J. SECURITIES PVT. LTD. S 151835 247.50
10/9/2008 505506 AXON INFOTEC HASMUKHLAL M GANDHI S 5153 20.74
10/9/2008 590061 BRUSHMAN IND BLUE SQUARE CORP SERV P LTD B 150000 132.54
10/9/2008 590024 FERT CHEM LATIN MANHARLAL SEC PVT LTD B 34731 34.04
10/9/2008 513059 G.S. AUTO SPJSTOCK B 41669 83.31
10/9/2008 513059 G.S. AUTO SPJSTOCK S 42669 83.46
10/9/2008 513059 G.S. AUTO SHARDA C PUJARA S 30900 82.37
10/9/2008 531137 GEMSTONE INV BHUPESH RATHOD B 45000 55.35
10/9/2008 531137 GEMSTONE INV BHARAT S THAKKAR S 101000 55.34
10/9/2008 532980 GOKUL REFOIL OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 213675 331.04
10/9/2008 532980 GOKUL REFOIL OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 213675 331.10
10/9/2008 531602 KOFF BR PICT LAXMI CAP BROKING PVT LTD S 47555 33.73
10/9/2008 531366 KOHINOOR BRO BASMATI SECURITIES PVT LTD B 572529 6.60
10/9/2008 531366 KOHINOOR BRO JMP SECURITIES PVT. LTD. B 556899 6.55
10/9/2008 531366 KOHINOOR BRO S V ENTERPRISES B 3659872 6.39
10/9/2008 531366 KOHINOOR BRO JMP SECURITIES PVT. LTD. S 556899 6.52
10/9/2008 531366 KOHINOOR BRO S V ENTERPRISES S 3659872 6.35
10/9/2008 523475 LOTUS CHOC C PRASHANTHA ACHARYA B 300000 24.99
10/9/2008 523475 LOTUS CHOC C H.H. JAVERI S 200000 24.62
10/9/2008 512047 NATRAJ FIN NARENDRA VALLABJI BAHUVA S 50000 28.91
10/9/2008 533015 NUTEK INDIA OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 169455 175.27
10/9/2008 533015 NUTEK INDIA OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 169455 175.34
10/9/2008 532884 REFEX REFRIG TUSHAR RAMESHBHAI PATEL B 115000 242.95
10/9/2008 533017 RESURGERE OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 299355 290.14
10/9/2008 533017 RESURGERE OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 299355 290.56
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF MBL AND COMPANYA LIMITED B 179110 233.72
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF HARDIK M MITHANI B 285357 239.99
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 214201 237.24
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF PRIYANKA DARSHAN DESAI B 208656 230.20
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF SPJSTOCK B 639932 233.50
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF B K SHAH CO B 181625 231.65
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF MBL AND COMPANYA LIMITED S 179110 235.62
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF HARDIK M MITHANI S 285357 232.05
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 214201 237.31
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF PRIYANKA DARSHAN DESAI S 158656 227.14
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF SPJSTOCK S 640432 231.90
10/9/2008 532886 SEL MANUF B K SHAH CO S 180624 230.86
10/9/2008 505075 SETCO AUTO SETCO ENGINEERING PVT LTD B 275000 189.27
10/9/2008 505075 SETCO AUTO HARISH KIRITBHAI SHETH HUF S 275000 189.27
10/9/2008 532765 USHER AGRO MANHARLALNSHAH B 855708 186.16
10/9/2008 532765 USHER AGRO SWISS FINANCE CORPORATION MAURITIUS LIMITED S 188550 184.14
10/9/2008 532765 USHER AGRO MANHARLALNSHAH S 855708 184.93
10/9/2008 532411 VISESH INFOT IVORY CONSULTANTS PVT LTD B 216013 16.54
10/9/2008 533011 VISHAL INFO OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 155225 318.35
10/9/2008 533011 VISHAL INFO OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 155225 318.38
10/9/2008 531249 WELL PACK PA SUBHKARAN TILOKCHAND AGARWAL B 40000 28.70

NSE Bulk Deals to Watch - Sep 10 2008

Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
10-SEP-2008,APARINDS,Apar Industries Limited,RELIANCE CAPITAL TRUSTEE CO LTD-A/C RELIANCE DIVERSIFIED POW,BUY,362600,164.50,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,AMBIT SECURITIES BROKING PVT. LTD.,BUY,320307,239.55,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,ASIT C MEHTA INVESTMENT INTERRMEDIATES LTD,BUY,325714,238.61,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,CPR CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,164605,241.35,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,DINESH MUNJAL,BUY,204314,240.50,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,KAUSHIK SHAH SHARES & SECURITIES PVT LTD,BUY,286028,244.75,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,MANIPUT INVESTMENTS PVT LTD,BUY,227880,244.80,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,PRASHANT JAYANTILAL PATEL,BUY,295435,246.29,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,R.M. SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,BUY,145151,241.58,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,BUY,299610,239.60,-
10-SEP-2008,IFCI,IFCI Ltd.,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD,BUY,8567703,48.34,-
10-SEP-2008,JINDALSAW,Jindal Saw Limited,MERRILL LYNCH CAPITAL MARKETS ESPANA S.A. SVB,BUY,396884,628.30,-
10-SEP-2008,PIONEEREMB,Pioneer Embroideries Limi,SARJEET GOYAL,BUY,59136,40.56,-
10-SEP-2008,RESURGERE,Resurgere Mines & Mineral,DKG SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,BUY,94797,292.34,-
10-SEP-2008,RESURGERE,Resurgere Mines & Mineral,R.M. SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,BUY,155346,294.05,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,B K SHAH CO KETAN BHAILAL SHAH,BUY,203868,234.52,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,DYNAMIC STCOK BROKING (I) PVT LTD,BUY,129390,235.61,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,HARDIK M MITHANI,BUY,92777,235.53,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,BUY,197001,235.40,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,YUVAK SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,BUY,136858,236.31,-
10-SEP-2008,VINCARDS,Vintage Cards & Creations,MUKUL RAMVALLABH TIBREWALA,BUY,5317,88.82,-
10-SEP-2008,VISESHINFO,Visesh Infotecnics Limite,IVORY CONSULTANTS PVT LTD.,BUY,224757,16.50,-
10-SEP-2008,VITLINFO,Vishal Information Techno,ASIT C MEHTA INVESTMENT INTERRMEDIATES LTD,BUY,78406,319.40,-
10-SEP-2008,APARINDS,Apar Industries Limited,ALLIANZ BAJAJ LIFE INSURANCE CO.LTD.,SELL,362859,164.50,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,AMBIT SECURITIES BROKING PVT. LTD.,SELL,320307,239.56,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,ASIT C MEHTA INVESTMENT INTERRMEDIATES LTD,SELL,325714,238.70,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,CPR CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,164605,241.41,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,DINESH MUNJAL,SELL,204314,240.78,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,KAUSHIK SHAH SHARES & SECURITIES PVT LTD,SELL,286028,244.70,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,MANIPUT INVESTMENTS PVT LTD,SELL,227880,244.82,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,PRASHANT JAYANTILAL PATEL,SELL,295435,245.76,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,R.M. SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,SELL,145151,241.35,-
10-SEP-2008,AUSTRAL,Austral Coke & Projects L,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,SELL,299608,239.41,-
10-SEP-2008,IFCI,IFCI Ltd.,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD,SELL,8567703,48.35,-
10-SEP-2008,PIONEEREMB,Pioneer Embroideries Limi,SARJEET GOYAL,SELL,59136,40.33,-
10-SEP-2008,RESURGERE,Resurgere Mines & Mineral,DKG SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,SELL,168941,290.35,-
10-SEP-2008,RESURGERE,Resurgere Mines & Mineral,R.M. SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,SELL,155346,295.82,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,B K SHAH CO KETAN BHAILAL SHAH,SELL,203861,231.98,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,DYNAMIC STCOK BROKING (I) PVT LTD,SELL,125592,232.53,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,HARDIK M MITHANI,SELL,92777,238.63,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,SELL,197001,233.70,-
10-SEP-2008,SELMCL,SEL Manufacturing Company,YUVAK SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,SELL,136858,234.49,-
10-SEP-2008,VINCARDS,Vintage Cards & Creations,MUKUL RAMVALLABH TIBREWALA,SELL,1591,88.45,-
10-SEP-2008,VINCARDS,Vintage Cards & Creations,SETU SECURITIES LTD,SELL,6500,88.70,-
10-SEP-2008,VISESHINFO,Visesh Infotecnics Limite,BNP PARIBAS ARBITRAGE,SELL,196106,16.69,-
10-SEP-2008,VISESHINFO,Visesh Infotecnics Limite,IVORY CONSULTANTS PVT LTD.,SELL,1136,15.00,-
10-SEP-2008,VITLINFO,Vishal Information Techno,ASIT C MEHTA INVESTMENT INTERRMEDIATES LTD,SELL,78406,319.46,-

Post Session Commentary - Sep 10 2008

Domestic markets closed the day with losses as it witnessed sustained selling pressure for the second straight day. The negative opening on European markets also weighed on sentiment. Indian market opened sharply lower tracking weak cues from global markets. Further market continued to trade with pressure in negative terrain. During last trading hours, markets extended its losses and plunged sharply to close lower on profit booking. Rise in crude prices in Asian trade also fueled to the negative attitude of investors. Crude oil for October delivery rose to $104.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange mid afternoon in Singapore. NSE Nifty ended around 4,400 mark and BSE Sensex below 14,700 level. Mid cap and Small cap stocks also remained under pressure. From the sectoral front, all indices closed with losses and Metal stocks were worst performers as closed with deep cut of more than 5%. Along with that, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, Reality, Power and Bank stocks pulled the markets lower. The market breadth was negative as 1722 stocks closed in red while 931 stocks closed in green and 77 stocks remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 238.15 points at 14,662.61 and NSE Nifty ended down by 68.45 points at 4,400.25. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with cut of 69.27 points at 5,708.93 and 61.19 points at 6,903.42 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 14,866.32 and intraday low of 14,609.83.

Ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to keep output steady until mid-December. OPEC members agreed to cut more than 500,000 barrels a day of production that exceed its self-imposed output quotas and left its production target unchanged at 28.8 million barrels a day after concluding its meeting in Vienna.

Losers from the BSE are Sterlite In (11.78%), Tata Steel (5.21%), Tata Power (3.44%), Reliance Infra (3.36%), Bharti Airtel (2.93%), Reliance (2.77%), HDFC (2.44%), JP Associates (2.33%), ONGC Ltd (2.23%) and BHEL (2.05%).

The BSE Metal index lost 647.18 points to close at 11,154.00. Major losers are Sterlite In (11.78%), Jindal Steel (8.04%), Guajrat NRE C (7.58%), JSW SL (7.48%), Steel Authority (6.50%) and Tata Steel (5.21%).

The BSE Oil & Gas index closed lower by 215.78 points at 9,667.38 as Essar Oil Ltd (3.87%), Reliance (2.77%), IOC Ltd (2.57%), ONGC Ltd (2.23%), Cairn India (2.03%) and Aban Offshore (2.41%) ended in negative territory.

The BSE Capital Goods index ended down by 132.59 points at 12,233.80. Major losers are Gammon Indi (5.58%), Jyoti Struct (3.90%), Crompton Greaves (3.81%), Walchand In (3.61%), Havells India (2.68%) and BHEL (2.05%).

The BSE Reality index plunged 77.17 points to close at 4,999.99. As Orbit Co In (5.62%), Housing Dev (4.80%), Anant Raj In (2.43%), Unitech Ltd (2.43%), Pheonix Mill (2.30%) and Ansal Infra (2.06%) closed in negative territory.

The BSE Consumer Durables index closed lower by 47.49 points at 3,688.91. Losers are Rajesh Export (2.77%), Gitanjali GE (2.68%), Titan Ind (1.00%), Blue Star L (0.98%) and Videocon Ind (0.39%).

The BSE Power index dropped by 45.00 points to close at 2,655.24. As Crompton Greaves (3.81%), GMR Infrast (3.55%), Tata Power (3.44%), Reliance Infra (3.36%) and Lanco Infra (2.87%) closed in negative territory.

Metal stocks play spoil sport

Taking lead from weak global markets, the Sensex was 183 points below its previous close at the opening bell. It traded lower all through the day due to selling in metal, oil & gas and power stocks. Though at one point of time, it was just 34 points below ( which is the day's high) the previous close, it never managed to cross the previous close level. The lowest of the day was 290 points below the previous close. The Sensex finally closed the day 238 points lower. Following almost a similar pattern, the Nifty ended the day 68 points lower at 4000.

Market breadth was negative, as of the 2,730 stocks traded on the BSE, around 63% shares (1,721 stocks) declined, while only 34% shares (931 stocks) advanced. The remaining 3% stocks (78 stocks) remained unchanged for the day. Of the 30 shares that make the index, 24 shares declined, while only six advanced.

All the 13 sectoral indices of the BSE traded lower, with the BSE Metal ending 5.48% lower followed by BSE Oil & Gas and BSE Power that shed 2.18% and 1.67% respectively. Metal stocks came under sharp hammering. Sterlite Industries shed 11.78% at Rs507.90, Jindal Steel fell 8.04% at Rs1,655.45, Gujarat NRE Coke declined lost 7.58% at Rs79.90 and JSW was down nearly 7.48% at Rs661.65. Among the other losers Tata Steel dipped 5.21% at Rs535, Tata Power slipped by 3.44% at Rs1,049.10, Reliance Infrastructure dropped 3.36% at Rs1,034.95, Bharti Airtel slumped 2.93% at Rs811.95 and Reliance Industries shed 2.77% at Rs2,083.55. Grasim Industries however, rose 0.85% at Rs2,046.75, ACC advanced 0.74% at Rs601.10 and Infosys moved up 0.68% at Rs1,759.15.

Over 2.12 crore IFCI shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Austral Coke (1.14 crore shares), Reliance Natural Resources (93.55 lakh shares), Kohinoor Foods (80.15 lakh shares) and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra (72.63 lakh shares).

Austral Coke was the most actively traded counter and clocked a turnover of Rs275 crore followed by Sterlite Industries (Rs212 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs204 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs184 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs159 crore).

Metal shares lead 238-point Sensex slide

Weak global markets weighed heavily on the domestic bourse pulling the BSE Sensex down 238.15 points. Nevertheless, the key benchmark indices cut losses in late trade led by recovery in banking stocks. Volatility was high

As per provisional data released by the stock exchanges after trading hours, foreign funds today, 10 September 2008, sold shares worth a net Rs 1,037.28 crore. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 492.56 crore.

Metal shares were the chief casualty of the day with Sterlite Industries plunging over 11% and Tata Steel sliding 5%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped little under 3%. The market breadth was extremely weak.

US stocks slumped on Tuesday, 9 September 2008 as financial shares sold off on worries about Lehman Brothers' ability to raise much-needed cash. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 280.01 points, or 2.43%, to 11,230.73. The S&P 500 index fell 43.28 points, or 3.41%, to 1,224.51, and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 59.95 points, or 2.64%, to 2,209.81.

European markets which opened after Indian market were subdued. Key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were down by between 0.50% and 1.17%.

Asian markets which opened before Indian market were mixed today, 10 September 2008. Key benchmark indices in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore were down by between 0.44% and 2.40%. Indices in China, South Korea, and Taiwan rose between 0.23% and 0.72%.

The BSE 30-share Sensex slipped 238.15 points or 1.6%, to settle at 14,662.61. It opened 188.23 points lower at 14,717.53. At the day's low of 14,609.83 hit in late trade, the Sensex lost 290.93 points. At the day's high of 14,866.32 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex fell 34.44 points.

The S&P CNX Nifty slipped 68.45 points or 1.53% at 4400.25. Nifty September 2008 futures were at 4415.30, at a premium of 15.05 points as compared to spot closing. NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 52,717.79 crore, which was higher than Rs 43,958.71 crore on Tuesday, 9 September 2008.

The BSE Sensex is down 5624.38 points or 27.72% in the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31 December 2007. It is 6554.16 points or 30.85% away from its all-time high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.

Reliance Power was down 0.03% to Rs 169.35. The stock replaced Dr Reddy's Labs in Nifty index from today. Dr Reddy's Labs slipped 1.97% to Rs 567.05.

The market breadth was weak on BSE with 1716 shares declining as compared to 944 that advanced. 77 remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 5152 crore on BSE as compared to Rs 4,587.35 crore on Tuesday, 9 September 2008.

The BSE Mid-cap index fell 1.20% at 5,708.93 and the BSE Small-cap index slipped 0.88% to 6,903.42

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 21 declined while the rest advanced.

The BSE Metal index lost the most among the sectoral indices on BSE, sliding 5.48% to 11,154 weighed by steep fall in Sterlite Industries. Aluminium and copper maker Sterlite Industries tanked 11.76% to Rs 508 after plunging 7.50% to Rs 575.70 yesterday, 9 September 2008. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack. The Sterlite ADR tumbled 16.23% yesterday, 9 September 2008 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after the Vedanta group on Tuesday, 9 September 2008 announced a restructuring to simplify its corporate structure into three commodity-focused groups: copper and zinc-lead, aluminium-energy and iron ore.

As per the restructuring scheme, which will be effective from April 2009, Sterlite will demerge its aluminium and energy businesses to Madras Aluminium Company (Malco) to be simultaneously renamed Sterlite Aluminium. Vedanta will transfer its 79.4% equity interest in Konkola Copper Mines Plc (KCM) to Sterlite.

Malco will issue seven shares of Rs 2 each to the shareholders of Sterlite for every four shares of Rs 2 each held by them. Sterlite will issue one share of Rs 2 each to Malco shareholders for every 51 shares of Rs 2 each held by them.

Madras Aluminium Company (Malco) was down 5.72% to Rs 201.95 on 26.87 lakh shares

Worlds sixth largest steel producer by capacity Tata Steel plunged 5.10% to Rs 535.60.

Other metal stocks JSW Steel (down 7.43% to Rs 662), Jindal Steel & Power (down 7.97% to Rs 1656.70), Sesa Goa (down 3.73% to Rs 142), Hindustan Zinc (down 3.57% to Rs 529.75), and Steel Authority of India (down 6.40% to Rs 140.30), slumped.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 2.93% to Rs 2080 on 9.70 lakh shares. The stock came off its day's high of Rs 2135 hit in early trade. As per reports, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) may recommend levy of export tax or even ban petroleum product exports from Reliance's export oriented refineries in Jamnagar. The BSE Oil & Gas index slipped 2.18% to 9,667.38.

Banking shares staged a comeback in late trade. The Bankex slipped 0.58% to 7,325.35. India's largest private sector bank in terms of net profit ICICI Bank was down 1.52% to Rs 702, off day's low of Rs 686.60. HDFC Bank, India's second largest private sector bank in terms of net profit was down 0.62% to Rs 1285.05, off day's low of Rs 1250.10. India's largest state run bank in terms of net assets State Bank of India rose 0.35% to Rs 1566 after sliding to a low of Rs 1534.35.

Capital goods heavyweights slipped, leading a 1.07% fall to 12,233.80 in BSE Capital Goods index. India's largest power equipment maker by sales, Bharat Heavy Electricals declined 1.95% to Rs 1712.90. The company on Tuesday, 9 September 2008, said it won a contract worth Rs 2,200 crore for setting up a combined cycle power plant in Tripura on turnkey basis.

India's largest engineering & construction firm by outstanding order book position Larsen & Toubro fell 0.97% to Rs 2710. Larsen & Tobro today, 10 September 2008, said it had received an order worth $160 million from Brazil's Petrobras

Telecom pivotals were also subdued. India's second largest cellular services provider in terms of market capitalisation Reliance Communications (RCom) slipped 0.68% to Rs 402.50. As per recent reports, RCom's subsidiary Reliance Big Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in the US-based cricket webcasting portal, Willow TV, for an undisclosed amount.

Bharti Airtel, the country's largest cellular services provider in terms of market capitalisation declined 3.04% to Rs 811

Reliance Infrastructure (down 3.17% to Rs 1037), Tata Power (down 3.54% to Rs 1048), and Jaiprakash Associates (down 2.44% to Rs 167.60), edged lower from Sensex pack.

North India's largest cement maker by sales ACC gained 1.30% to Rs 604.45 and was the top gainer from Sensex pack.

Real estate heavyweights slipped with the BSE Realty index sliding 1.52% to 4,999.99. DLF, the country's largest realty company by market capitalisation slipped 0.19% to Rs 502.90. On Monday, 8 September 2008, the company received a clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to go ahead with a buyback plan. In July 2008, DLF had announced its Rs 1,100-crore plan to buy back shares from existing shareholders at a price not exceeding Rs 600 a share.

Unitech, the country's second largest realty company by market capitalisation, fell 2.55% to Rs 158.45.

Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's top drug maker by sales fell 0.32% to Rs 455. The Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo's open offer to acquire an additional 20% stake at Rs 737 a share in the company ended on 4 September 2008.

IT pivotals were mixed despite the rupee sliding past the 45 mark per dollar today, 10 September 2008. India's second largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies rose 0.68% to Rs 1758.95. The stock came off day's low of Rs 1726.

Other IT pivotals Satyam Computer Services (down 0.79% to Rs 421.65), Wipro (down 0.24% to Rs 433.10), and TCS (down 1.98% to Rs 849.05), edged lower. IT firms derive a lion's share of revenue by way of exports and therefore fall in the domestic currency benefits the IT sector.

Austral Coke & Projects topped the turnover chart on BSE with a turnover of Rs 275.65 crore followed by Sterlite Industries (Rs 212.85 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 204.30 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 184.30 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 159.60 crore), in that order.

IFCI led the volumes chart on BSE clocking volumes of 2.12 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (93.55 lakh shares), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (72.60 lakh shares), Reliance Power (46.75 lakh shares) and Sterlite Industries (40.65 lakh shares), in that order.

SEL Manufacturing Company plunged 8.35% to Rs 215.65. The company said it would set up a technical textile park in Himachal Pradesh. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 10 September 2008.

Usher Agro surged 12.05% to Rs 192 after company entered into a memorandum of understanding with Satake Corporation, Japan for expansion of rice milling capacity by another 1 million tonne. The company announced the expansion plans during market hours today, 10 September 2008.

Hydro S&S Industries galloped 20% to Rs 41.45 after the company said its board will meet on 16 September 2008 to consider buyback of equity shares. The company made this announcement after trading hours on Tuesday, 9 September 2008.

Madras Cements gained 4.16% to Rs 2620.10 after the company's board fixed 10 October 2008 as the record date for 1:1 bonus issue and 10-for-1 stock split. The company fixed the record date after trading hours on Tuesday, 9 September 2008.

The central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Tuesday, 9 September 2008 that India's inflation is showing signs of moderating but it is too early to conclude whether this is a trend and signaled that he would wait and see before taking any fresh steps.

US crude for October 2008 delivery rose 52 cents at $103.78 a barrel today, 10 September 2008, after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) surprised traders with a deal to effectively cut production by just over 500,000 barrels per day (bpd). US crude for October 2008 delivery had touched a 5-month low of $103.72 yesterday, 9 September 2008.

Monday, September 8, 2008

India US Nuclear Deal Beneficiaries

Larsen & Toubro

Bharat Heavy Electricals

National Thermal Power Corporation

Areva T&D India

Alstom Projects India

Rolta India

Gammon India

Hindustan Construction Company

ABB

Crompton Greaves

Walchandnagar Industries

Reliance Energy

Tata Power Company


Larsen & Toubro has done engineering, procurement and construction projects for nuke power plants. It is currently working on the 2,000 megawatt Kudankulam nuclear project.

Bharat Heavy Electricals supplies up to 500 megawatt of equipment to Nuclear Power Corporation. It has an existing tie-up with Siemens for nuclear technology.

National Thermal Power Corporation is reportedly in talks with Nuclear Power Corporation of India for setting up a 2000 megawatt nuclear plant.

Areva T&D is reportedly looking at a plant for uranium mining and recycling. The plant would be set up after nod from Nuclear Power Corporation.

Alstom Projects India already makes nuclear reactors and rotors. Its parent company is a world leader in conventional nuclear projects. It makes turbines for nuclear power stations.

Rolta India along with its joint venture Stone and Webster provides reactor-building technology. Stone & Webster's parent has 20% in Westinghouse Electric, a nuclear reactor maker.

Gammon India has undertaken turnkey construction for nuclear projects.

Hindustan Construction Company has constructed four nuclear power projects in India. It is an engineering procurement and construction contractor for nuclear projects.

ABB makes components for power projects. Its parent company's exposure includes new nuclear power plants, systems and components.

Crompton Greaves works with Nuclear Power Corporation of India. It has completed a switchyard for nuclear project.

Walchandnagar Industries makes critical equipment for India's nuclear power facilities.

Reliance Energy reportedly plans to invest additional Rs 12,000 crore in nuclear power capacity. It plans to install 2000 megawatt of nuclear power capacity.

Tata Power Company has tied up with some major nuclear equipment suppliers like Areva. It already has a relationship with Toshiba.

Ultratech Cement - Annual Report - 2007-2008

ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED

ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008

DIRECTOR'S REPORT

TO THE SHAREHOLDERS

Dear Shareholders,

Your Directors present the Eighth Annual Report together with the Audited Accounts of your Company for the year ended 31st March, 2008:

FINANCIAL RESULTS (Rs. in crores) 2007-08 2006-07

Gross Turnover 6,286.24 5,484.35

Gross Profit 1,744.24 1,392.44

Less: Depreciation 237.23 226.25

Profit Before Tax 1,507.01 1,166.19

Tax Expenses 499.40 383.91

Profit After Tax 1,007.61 782.28

Add: Balance brought forward from Previous Year 775.16 180.57

Surplus available for Appropriation 1,782.77 962.85

Appropriation

Debenture Redemption Reserve (8.17) 30.92

General Reserve 120.00 100.00

Dividend 62.24 49.79

Corporate tax on Dividend 10.58 6.98

Balance transferred to Balance Sheet 1,598.12 775.16

Total 1,782.77 962.85

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS AND OVERVIEW

During the year, your Company produced 15.07 MMT of cement (14.64 MMT). Effective capacity utilisation remained flat at 101%. Exports were curtailed to cater to the growing domestic demand. This supported domestic volume growth of 7%. Variable cost increased by over 8% mainly on account of escalation in the cost of raw materials, including imported coal and mounting freight charges.

Continuous de-bottlenecking efforts across your Company's Units resulted in a capacity increase of 1.2 MMT.

Your Company's turnover at Rs. 6,286.24 crores was up by 15% compared to Rs. 5,484.35 crores achieved in the previous year. Profit after tax stood at Rs.1,007.61 crores (Rs.782.28 crores) after providing for depreciation - Rs. 237.23 crores (Rs. 226.25 crores) and tax Rs. 499.40 crores (Rs. 383.91 crores).

DIVIDEND

Your Directors recommended a dividend of Rs. 5/- per equity share of Rs. 10/- each for the year ended 31st March, 2008. The dividend distribution would result in a cash outgo of Rs. 72.82 crores (including tax on dividend of Rs. 10.58 crores) compared to Rs. 56.77 crores (including tax on dividend of Rs. 6.98 crores) paid for the year 2006-07.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

Your Company initiated various expansion and de-bottlenecking programs to maintain growth and improve efficiencies.

The Clinkerisation (pyrosection) unit at Andhra Pradesh Cement Works (APCW) was commissioned during the fourth quarter of the financial year ended 31st March, 2008. The balance work on capacity expansion at APCW is progressing and the split grinding Unit at Ginigera in Karnataka is on track. The Unit will be operational in the first half of the current fiscal.

Upon commissioning of expanded capacity at APCW your Company's total capacity will be 23.1 MMT.

Trials have begun on the 1st Stream of the Thermal Power Plant (TPP) of 23MW at Gujarat Cement Works (GCW) in Gujarat. All four Streams aggregating to 92MW will be fully operational by HIFY09. In addition, TPP's aggregating to 135MWs are being set up at Awarpur Cement Works (ACW) in Maharashtra, APCW and Hirmi Cement Works (HCW) in Chhattisgarh. These power plants, except ACW will be commissioned in a phased manner in FY09.

In FY08 15 Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) plants have been set up across the country.

EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTION SCHEME

The ESOS Compensation Committee of the Board of your Company formulated the Employee Stock Option Scheme - 2006 ('ESOS-2006') at its meeting held on 23rd August, 2007.

The ESOS Compensation Committee granted 1,68,070 stock options to eligible employees of your Company. The disclosure, as required under Clause 12 of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Employee Stock Option Scheme and Employee Stock Purchase Scheme) Guidelines, 1999 is set out in Annexure I to this Report.

AWARDS

Your Company was the recipient of the following awards:

* The Top Exporter Award from CAPEXIL for the eleventh consecutive year.

* State level award for excellence in energy conservation and management for 2006 for ACW.

* The CII National award for excellence in Energy Management 2007 - Energy Efficient Unit' and Innovative Project' for APCW

* Mines safety award - First prize in Method of Working' and Second prize in Drilling and Blasting' for APCW.

* National Safety Award for outstanding performance in industrial safety for HCW

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Your Company continued its efforts towards maximising waste utilisation, search for alternative sources of fuel and chemical and mineral evaluation of captive limestone mines. These measures will aid in conserving natural resources.

HUMAN RESOURCES

At your Company, employees continue to be the key driving force of the organisation and remain a strong source of our competitive advantage. We believe in aligning business priorities with the aspirations of employees leading to the development of an empowered and responsive human capital. We strive to create a work environment which encourages innovation and creativity.

Through our strong Employer Brand, we were able to attract quality people with required skills who have become part of our competent and committed workforce. Appropriate measures are being planned by your Company to ensure talent retention and employee engagement.

Your Company continued to support learning and development initiatives to enhance the functional as well as the behavioural competencies of our people. At Gyanodaya' - The Aditya Birla Institute of Management Learning, executives of your Company were enlisted for various high quality learning interventions. These programs supplemented with a combination of developmental assignments, classroom and web based training, has enabled our people to continuously learn, develop and grow.

Our performance management system is primarily based on competencies and values. We closely monitor growth and development of top talent in your Company, to align personal aspirations with the organisation purpose.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Your Directors reaffirm their continued commitment to good corporate governance practices. During the year under review, your Company complied with the provisions of Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement with the stock exchanges which relates to corporate governance.

A separate section on corporate governance together with a certificate from your Company's Statutory Auditors forms a part of this Annual Report.

SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES

In terms of Section 212 of the Companies Act, 1956, ('the Act') the Accounts together with the Report of Directors and the Auditor's Report of your Company's subsidiaries viz. Dakshin Cements Limited (Dakshin) and U1traTech Ceylinco (Pvt) Limited (U1traTech Ceylinco) forms a part of this Report.

In line with the provisions of the Accounting Standards prescribed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the provisions of the Listing Agreement with the stock exchanges, the duly audited Consolidated Financial Statement has been prepared after considering the financial statements of your Company's subsidiaries viz. Dakshin and U1traTech Ceylinco.

FINANCE

CRISIL has upgraded your Company's rating from 'AA+/Stable' to 'AAA/Stable'. Your Company is also one of the few companies to have its bank loan facilities rated. CRISIL has assigned your Company's bank loan facility, the highest rating of 'AAA/Stable/Pl+'. Such a rating allows your Company to borrow on competitive terms.

Your Company has raised Rs.90 crores by way of fully hedged Buyers Credit for a tenure of three years. These funds have been used for various ongoing capex.

Your Company has repaid debentures and loans amounting to Rs. 285 crores.

Your Company has not invited or renewed deposits from the public/ shareholders in accordance with Section 58A of the Act.

ENERGY, TECHONOLOGY AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Information on conservation of energy, technology absorption and foreign exchange earnings and outgo, required to be disclosed pursuant to section 217(1)(e) of the Act, read with the Companies (Disclosure of Particulars in the Report of the Board of Directors) Rules, 1988 is given in Annexure II and forms part of this Report.

PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYEES

In accordance with the provisions of Section 217(2A) of the Act read with the Companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975, the names and other particulars of employees are to be set out in the Directors' Report, as an addendum thereto. However, as per the provisions of Section 219(1)(b)(iv) of the Act, the Report and Accounts as therein set out, are being sent to all Members of your Company excluding the aforesaid information about the employees. Any Member, who is interested in obtaining such particulars about employees, may write to the Company Secretary at the Registered Office of your Company.

DIRECTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Audited Accounts for the year under review are in conformity with the requirements of the Act and the Accounting Standards. The financial statements reflect fairly the form and substances of transactions carried out during the year under review and reasonably present your Company's financial condition and results of operations.

Your Directors confirm that:

(i) In the preparation of the Annual Accounts, the applicable accounting standards have been followed along with proper explanations relating to material departures, if any;

(ii) The accounting policies selected have been applied consistently and judgments and estimates are made that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of your Company as at 31st March, 2008 and of the profit of your Company for the year ended on that date;

(iii) Proper and sufficient care has been taken for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of your Company and for preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities;

(iv) The Annual Accounts of your Company have been prepared on a going concern basis.

DIRECTORS

Mr. S. Rajgopal, Nominee Director resigned from the Board of your Company with effect from 20th October, 2007 consequent to the withdrawal of his nomination by the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India. However, considering his vast knowledge and experience, the Board inducted Mr. Rajgopal as an Additional Director with effect from that date. Mr. Rajgopal holds office upto the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General Meeting. Notice pursuant to Section 257 of the Act has been received from a Member of your Company proposing Mr. Rajgopal's appointment as Director.

Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Mr. V T. Moorthy and Mr. R. C. Bhargava retire from office by rotation and being eligible, offer themselves for re-appointment.

A brief resume of the Directors being appointed / re-appointed are attached to the Notice of the ensuing Annual General Meeting.

AUDITORS

M/s. Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Chartered Accountants, Mumbai and M/s. G. P. Kapadia & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai were appointed Joint Statutory Auditors of your Company from the conclusion of the previous Annual General Meeting until the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General Meeting. M/s. Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Chartered Accountants, Mumbai and M/s. G.P. Kapadia & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai being eligible, offer themselves for re-appointment as auditors of your Company.

The Board proposes the re-appointment of M/s. Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Chartered Accountants, Mumbai and M/s. G. P. Kapadia & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai as Joint Statutory Auditors of your Company based on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, to hold office from the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General Meeting until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.

The Board also proposes the re-appointment of M/s. Haribhakti & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai as the Branch Auditors of your Company's Unit's at Jafrabad and Magdalla in Gujarat and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, based on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, to hold office from the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General Meeting until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting. In terms of the provisions of the Act the Board also seeks your approval for the appointment of Branch Auditors in consultation with your Company's Statutory Auditors for any other Branch / Unit / Division of your Company, which may be opened / acquired / installed in future in India or abroad.

Resolutions seeking your approval on these items are included in the Notice convening the Annual General Meeting.

The observation made in the Auditor's Report are self-explanatory and therefore, do not call for any further comments under Section 217(3) of the Act.

COST AUDITORS

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 233E of the Act, your Directors have appointed M/s. N. 1. Mehta & Co., Cost Accountants, Mumbai as the Cost Auditor to conduct the cost audit of your Company for the financial year ending 31st March, 2009, subject to the approval of the Central Government.

APPRECIATION

Your Directors place on record their appreciation of the contribution made by employees at all levels. Your Company's growth was made possible by employee's support, co-operation, commitment, solidarity and hard work.

Your Directors wish to take this opportunity to express their deep sense of gratitude to the Central and State Governments, banks, financial institutions, shareholders and business associates for their co-operation and support and look forward to their continued support in future.

For and on behalf of the Board

Mumbai Kumar Mangalam Birla22nd April, 2008 Chairman

ANNEXURE I

Disclosure pursuant to Clause 12 of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Employee Stock Option Scheme and Employee Stock Purchase Scheme) Guidelines, 1999

Particulars ESOS - 2006 Tranche I [23rd August, 2007]

a. No. of Options granted 99,010

b. The Pricing formula The exercise price is the average price of the equity shares of the Company in the immediate preceding seven days period (at a stock exchange as determined by the ESOS Compensation Committee) on the date prior to the date on which the ESOS Compensation Committee finalised the specific number of Options to be granted to the employees, discounted by 30%.

Exercise Price : Rs. 606/- per option

c. Options vested Nil

d. Options exercised Nil

e. The total number of shares N.Aarising as a result of exerciseof the options

f. Options lapsed Nil

g. Variation of terms of options Nil

h. Money realised by exercise N.Aof options

i. Total number of optionsin force:

- Vested Nil

- Unvested 99,010

j. Employee wise details ofoptions granted to:

i. Senior Managerial Personnel Mr. S. Misra, 32,640Managing Director

ii. Any other employee who Nil receives a grant in any oneyear of option amounting to5% or more of option granted during that year

iii. Identified employees who Nil were granted option, during any one year, equal to orexceeding 1% of the issuedcapital (excluding outstandingwarrants and conversions)of the company at the timeof grant

ESOS - 2006 Tranche II [25th January, 2008]

a. No. of Options granted 69,060

b. The Pricing formula The exercise price is the average price of the equity shares of the Company in the immediate preceding seven days period (at a stock exchange as determined by the ESOS Compensation Committee) on the date prior to the date on which the ESOS Compensation Committee finalised the specific number of Options to be granted to the employees, discounted by 2%.

Exercise Price : Rs. 794/- per option

c. Options vested Nil

d. Options exercised Nil

e. The total number of shares N.Aarising as a result of exercise of the options

f. Options lapsed Nil

g. Variation of Nilterms of options

h. Money realised by exercise N.Aof options

i. Total number of options Nilin force:

- Vested Nil- Unvested 69,060

j. Employee wise details of

options granted to:

i. Senior Managerial Personnel Mr. S. Misra, 51,650Managing Director

ii. Any other employee who Nil receives a grant in any oneyear of option amounting to5% or more of option granted during that year

iii. Identified employees who Nilwere granted option, during any one year, equal to or exceeding 1% of the issued capital (excluding outstanding warrants and conversions) of the company at the time of grant

ESOS - 2006 Tranche I Tranche II [23rd August, 2007] [25th January, 2008]

k. Diluted Earnings Per Share NA(EPS) pursuant to issue of shares on exercise of option calculated in accordance with Accounting Standard (AS) 20Earning Per Share'

1. Where the company has The Company has calculated the employee calculated the employees compensation cost using theintrinsic compensation cost using the value method of accounting to account intrinsic value of the for options issued under the stock options: ESOS - 2006.

i. The difference between the Employee compensation cost:employee compensation cost so - intrinsic value based Rs. 0.77 crorescomputed and the employee - fair value based Rs. 1.84 crorescompensation cost that shall Difference Rs. 1.07 croresbe recognised if it had used the fair value of the options shall be disclosed.

Reported Adjustedii. The impact of this difference:

- on profits Net Profit Rs. 1007.61 Rs. 1,006.54 crores crores

- EPS Basic: Rs. 80.94 Rs. 80.86 Diluted: Rs. 80.91 Rs. 80.83

m. Weighted average exerciseprices of options:

i. Equal to market price of -the stock

ii. less than market price of Rs. 683/the stock

Weighted average fair values of ontions

i. Equal to market price of thestock -

ii. less than the market priceof the stock. Rs. 462/-

n. A description of the methodused during the year to estimate Black - Scholes Methodthe fair values of options.

Significant assumptions usedduring the year to estimate the fair values of options including the following weighted average information:

i. Risk - free interest rate 8%

ii. Expected life Period up to vesting plus the average of the exercise period corresponding to each vesting.

iii. Expected volatility Implied volatility of the Company's stock prices on NSE based on the price data of last one year up to the date of grant

Tranche I = 49% Tranche II = 52%

iv. Expected dividend Adjustment of the closing price of the Company's share on the NSE for the expected dividend yield over the expected life of the options (dividend for FY 2006-07 and a growth factor have been considered, which are then discounted and an average present value of dividend ascertained)

v. The price of the underlying Rs. 829/-share in the market at thetime of option grant.

ANNEKURE II

DISCLOSURES OF PARTICULARS WITH RESPECT TO CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO AS REQUIRED UNDER THE COMPANIES (DISCLOSURE OF PARTICULARS IN THE REPORT OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS) RULES, 1988:

A. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY:

a) Energy Conservation Measures taken:

Installation of Variable Frequency Drives Use of fuel efficient and higher capacity mining equipments Optimisation of Grinding Media size distribution in mills Close circuiting of cement mills Cooler Gas waste heat recovery system installed.

b) Additional investments and proposals if any, being implemented for reduction of consumption of energy:

Close circuiting of cement mills Installation of Roller Press Installation of Vertical roller mill for fuel grinding Installation of Dry Fly Ash handling and feeding system Modification of clinker characteristic to improve clinker grindability Increased Fly Ash absorption and Blended Cement production.

c) Impact of measures at (a) and (b) above for reduction of energy consumption and consequent impact on the cost of production of goods:

The proposals stated above shall result in reduction in power consumption and recovery of waste heat to use for productive purpose thereby reduction in cost.

d) Total energy consumption and energy consumption per unit of production:

As per FORM-A of this Annexure

B. TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION:

Efforts made in technology absorption as per FORM-B of this Annexure.

C. FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO:

The information on foreign exchange earnings and outgo is contained in Schedule 22(6) and (5) of the Accounts.

FORM - A(See Rule 2)

Form for disclosure of particulars with respect to conservation of energy

A. POWER AND FUEL CONSUMPTION Current Year Previous Year 2007-08 2006-071. Electricity (a) Purchased Units 000 Kwh 923400 847582 Total Amount Rs. crores 432.69 405.70 Rate/unit Rs. 4.69 4.79 (b) Own generation* (i) Through Diesel generator Units 000 Kwh 176961 188908 Units (Kwh) per Ltr. of fuel oil 3.96 4.03 Cost/Unit Rs. 5.62 4.91 (ii) Through Steam Turbine/Generator Units 000 Kwh 316750 309571 Units(Kwh) per kg of coal 0.70 0.73 Cost/Unit Rs. 1.73 1.40 (iii) Through Steam Turbine/Generator Units 000 Kwh 5527 64249 Units(Kwh) per kg of Naphtha 3.80 4.73 Cost/Unit Rs. 15.05 7.40 (iv) Waste Heat Recovery system Units 000 Kwh 19064 477.05 Cost/Unit Rs. 0.35 0.25

2. Coal (S1ack,Steam & ROM including lighting Coal) For Co-generation of Steam & Power Tonnes 454839 425246 Total Cost Rs. crores 46.95 35.23 Average rate Rs./Tonnes 1032 828 For Process in Cement Plants Quantity Tonnes 2157186 1991666 Total Cost Rs. crores 650.76 543.99 Average rate Rs./Tonnes 3017 2731

3. Furnace Oil (Including Naphtha) Quantity K. Ltrs 47020 66184 Total amount Rs. crores 86.70 122.70 Average rate Rs./K.ltr 18438 18539

4. Light Diesel Oil (LDO) Quantity K. Ltrs 1332 1431 Total amount Rs. crores 3.70 4.24 Average rate Rs./K ltr 27765 29626

5. High Speed Diesel Oil (HSD) Quantity K. Ltrs 358 265 Total amount Rs. crores 1.20 0.95 Average rate Rs./K ltr 33531 35661

B. CONSUMPTION PER UNIT OF PRODUCTION

Electricity # Kwh /T of Cement 84.69 86.93

Furnace oil $ Ltr /T of Clinker 0.11 0.10

Coal Kcal /Kg of 713 707 Clinker

* Excludes Auxillary & Wheeling# Excludes non production power consumption$ Furnace oil used for kiln light up

FORM - B(See Rule 2)

Form for disclosure of particulars with respect to absorption

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)

1. Specific areas in which R&D carried out by the Company

Evaluation of use of

* Mineralisers

* Performance improver to enhance quality

* Higher % of Fly Ash Content in PPC without affecting quality

* CFD technique for optimising Plant operations

2. Benefits derived as a result of the above R&D

The above initiatives have resulted in increase in production, energy efficiency, resources conservation and reduction in related cost of production.

3. Future plan of action

* Commercialisation of alternative fuels

* Optimisation of chemistry of raw mix and fuel mix to improve mines life

* Installation of waste heat recovery system for power generation

(Rs. in crores)4. Expenditure on R&D 2007-08 2006-07 a. Capital expenditure 0.53 1.12 b. Recurring expenditure 8.82 4.90 c. Total expenditure 9.36 6.02 d. Total R & D expenditure 0.17 0.12as % of turnover

TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION, ADAPTATION AND INNOVATION

1. Efforts, in brief, made towards technology absorption, adaptation and innovation:

* Participation in national and international conferences

* Imparting training to personnel by foreign technicians in various manufacturing techniques by foreign and Indian experts and technology suppliers

2. Benefits derived as a result of the above efforts:

* Improvement in existing processes and reducing consumption of scarce raw

materials and fuel

* Cost reduction

3. Information regarding technology imported during the last 5 years : Nil

EKC

Fresh investments can be considered in the stock of Everest Kanto Cylinders, a leading manufacturer of high-pressure CNG (compressed natural gas) and industrial cylinders. At the current market price of Rs 288, the stock trades at about 14 times its likely FY-10 per share earnings on a diluted equity base.

While prima facie the valuation may appear pricey, it is supported by the growing demand for EKC's products. At a time when many engineering and capital goods companies are battling with a slowing demand, EKC's prospects are stable.

Driven by high oil prices, most countries, including India, have been on the lookout for cheaper energy options and CNG fits this bill well. Cheap and viable, the demand for CNG-based applications is likely to remain buoyant over the next couple of years, irrespective of short-term blips in oil prices. This bodes well for EKC, which enjoys over 80 per cent market share in India and derives close to 57 per cent of its consolidated revenues from exports.

Investors, nevertheless, should accumulate the stock in lots to take advantage of volatility in the broad markets.
Expansion in capacities

In the last two years, the company has, on a consolidated basis, reported a compounded sales and earnings growth of 50 per cent and 77 per cent respectively. This may well continue over the next couple of years as EKC has put in place expanded capacities that would help it cater to most of the incremental demand in the coming years.

The company has four manufacturing facilities (three in Gujarat, India and one in Dubai) that together have a capacity to manufacture over one million cylinders per year. Further, it has recently commenced production at its new facility in China (capacity of 200,000 cylinders per year) and proposes to expand it further.

Having a manufacturing presence in China will not only help EKC leverage on the demand-supply mismatch in that region, but also help it build on its relationship with Chinese suppliers of seamless tubes — the key raw material.

Besides this, EKC has also undertaken addition in capacities for the manufacture of industrial cylinders to its existing facility at Gandhidham, Guajrat. It further plans to introduce a product line — Jumbo cylinders — offering higher margins, at this facility. In total, this would imply an addition of over 200,000 cylinders per annum capacity; commissioning of these plants is expected by the third quarter of this year.

That EKC's existing facilities are running at full capacity and the company has its order book full for the next year reduces concerns on its ability to optimally utilise additional capacities.

However, given the high gestation period in this segment, it may take a couple of years for the company to reap the full benefits of its expanded capacities, which reiterates the need for a two-year holding period on this stock.
CP Industries, key to growth

In February 2008, EKC had sealed its entry into the US market through the acquisition of CP Industries, a division of Reunion Industries for a consideration of about $67 million (about 1.7 times CPI's reported revenues last year).

Being the world leader in the manufacture of very large, seamless, high-pressure vessels, CPI's acquisition will be a strategic fit, bringing in a complementary product portfolio. It will also bring to the table CPI's design capabilities, which are in compliance with the US and Chinese standards and its well-established set of clientele, which includes makers of alternative fuel vehicles, NASA, the US Navy and others in the transportation and aerospace industries. Funded primarily through debt, this acquisition may burden EKC's books with interest cost in the near-term, but will be a long-term positive.
Funding growth

Another factor that lends comfort to the company's growth prospects is the fact that a significant portion of the funds required for its expansion plans — be it for its existing facilities or for setting up new facilities at Kandla SEZ and China — has already been raised. Last year, the company had raised about Rs 236 crore through a combination of private equity and FCCBs (due for conversion in 2012 at Rs 303). This assumes significance since the recent bouts of interest rate hikes have made money dearer.

Among other factors that lend strength to the EKC's business prospects is its ability to pass on input price hikes to its customers. Despite there being pressure on the input cost front, the company has not only been able to maintain its margins (at about 29 per cent last quarter); it has also bettered its average realisation in recent times. This was also achieved partly by tilting the product mix in favour of CNG cylinders (which enjoy higher margins). In the coming quarters, even if there were no respite on the raw material cost front, better capacity utilisation and economies of scale may give it sufficient leeway to sustain margins at the current levels.

On this score, EKC's strategy of broad-basing its raw material supplier base to include Chinese and Japanese suppliers (low cost) besides Tenaris, a global manufacturer and supplier of seamless tubes, would also help. That said, domestic growth would, to a great extent, depend on the improvement in CNG infrastructure in the country.

While the government is certainly inclined towards improving CNG infrastructure, in the midst of an economic slowdown, this may not figure in its priority list. Delays in the expansion of EKC's capacities may also pose a risk to the company's earnings.

PSL

Investments with a long-term perspective can be considered in the stock of PSL, which is the country's largest manufacturer of high grade helical pipes.

At the current market price of Rs 308, the stock trades at about nine times its estimated FY09 per share earnings, assuming full equity dilution. This leaves considerable headroom for further appreciation in the stock's price given PSL's expanding order book, capacity additions and promising demand prospects.

Better realisations and margins from recently bagged orders and the likely contribution from its overseas units in the UAE and the US in the coming quarters also suggest strong earnings prospects.

PSL's regional distribution presence and large installed capacity has helped it meet its customers' need for compressed delivery schedules, giving it an edge over its competitors. Over the last three years, it has enjoyed sales and earnings growth of about 16 per cent and 37 per cent respectively, on a compounded annual basis.

The growth rates may improve further, considering the company's current order book of Rs 6,000 crore (2.7 times its FY08 consolidated revenues). That a bulk of its current order book was bagged only recently amidst tough competition also points to PSL's strong position in the market.

Another factor that highlights our optimism on the company's business prospects is its raw material procurement policy. It covers its entire steel requirement within the shortest possible time after the receipt of any order, giving itself sufficient leeway to protect margins.

While operating margins had dipped by a percentage point to 9 per cent for the year ended March 2008, it is likely to improve in future as its US and UAE plants are slated to start production soon. The average realisation per tonne for pipes, which is currently around $100-200 per tonne net of steel price, may see improvement when these facilities begin contributing to the overall revenues. That both these ventures already have orders in hand also reduces any concerns regarding PSL's ability to break into new markets.

The only flip side is PSL's relatively high reliance on debt for working capital requirements for inventory maintenance and capacity expansion. While the costs may be easily absorbed with the current scenario of high demand and utilisation, the same could pose a threat to earnings if there were execution delays or orders, due to reduced capex spending by its user industries such as oil and gas.

SAIL

Investors can consider buying the SAIL India stock, now trading at a price-earnings multiple of about 8.2 times its 2007-08 earnings. The valuation is at a discount compared to Tata Steel (9.4 times) and global steel majors. SAIL's ongoing capacity expansion programme, backward integration to source iron ore and its wide product mix and distribution reach, amid a good long-term demand environment for steel, favour investment in the stock.
Business Overview

SAIL has five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur, Bokaro, Rourkela and Burnpur and special steel plants as well. SAIL's production capacity of 14 million tonnes (MT) is slated to increase to 26 MT by 2010-11, due to ongoing greenfield and brownfield expansion projects. The expansion plan is expected to address technology obsolescence, achieve energy savings and enrich the product-mix, while addressing the expected global deficit in steel.

The programmes entail an investment of Rs 54,000 crore (factoring in recent cost overruns). The financing is to be done in such a manner that SAIL's debt-equity ratio remains within 1:1. The total capex for 2007-08 was Rs 2,181 crore and the estimated capex for 2008-09 is Rs 5,000 crore.

These requirements may not impose any fresh borrowings on SAIL in the current high interest cost environment, given the comfortable cash position and internal accruals. The debt-equity ratio has fallen from 0.18 in FY-07 to 0.11 in the latest June quarter, as internal accruals were used to steadily reduce borrowings. This suggests room for the balance-sheet for future leveraging.

Integration moves

On the inputs front, as of now, the company's captive iron ore mines feed its entire requirements and SAIL plans to expand its existing mines to meet the rising demand for iron ore as output grows.

Its current mining capacity is 26 MT and it will need 43 MT by the end of 2009-10. The iron ore linkages for FY-2010 and beyond would come from the mines in Raoghat, Chiria, Taldih and Thakurani, apart from the existing mines.

Linkages have been formulated between each of SAIL's plants and specific mines, with plans put in motion for the development of the mines. It has envisaged a Rs 13,000-15,000-crore brownfield expansion programme in the next eight years.

As regards coal, the current import component of 70 per cent (out of which 80 per cent is through long-term contracts from Australia, New Zealand and US and 20 per cent from spot market) is slated to increase from 2010 onwards. Further, the long-term component is likely to go up to 90 per cent from FY-09, which may shield margins to a greater extent from short-term spikes in price.

SAIL has also seen a significant improvement in its operating efficiencies with reductions in coke and fuel rates and energy consumption.
Product mix

The company is focusing on improving its product mix by increasing the proportion of value-added products. The production of value-added products has increased from 1.26 MT (2005-06) to 3.36 MT (2007-08).

The hot-rolled (HR) coils constitute 24.1 per cent, plates 21.2 per cent and semis 17.9 per cent of the sales mix for the year ended 2007-08. The proportion of rounds/bars is slated to increase from 10.2 per cent to 23.3 per cent, structurals from 5.2 per cent to 15 per cent and cold-rolled coils from 8.7 per cent to 10.4 per cent by 2010-11.

This has been accompanied by an expansion in the dealer network, from 653 in March 2007 to 1801 in June 2008.
Financials

SAIL's net sales registered a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.95 per cent over a four year period coinciding with the upturn in the commodity cycle.

Net profits witnessed a better CAGR of 31.6 per cent during the same period. In the latest June quarter, SAIL's operating profit margins suffered a setback on account of wage revisions and higher raw material costs. SAIL appears more vulnerable to constraints on domestic steel prices than Tata Steel, which has a globally diversified presence. Domestic steel producers, who agreed to a moratorium on prices in May for three months, have once again acceded to holding the price line in August.

Despite this, SAIL clocked strong Q1 numbers, which can be attributed to the thrust on value-added products and improvement in operating efficiencies.

Going forward, while the policy pressures on steel prices and softening global steel prices may limit margins in the near term, prospects for strong demand growth, expansion in volumes and improving product mix augur well for SAIL's earnings over the medium-long term.

Some primary and secondary steel producers have taken a 4 per cent cut in steel prices recently. However, this is to be viewed only as a temporary phenomenon in the light of lower global prices of steel.

Notwithstanding the economic slowdown, the domestic demand scenario for steel continues to be sanguine, given the growth potential of infrastructure and construction sectors.

via BL

DLF - Annual Director's Report - 2007-2008

DLF LIMITED

ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008

DIRECTORS' REPORT

Your Directors have pleasure in presenting the 43rd Annual Report and the Audited Accounts for the financial year ended 31st March 2008.

Financial Results:

(Rs. in Crores) Consolidated 2007-08 2006-07

Gross operating Profit 9961.49 2905.59Less: Finance Charges 310.00 307.59Less: Depreciation 90.06 57.81Profit before Tax 9561.43 2540.19Less: Provision for Tax 1739.09 605.18Profit before minority interest 7822.34 1935.01Share of Profit/(loss) in associates 26.41 (1.27)Minority interest (35.48) (1.11)Profit after tax and minority 7813.27 1932.63interest

The Gross Operating Profit on consolidated basis was Rs.9,961.49 Crores against Rs.2,905.59 Crores in the previous year (2006-07), an increase of 243% and the net profit after tax for the year was Rs.7822.34 Crores as against Rs.1,935.01 Crores for the previous year (2006-07), representing an increase of about 304%.

Review of Operations:

Over the past few years, the real estate sector has transformed from a nascent and unorganized sector to an emerging, professionally organised industry, which is contributing significantly to the GDP of the nation. Being the leader in the industry in terms of revenues, earnings and market capitalization, your Company has been able to capitalize the opportunities in an efficient manner. With its high quality land bank and 62 years track record of delivering quality real estate developments, your Company continues to lead the real estate industry in India and commands an impeccable reputation in its core businesses homes, offices and retail. The Company is now all set to embark on a journey to be named among the leading players in its new businesses of hospitality, SEZs and infrastructure development with the best quality standards and delivery commitments.

There has been a substantial increase in your Company's land resource from 574 msf at the beginning of the year to 751 msf at the end of the year. 85% of the land resource is located in the top seven cities of the country. The operations extended to 32 cities across the country. The area of projects under construction increased significantly from 44 msf to 62 msf, with work spanning across 14 cities. Your Company's various JV's added much needed momentum to the execution of the projects.

Your Company's development of MITES SEZs has acquired further momentum. 7 SEZs have been notified and are under various stages of development. 4 SEZs are awaiting final approval and another 4 have been applied for.

During the year under report, the Company bagged the prestigious 9,168 acres Bidadi township project in association with Limitless Holdings, part of Dubai World Group. Now rechristened as New Bangalore, it will be the single largest township development by a private developer in the country.

During the year, several premium homes segment targeting mid-income earners were launched. The encouraging response of 4,850 apartments being booked in the first four months of 2008 is a vindication of your Company's strategy to drive home sales of high quality products at reasonable prices.

During the year, the Company has also entered into a JV with Prudential Financial Inc., USA for Asset Management business. The JV with Prudential Insurance of USA for Life Insurance business has already received R-3 license from IRDA to commence business.

The JV with Hilton Hotels recorded significant progress with acquisition of 16 sites during the year. All the projects in these sites are at various stages of construction and development. Many more sites are expected to be acquired in the current year.

The momentum in Hospitality business was further enhanced by your Company's first acquisition in International arena - Aman Resorts - the most innovative and marquee name in luxury hotel groups across the globe. This Company operates 18 boutique resorts across the world and has several new projects in key exotic locations under development. Aman Lodhi, a super luxury hotel in Delhi, will be operational during 2008-09.

The performance of the Company on stand-alone basis for the year ended on 31st March, 2008 is as under:

(Rs. in Crores) Stand Alone 2007-08 2006-07

Turnover 6058.46 1429.49Gross operating Profit 3591.25 986.02Less: Finance Charges 447.65 356.25Less: Depreciation 25.68 9.44Profit before Tax 3117.92 620.33Less: Provision for Tax 543.52 214.56Profit after Tax 2574.40 405.77Earlier Year Items:Income Tax 0.19 1.14Balance as per last Balance Sheet 269.27 523.76Transfer from:Capital Reserve - 1.40Profit available for appropriation 2843.86 932.07Appropriation:Issue of Bonus Shares 0.07 215.38General Reserve 311.00 48.50Dividend on Equity Shares:Interim 340.97Final 340.97# 340.97Tax on Dividend 115.89 57.95Surplus carried to Balance Sheet 1734.96 269.27 2843.86 932.07

* Proposed.

Future Outlook:

With the economy growing at 7-7.5% p.a., the demand for premium real estate continues to be buoyant. While we expect a cautious outlook for the year ahead, our strong execution capabilities will help us in meeting the timelines and delivering the targeted double-digit growth in all facets of our business. Despite some macro economic concerns about slowdown in the sector, our long term outlook remains unchanged. Accordingly, we will continue to invest in creating distinctive products to satisfy the increasing demand arising from the growth of the Indian economy across various sectors.

All your Business Units (BUs) - offices, retail and homes, have now reached the steady platform for execution and delivery. While launching of new projects across verticals would be part of the usual business, management focus would increase on project execution and delivery within timelines. Some of DLF's key projects have ambitious timelines, including the prestigious Dwarka Convention and Exhibition Centre at New Delhi, which is targeted to be completed before Commonwealth Games, 2010.

Your Company's JV, DLF Pramerica Life Insurance will commence its operations during the year 2008-09.

With multiple opportunities for growth and diversification in the real estate sector, DLF is well poised to achieve its growth plans across all lines of business.

Dividend:

Your Company paid an interim dividend of 100% in October, 2007. The Board of Directors has recommended a final Dividend of 100%, making the aggregate dividend at Rs. 4 per share (200%) of a par value of Rs.2 each. (2006-07 - total dividend was Rs.2 per share).

Credit Rating:

During the year under review, ICRA Limited, an associate of Moody's Investor Service and a leading credit rating agency, assigned Highest Credit Quality Rating 'A1+' to Rs. 2,000 Crore Short Term Debts/ Commercial Paper programme of the Company.

Further, CRISIL, a unit of Standard & Poor's, assigned AA Rating to Company's Rs. 5,000 Crore Non-Convertible Debentures, 'P1+' Rating to Company's Rs. 3,000 Crore Short-Term Debt and AA Rating to Company's Rs.6,791 Crore Term Loans with a stable outlook.

Buy-Back of Equity Shares:

Your Directors in their meeting held on 10tn July, 2008 approved buy-back of not exceeding 2,20,00,000 Company's fully paid-up Equity shares of Rs. 2 each, at a price not exceeding Rs. 600 per Equity share, upto a maximum amount of Rs. 1,100 crore, i.e., within the limits of 9.80% of the aggregate of the Company's total paid-up equity capital and free reserves as on 31St March, 2008.

The buy-back is proposed to be made from the current surplus and/or cash balances and/or internal accruals of the Company by way of open market purchases through the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd., and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., using their nationwide electronic trading facilities as per the provisions contained in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (Buy-Back of Securities) Regulations, 1998.

Further, the buy-back is subject to the necessary exemption approval to be granted by SEBI under Regulation 4(2) of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares & Takeover Regulations), 1997 to promoters, promoter group, persons in control and persons acting in concert (Promoters) from the requirement of making an open offer under the Regulations.

The application for seeking exemption from making open offer, has been submitted to SEBI. Upon receipt of the said exemption approval, the Company will proceed with the buy-back of Equity shares.

Fixed Deposits:

As on 31st March 2008, an outstanding/unclaimed public deposit of Rs.0.27 lac (previous year Rs.0.27 lac) is lying with the Company. The Company has not accepted/renewed any fixed deposits during the year under review.

Subsidiary Companies:

During the year, the Company entered into various new business dimensions through 166 subsidiaries such as SEZs, Life Insurance, Hospitality, Asset Management, Township Development etc.

In terms of the approval granted by the Central Government vide letter No.47/385/2008-CL-III dated 6th June, 2008 under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 1956, the audited statement of accounts and the Auditors' Report thereon for the year ended 31st March, 2008 along with the Reports of the Board of Directors of the Company's subsidiaries have not been annexed. The Company will make available these documents upon request by any Member of the Company interested in obtaining the same. However, as desired by the Central Government, the financial data of the subsidiaries have been furnished under the heading 'Subsidiary Companies Particulars' forming part of the Annual Report. Further, pursuant to Accounting Standard-21 issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Consolidated Financial Statements presented by the Company in this Annual Report includes the financial information of its subsidiaries. There is no material change in the nature of business carried on by the subsidiaries of the Company.

Consolidated Financial Statements:

Your Directors have pleasure in attaching the Consolidated Financial Statements pursuant to Clause 32 of the Listing Agreement entered into with the Stock Exchanges and prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standard-21 on Consolidated Financial Statement read with Accounting Standard-23 on Accounting for Investments in Associates.

Joint Ventures:

Some of the major joint ventures entered into by your Company are:

* Laing O'Rourke Plc., UK for construction and execution of projects;

* WSP Group Plc., UK for design and engineering consultancy;

* Limitless Holdings - part of Dubai World Group for mega township development;

* Prudential Insurance of USA for life insurance products;

* Prudential Financial of USA for AMC; and

* Fraport for airports construction and maintenance.

Significant Development and Acquisitions:

* Integrated township project (knowledge city) on the outskirts of Bangalore.

* Township projects in western outskirts of Kolkata.

* Acquired land parcels for office development including Tidal Park, Chennai.

* Expanded footprints to new locations like Gandhinagar, Nagpur, Rai (Sonepat), Mumbai and Bhubaneshwar.

* Setting up of super luxury Mall for luxury brands.

* Launched six new commercial space projects across the country in Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

* Acquired majority stake in Aman Resorts, a chain of luxury and super-luxury hotels.

Conservation of Energy, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings/Outgo:

The particulars relating to energy conservation, technology absorption and foreign exchange earnings and outgo as prescribed under Section 217(1)(e) of the Companies Act, 1956 read with Companies (Disclosure of Particulars in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988 are given in the Annexure-A annexed hereto and forms part of this Report.

Particulars of Employees:

In terms of the provisions of Section 217(2A) of the Companies Act, 1956, read with the Companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975 as amended the names and other particulars of the employees are set out in the annexure to the Directors' Report.

However, having regard to the provisions of Section 219(1)(b)(iv) of the said Act, the Annual Report excluding the aforesaid information is being sent to all the Members of the Company and others entitled thereto. Any member interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company Secretary at the Registered Office of the Company.

Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS):

Information regarding the Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS) is at Annexure-B.

Listing at Stock Exchanges:

The equity shares of your Company continue to be listed on BSE and the NSE. During the year under review, the equity shares form part of S&P CNX Nifty & BSE - 30 indices. The listing and custody fees for the year 2008-09 have been paid to the Stock Exchanges, NSDL and CDSL, respectively.

Management Discussion and Analysis Report:

The Management Discussion and Analysis Report as required under Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges forms part of this Report.

Corporate Governance Report:

The Company is committed to maintain the highest standards of Corporate Governance. The Directors adhere to the requirements set out by the Securities and Exchange Board of India's Corporate Governance practices and have implemented all the stipulations prescribed. The Company has implemented several best corporate governance practices as prevalent globally.

The Report on Corporate Governance as stipulated under Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement forms part of this Report.

The requisite Certificate from the Statutory Auditors of the Company, M/s. Walker, Chandiok & Co, Chartered Accountants, confirming compliance with the conditions of Corporate Governance as stipulated under the aforesaid Clause 49, is attached to this Report.

Directors' Responsibility Statement:

As required under Section 217(2AA) of the Companies Act, 1956, your Directors confirm having:

a) Followed in the preparation of the Annual Accounts, the applicable accounting standards with proper explanation relating to material departures, if any;

b) Selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of your Company at the end of the financial year and of the profit of your Company for that period;

c) Taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 for safeguarding the assets of your Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities; and

d) Prepared the Annual Accounts on a going concern basis.

Auditors:

The Auditors, M/s. Walker Chandiok & Co., Chartered Accountants, hold office until the conclusion of the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and are recommended for re-appointment. Certificate from the Auditors has been received to the effect that their re-appointment, if made, would be within the limits prescribed under Section 224(1B) of the Companies Act, 1956.

The Notes on accounts and observations of the Auditors in their report on the Accounts of the 26 Company are self-explanatory and therefore, in the opinion of Directors, do not call for any further explanation.

Directors:

Pursuant to Section 256 of the Companies Act, 1956 read with the Clause 102 of Articles of Association of the Company, Ms. Pia Singh, Mr. G.S. Talwar, Mr. K.N. Memani and Mr. Ravinder Narain retire by rotation at the ensuing Annual General Meeting and being eligible have offered themselves for re-appointment.

Brief resume of the Directors proposed to be reappointed, nature of their experience in specific functional areas, names of the companies in which they hold directorship and membership/ chairmanship of Board Committees, shareholding and relationship between Directors inter-se, as stipulated under Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges, are provided in the Notice for convening the Annual General Meeting.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

Corporate Social Responsibility is integrated into the Company's business strategy of Building India and becoming the world's most valued real estate developer.

Your Company has been the forerunner in introducing structured development of world class townships, plotted colonies, commercial and retail towers and condominiums in India. It has been the first to introduce internationally recognized lifestyle improvements in India, which have now been adopted by other developers and are slowly transforming the Indian landscape. While DLF continues to create world class infrastructure, it has not lost sight of its responsibilities as a social and economic change agent across various segments. At DLF, we are committed to build India from the grassroots, thereby enriching and enhancing the quality of life of its people. The Company has made significant investments in community welfare initiatives for employees, community and the under-privileged through education, training, health, environment, capacity building and rural-centric interventions as detailed at Annexure-C.

Promotion of Sports:

As a responsible corporate citizen, your Company is committed to develop and promote sports, 27 games and adventure activities, inter-alia:

* Sponsored Title for DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) for five years of Twenty: 20 Cricket;

* Sponsored title for DLF Cup Abu Dhabi and DLF Cup Malaysia; and

* Hosted Johnnie Walker Classic Golf Tournament - Asia's most prestigious and longest-running luxury golf experience.

Awards and Accreditions:

Your Directors report that your Company has excelled in various dimension of Corporate achievement, recognized through peer and public evaluation. The details of awards and recognitions to your Company are as under:

* Mr. K.P. Singh, Chairman was conferred 'Honorary Degree of Doctorate in Science' by the prestigious G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pant Nagar in recognition of his 'invaluable contribution in the field of Business Administration';

* Mr. M.M. Sabharwal was conferred 'Padma Shree' by Government of India;

* Mr. K.P. Singh - NDTV 'Special Award for Business Man of the Year';

* Most Diversified Real Estate Developer Award by CNBC Awaz-Crisil Real Estate Awards 2007;

* Best Builder and Developer Award by MAPSOR Indian Property Awards- 2007; and

* Real Estate Excellence Awards for Best Developer (Residential)- 2007.

Acknowledgements:

Your Company continues to occupy a place of respect amongst stakeholders, most of all our valuable customers. Your Directors would like to express their sincere appreciation for assistance and co-operation received from the vendors and stakeholders including financial institutions, banks, Central & State Government authorities, other business associates, who have extended their valuable sustained support and encouragement during the year under review. Your Directors take this opportunity to place on record their gratitude and appreciation for the committed services of the employees at all levels of the Company.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors

Place: New Delhi (Dr. K.P. Singh)Dated: 31st July, 2008 Chairman

ANNEXURE-A

Disclosure of particulars under Section 217(1)(e) of the Companies Act, 1956, read with the Companies (Disclosure of particulars in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988, are given as under:

. .A. Conservation of Energy:

a) Energy conservation measures taken:

i) Use of wind energy for power generation 160 MWe of capacity has been installed. ii) Energy conservation done by using gas based generators and Vacuum Absorption Machines (VAMs) installed in four projects which have already been commissioned. For another four projects procurement of generators & VAMs is in progress. iii) Energy saved by using exhaust gas and water approx. 11 lacs units per month.

b) Additional investments and proposals, if any, being implemented for reduction of consumption of energy:

Additional investment is being done to install 150 MWe of Wind power plants.

To procure 30 more VAMs for commercial complexes and retail outlets this year.

Use of solar energy for common area lighting is being practised.

c) Impact of the measures at (a) and (b) above for reduction of energy consumption and consequent impact on the cost of production of goods:

Electrical energy to the tune of approx. 11 lacs units per month is being saved.

d) Total energy consumption and energy per unit of production:

NA

B. Technology absorption:

e) Efforts made in technology absorption:

NA

C. Foreign exchange earnings and outgo:

f) i) Activities relating to exports:

The Company is engaged in developing /constructing residential and commercial properties in India and selling the immoveable properties to customers in India and abroad. ii) Initiatives taken to increase exports:

The Company does not have any export as such, as the immoveable properties are incapable of being exported.

iii) Development of new export markets:

The Company receives remittances of sale consideration for immovable properties for products and services located in India, purchased by the customers' abroad. iv) Export plans:

The Company has taken many initiatives to increase the sale of immovable properties to the customers abroad by designing premium apartments in accordance with the requirements and lifestyle of NRIs, by holding meetings with customers at different locations abroad, attending exhibitions, fairs etc. through its senior executives and Directors with a view to have personal contact with customers, by giving advertisements in India and abroad, by having continuous touch with enquiries from customers abroad through the company's liaison office in London. The Company proposes to develop new residential complexes abroad having large clusters of Indians.

g) Total foreign exchange earned and used:

(Rs. in Crores) 2007-08 2006-07

a) Foreign exchange earned 120.31 199.04b) Foreign exchange used 109.23 55.791

FORM-A

Form for Disclosure of Particulars with respect to Conservation of Energy:

Current Year Previous Year

A. Power and fuel consumption:

1. Electricity:a) Purchased Unit 48,166,504.8 40,138,754Total Amount (in Rs.) 219,157,596 182,549,538Rate per unit 4.55 4.55b) Own Generation:i) Through diesel generator:Unit 59,596,491 49,253,299Unit per liter of diesel oil 3.82 3.82Cost/Unit (in Rs.) 9.16 8.76ii) Through gas turbine/generator:Unit 30,231,250 24,185,000Unit per liter of fuel oil/gas 3.7 3.7Cost/Unit (in Rs.) 3.40 2.952. Coal (Specify quantity and where used):Quantity (tones) NA NATotal Cost (in Rs.) NA NAAverage Rate NA NA3. Furnace Oil:Quantity (K. Liters) NA NATotal Amount (in Rs.) NA NAAverage Rate NA NA4. Others/internal generation through wind energy:Quantity 28,563,397 NATotal Cost (in Rs.) 8,854,653 NARate/Unit (in Rs.) 0.31 NA

B. Consumption per unit of production:

Standards Current Previous (if any) Year Year

Products (with details) unit - NA NAElectricity - NA NAFurnace Oil - NA NACoal (Specify quality) - NA NAOthers (specify) NA NA

FORM-B

Form for disclosure of Particulars with respect to Absorption:

Research and Development (R&D):

1. Specific areas in which R&D carried out by the Company:

Study being done to reduce energy consumption as per ECBC norms in association with TERI &U USAID in commercial complex projects which includes use of Solar power for common area lighting loads.

2. Benefits derived as a result of the above R &D:

Appx. 1.75 Lacs Units saving on account of use of Solar energy.

3. Future plan of action:

Exploring the possibility of use of the Wind energy & Solar power in future commercial & retail projects.

4. Expenditure on R&D :

a. Capital Nilb. Recurring Nilc. Total Nil5. Total R & D expenditure as a percentage of total turnover Nil

Technology absorption, adaptation and innovation:

1. Efforts, in brief, made towards technology absorption, adaptation and innovation:

Efforts are made for design & detailing and also study of most efficient & economical equipment selection and use of non-conventional source of energy.

2. Benefits derived as a result of the above efforts:

Approx. 60% water saving on account of air conditioning by using adiabatic cooler and appx. 23% electrical energy saving by using VAMs and Solar cells.

3. In case of imported technology (imported } N.A.during the last 5 years reckoned from the }beginning of the financial year) following }information may be furnished: } }a) Technology imported } } b) Year of import } } c) Has technology been fully absorbed } } d) If not fully absorbed, area where this }has not taken place, reasons therefore and }future plan of action }

ANNEXURE-B

Statement pursuant to Clause 12 'Disclosure in the Directors' Report of SEBI (Employees' Stock Option Scheme and Employees' Stock Purchase Scheme) Guidelines, 1999:

(a) (i) Options granted:

4,042,134

(ii) Options committed to be granted in future:

991,876

Total:

5,034,010

(b) The pricing formula:

Intrinsic Value

(c) Options vested:

NIL

(d) Options exercised:

NIL

(e) The total number of shares arising as a result of exercise of option:

5,034,010

(f) Options lapsed:

71200

(g) Variation of terms of options:

NA

(h) Money realised by exercise of options:

NIL

(i) Total number of options in force:

4,962,810

(j) Employee wise details of options granted to:

(i) Senior managerial personnel:

Mr. T.C. Goyal, Managing Director-285,700 options (ii) Any other employee who receives a grant in any one year of option amounting to 5% or more of option granted during that year:

Mr. Ramesh Sanka, Gr.CFO-214,300 optionsMr. A.D. Rebello, Advisor-214,300 optionsMr. Ravi Kachru, Joint MD-214,300 options (iii) Identified employees who were granted option, during any one year, equal to or exceeding 1% of the issued capital (excluding outstanding warrants and conversions) of the company at the time of grant:

Nil

(k) Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) pursuant to issue of shares on exercise of option calculated in accordance with [17] [Accounting Standard (AS)-20 Earnings Per Share]:

Rs.15.46

(l) Where the company has calculated the employee compensation cost using the intrinsic value of the stock options, the difference between the employee compensation cost so computed and the employee compensation cost that shall have been recognized if it had used the fair value of the options, shall be disclosed. The impact of this difference on profits and on EPS of the company shall also be disclosed.

Difference in employee compensation cost:

Reduction of Rs. 6,49,64,533.Impact on Profits : Increase by Rs. 4,28,83,088(net of Income tax)Impact on EPS: Basic = +0.03Diluted = +0.02

(m) Weighted-average exercise prices and weighted-average fair values of options shall be disclosed separately for options whose exercise price either equals or exceeds or is less than the market price of the stock:

Grant I Rs.2 & Rs.442.52 respectively.Grant II Rs.2 & Rs.735.04 respectively.

(n) A description of the method and Black Scholes Option Valuation significant assumptions used during method has been adopted for the year to estimate the fair values estimating the fair value of theof options, including the following options.weighted-average information:

(i) Risk-free interest rate, Weighted-average information for Grant I are as follows:

(ii) Expected life,

(iii) Expected volatility, (i) Risk free interest rate: 8.37%

(iv) Expected dividends, and (ii) Expected life: 6.50 years

(v) The price of the underlying share (iii) Expected volatility: 52.3%in market at the time of option grant. (iv) Expected dividends: 70% (v) Price of underlying share: Rs.525 Weighted-average information for Grant II are as follows: (i) Risk free interest rate: 8.09% (ii) Expected life: 6.50 years (iii) Expected volatility: 52.3% (iv) Expected dividends: 70% (v) Price of underlying share: Rs.865.40

ANNEXURE-C

Corporate Social Responsibility:

Education:

* Set up a Summerfields school, Gurgaon for the urban and rural communities. Presently there are 1800 students studying in this school.

* Established a non formal school called 'Swapan Sarthak' for underprivileged children. All facilities including uniforms and text material are provided free of cost. Various excursions are organized for a wider exposure.

* Partnered with NGO 'Pratham' to set up the DLF-Pratham Learning Excellence Centres to facilitate a systematic learning process to achieve specific targets in 25 villages in the state of Haryana.

Health:

* Set up Rural Primary Health Centres in Haryana, each centre catering to a village cluster for providing promotive and curative health services to the underprivileged and rural population, providing free medical consultancy, health checkups and subsidized medicines. The first such centre has been set up at village Shikopur and three more centres are under establishment at village Sakatpur, Nawada Fatehpur and Hayatpur.

* Established First Aid Centres and Clinics at construction sites, and made arrangements for emergencies by providing 24-hour ambulances at the sites.

* Holds regular health camps in DLF for the larger community through a network of medical professionals. The Company held a number of camps in 2007-08.

* Funded the CII - Lifeline Express (Hospital on Wheels) Health Camp at Hingoli, Maharashtra. Patients with cleft lip, ear deafness, polio and cataract disabilities were operated free of cost.

* Organised Blood Donation Camps. 249 employees donated blood to the Lion's Blood Bank.

Construction Workers:

* Provision of respectable housing through hutments on various DLF-Laing O' Rourke construction sites, funded by DLF, a mix of cemented/pre fabricated sheet family rooms and dormitories with electricity, fans, beds and linen facilities and a separate washing and toilet block-all easily approachable by paved roads and drainage which are linked to a soak pit for replenishing the ground water.

* Setting up of a Sewage Treatment Plant at all the above sites for meeting the internal requirement for the toilet block, cleaning of roads and for gardening.

* A garbage management system.

* Facilities like dining area, subsidized canteen, 24-hour ambulance on site medical help and first-aid centres.

* Organisation of mobile creches to take care of the children - eight hours a day tie-up with NGO (Mobile creches).

* Establishment of a residential non-profit school in carpentry and masonry for training potential employees. This is an ongoing project currently being executed in over 21 construction sites benefiting approximately 15,000 construction workers.

Employment linked Training:

* Establishment of Employment linked training centres (three) in Maharashtra for training 1500 trainees annually in hospitality, customer relations, sales and ITES with the objective to train and empower the underprivileged youth with permanent skills enabling them to earn their future livelihoods. Assured job placements are provided by DLF.

Environment:

* Obtained requisite environmental clearances and follow environmental norms at construction sites.

* Pursuing environment friendly technologies for construction of projects and adopting green technologies.

* Incorporating Rain Water Harvesting systems in the basic design.

* Installation of Water recycling plants for waste water management upto tertiary level at all DLF Commercial buildings.

* Installation of first of its kind gas-based power generation system at the Infinity Tower in Gurgaon.

* Utilisation of waste heat for airconditioning thereby saving 30% of power.

Employee Welfare:

Employees form an important segment of the DLF group and are an important stakeholder in the business. The medical needs of our own employees and their families are catered for through an annual allowance and medical insurance. The Company has a pension policy in place. The low attrition rate in the Company is indicative of their satisfaction and in general employees in DLF are a happy lot. Employees participate in voluntary activities such as donating blood and various CSR initiatives of the Company as well as brainstorming on new initiatives.

The Company is in the process of constituting an Employee Welfare Trust by the name of 'DLF Employee Welfare Trust ' to implement various specific employee welfare schemes.

Management Discussion & Analysis Report:

I. BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS:

Superior Business Model:

Low risk business mode/ with independent verticals delivering growth:

DLF has a low risk, robust model with a mix of development and rental earnings. Multibusiness, multi-segment within business and operations across geographies mitigates risk due to cycles in the business.

DLF's successful business model is based on independent business verticals - homes, offices, retail and hotels - organized and operating on an independent basis. The organisation structure flows down to the regional/local levels as well. Playing the role of an aggregator at the corporate level, DLF aligns the interests of all its business units, gearing each of them to contribute to the growth of the Company. Inter-business traction, whether project-linked or performance-linked, drives performance of each business vertical, as well as of the Company as a whole.

Scaling Up Project Execution:

Enablers in place to deliver sustainable growth:

Land Resource:

DLF has high quality land resource, concentrated in top Indian cities as it believes that economic activity in these cities would result in a better absorption potential for its real estate development. Top seven Indian cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad - account for 85% of its land resource.

During 2007-08, DLF's land resource grew from 574 msf to 751 msf, sufficient to meet more than 10 years of development activity.

Year Development potential (msf)

31 March, 2007 57431 March, 2008 751

Total development potential: 751 msf

(As on March 31, 2008)

* 92% of completely owned land

* 90% available as large, contiguous plots of land

* Sufficient land resource to meet more than 10-year requirement

Total development potential by geography:

Super Metros 33%Metros 46%Tier-I 17%Tier-II 4%

Total development potential by business units:

Homes 64%Offices 22%Retail 12%Hotels 2%

Yet, DLF has charted out a pan-India foothold, with projects across 32 cities in India at various stages of development, execution and completion. 92% of the land resource is fully owned by DLF, whilst only 8% is in JV with others. The land resource as represented here constitutes only of DLF's share in respect of land resource which is jointly owned.

Best-in-class alliances:

DLF has built world-class organization to deliver across the value chain - from design and engineering to construction to operations. DLF has set up an organisation to manage projects across verticals to ensure delivery par excellence. This helps strategic business units (SBUs) to exclusively focus on commercial aspects of the business, leaving project execution to a specially dedicated team. This endeavour has helped DLF in improving the quality of its real estate development and reducing the time to market, thereby improving the economic viability of the projects.

DLF has leveraged best-in-class alliances to strengthen its current businesses and develop new opportunities. These include JVs with Hilton for hotels, Laing O'Rourke for construction, WSP Group for design and engineering, Nakheel for mega-township developments, Prudential Insurance of America for life insurance products, Prudential Financial Inc. for Asset Management and MoU with Fraport for airport development, among others.

Year Area under construction (msf)

31 March, 2007 4431 March, 2008 62

Effective alliances have helped in faster execution and added value to overall project delivery.

The area of projects under construction by DLF grew from 44 msf last year to 62 msf at the end of fiscal 08.

Robust Financial Performance:

Strengthening leadership position:

Revenue Fr Profitability Growth:

During the financial year 2007-08, DLF validated its business strategy of leading a multi-business, multi-segment across geographies, with mitigating cycles in the business, by exhibiting enhanced financial performance. DLF recorded consolidated revenues of Rs 146,839 mn, an increase of 262% from Rs 40,533 mn in 2006-07. EBIDTA improved to Rs 99,615 mn, posting a 243% increase over Rs 29,056 mn recorded in 200607. Net profit surged 304% to Rs.78,120 mn from Rs 19,336 mn in the previous fiscal.

This has helped DLF in further consolidating its leadership position as India's largest real estate Company in terms of revenues, earnings and market capitalization. DLF now has a healthy mix of developmental earnings and rental earnings. The rental earnings, which stood at Rs 2,847 mn for 2007-08, is set to grow further as leased-out assets (both offices and retail malls) increase further on the balance sheet.

Financial Performance (mn):

FY07 FY08

Turnover 40,533 148,839EBIDTA 29,056 99,615 PAT 19,336 78,120

Strong Balance Sheet:

With a net worth of Rs 196,883 mn, net gearing of 51 % and cash reserves of Rs. 21,421 mn, DLF has a strong balance sheet to withstand any downtimes, as well as leverage opportunities in the market. DLF has been assigned AA rating, denoting high safety, by CRISIL.

DLF has a philosophy to maintain the gearing at 51%, to ensure that balance sheet can easily tide over any down cycles in the business. The management expects that DLF would be free cash positive by FY 2011.

To ensure adequate replenishment of its land resources, DLF has carved out a land replenishment fund, wherein 15% of the sale value of its real estate development is credited.

II. YEAR GONE BY...:

During the year, DLF not only established higher benchmarks of performance & leadership position in Indian real estate industry but also catapulted itself amongst the top 5 real estate companies in the world.

The market opportunity for DLF continues to be huge, given the backlog of shortages in the real estate industry. The latest figures from the Eleventh Five-year plan estimate a shortage of 24.17 mn dwelling units in the housing sector alone. These shortages continue to accumulate due to execution bottlenecks and restrictive credit flows into the real estate sector. Even in the office and retail sectors, it is estimated that shortages shall continue to plague the industry as large number of launches continue to be only on paper or delayed due to archaic system of approvals or availability of credit. To mitigate these factors, DLF has set up professional teams, at corporate and local levels, to address the issue of project approvals. Corporate finance team takes care of funding requirements through alternative mechanisms.

The strategy of DLF to establish independent JV's in the execution space paid off handsomely during the financial year. The construction JV with Laing O'Rourke has substantially scaled up its business-executing more than 40 msf of projects across the country out of a total 62 msf. Additionally, the JV with WSP for engineering and design services added much needed strength and technical expertise to the project design capabilities of DLF. Apart from the JVs to scale up project execution, DLF also made small 'pure' equity investments like JV with Prudential Financial Inc., US to form Asset Management Co.

DLF's unique business organization - based on verticals is geared up to deliver superior results, both in the short and long run. High quality teams managing these independent verticals are fully motivated and empowered to meet their P&L objectives, with DLF at the top gradually emerging as an aggregator of these businesses.

Whilst DLF has high quality of land resource, enough for more than 10 year development pipeline, DLF has not lost sight of the fact that it is the human resources that convert these land resources into earnings. During the year, the number of professionals employed has gone up from 2478 to 3700, managing businesses at the regional and local levels. Not only were teams empowered to take forward their business plans, but incentive schemes were structured in such a manner that these management teams have their incentives linked to the projects/P&Ls they are managing along with ESOPs.

PAN INDIA PRESENCE:

III. INDUSTRY OUTLOOK:

The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economy in the world. It is a part of the BRIC nations - growth engines of world economy in the 21st century.

Growing at a steady pace, Indian real estate industry has been among the most appealing investment areas for domestic and foreign investors for the past few years. Linked to about 250 ancillary industries like cement, steel, etc. through backward and forward linkages, real estate is an extremely important sector of the Indian economy.

Nine percent of the Indian GDP is contributed by the real estate sector. It is estimated that one rupee invested in this sector results in 78 paise being added to the country's GDP.

The Indian real estate has been instrumental in India emerging among the top destination in Asia in attracting private equity investments during 2007.

Homes:

After years of unplanned and haphazard development, the housing sector in India has gradually metamorphosed into an organised one with improved product offerings and geographic spread. Residential segment is leading the growth trajectory of the fast expanding real estate sector in India with nearly 75-80% of the total real estate demand originating from this sector. If the economy grows at 8%, the housing sector has the capacity to grow at 12.5%.

The housing market has grown rapidly in the last few years due to demand growth stemming from the services-industry-led economic boom, lower interest rates and changing consumer mindset.

According to United Nations, India's rate for urbanisation is faster than the rest of the world and as per State of the World Population Report 2007, Indian population in urban areas, which currently is less than 30%, is expected to rise to 40.7% by 2030. This growing urbanisation will result in an incremental demand for housing in suburban locations of urban areas.

Some of the key factors that have spurred demand for housing in India are rising income levels, a growing middle class, rising incidence of nuclear families and favourable government policies. Change in the attitude of the young working population from 'save and buy' to 'buy and repay' has boosted housing demand.

Offices:

India's growth continues to run at plus 7.5% and the services sector GDP, which more directly affects office demand and thereby rents, is running at over 11% growth. Office space segment looks bright in India with the demand for new Grade-A office spaces still outstripping supplies.

CRISIL Research expects the Indian ITES industry to grow at a CAGR of 22 per cent over the next 5 years. MITES alone is estimated to require 150 msf across urban India by 2010. Engineering services outsourcing, the next growth engine for the industry, is likely to expand at a CAGR of 26 per cent over the next 5 years. The domestic industry's proven capability to understand and develop processes and domain expertise across services, along with the large talent pool, will ensure that India remains a premier destination for offshoring. Most of the geographical locations are continuously exhibiting more than 90% of occupancy rates.

As much as 39 msf of new office supply was absorbed in 2007, and the overall commercial office stock was increased by approximately 53 mn sq. ft. to take the total Grade A (leased) stock to 190 msf, with the rental trend line continuously rising in markets like Gurgaon and Bangalore. There is also an increased interest emerging in Tier II and Tier III markets of India as destinations for creating quality office spaces. Occupiers have been looking closely at these non-metro markets that offer lower costs.

The year ahead is expected to see continued demand for IT SEZ space with pre commitments, to avail tax sops. In the short to medium term, the rentals and capital values are expected to remain stable, with NCR market continuing to fuel its growth as a corporate destination, with its overall competitiveness including infrastructure and manpower.

Retail:

Modern retail formats in India command just 3% of total retail market. This is far lower than developed markets (US - 85% share) and even lower than other Asian countries (Malaysia --- 55%, Thailand --- 40%, China -- 20%). Given the huge demand for organised retail space in the country, it is expected that organised retailing would grow at a rate of 25-30% over the next five years in India. This would require around 350-400 msf of retail real estate by 2015. This growth is being driven by a widening middle class with higher disposable incomes, a consumption-oriented consumer mindset, increasing investments by both - domestic and international players, as well as supply chain improvements due to stronger infrastructure.

The Indian retail market is expected to grow from US$ 330 billion in 2007 to US$ 427 billion by 2010 and US$637 billion by 2015 with the organised segment expected to account for 22 per cent by 2010, up from the present four per cent.

The malls coming up in India are spurring the vertical versions of their US counterparts, housing almost every international brand alongwith multiplex cinemas, escalators and huge parking lots. India also remained as the most attractive retail market for the third year in a row in an index prepared by consulting firm AT Kearney.

Hotels, clubs and convention centres:

There is a huge domestic tourist market in India, including business and leisure travellers. International tourist arrivals in India grew in 2007 by 3% to a record level of 4.3 mn. As the economy grows further, the demand-supply gap is expected to widen. The shortage in rooms has resulted in spiralling prices in India.

Hospitality majors are ramping up investment in new projects, which is expected to be USD 2 billion, over the next two years on the back of a massive growth in business and leisure travel. Many PE funds are allocating as much as 50% of their planned real estate investments into the sector.

Another 1,25,000 hotel rooms are needed in the country by 2010 to meet the surging demand, particularly in upper and middle ranges.

IV. BUSINESS UNITS UPDATE:

1. HOMES:

DLF is a trusted brand with superior execution record in the Homes business comprising diverse residential developments like super luxury homes, luxury group housing, rowhouses/villas, integrated townships and plotted colonies. Historically, DLF has a dominant position in the National Capital Region (NCR) and is now in the process of expanding its presence across India.

As a result of its high quality residential dwellings delivered in time, DLF has seen distinctive appreciation in its property values. The strong brand affiliation that DLF enjoys in its core markets is evidenced by its ability to command a premium on its properties relative to that of the peers in the industry.

Performance - FY 08:

The year 2007-08 saw aggressive launch of premium homes targeted at mid-income earners with specific focus on affordability and actual user. DLF expanded its footprint to 5 new cities -Chennai, Kochi, Indore, Kolkata and New Gurgaon with the launch of premium housing in these areas. The enthusiastic customer response to each project launched, revealed enormous pent up demand for DLF properties, across India.

DLF attracted private equity investment amounting to Rs 16,750 mn from Merrill Lynch & Brahma Investments in 8 residential projects in Chandigarh, Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore and Indore, reflecting the confidence of global institutions investing in DLF and the economic viability of the projects. This also enabled DLF to partially monetise the value of its land resource at a premium and significantly improve the rate of returns from these projects.

Year Under Construction (Homes) (msf)

31 March, 2007 7 31 March, 2008 12

Year Development potential (Homes)

31 March, 2007 40131 March, 2008 477

Development potential by Geography (Homes):

Super Metros 31%Metros 50%Tier-I 16%Tier-II 3%

Development potential by Category (Homes):

Super luxury 1%Luxury 9%Mid-Income/Vilas/Plots 90%

Significant Developments & Acquisitions:

* Bagged the prestigious Bidadi (christened as New Bangalore) integrated township project spread over 9,168 acres on the outskirts of Bangalore. This township, will have a development potential in excess of 300 msf and is being developed in partnership with Limitless - part of Dubai World group.

* Acquired Swantantra Bharat Mills, which will have a development potential of approximately 10 msf along with preowned lands

* Bagged the project for developing 5,000 acres of township on the western outskirts of Kolkata

Significant launches:

* Riverside, Kochi

* Garden City, Indore

* New Town Heights, Kolkata

* Garden City, Chennai

* New Town Heights, New Gurgaon

Outlook:

DLF has now segmented its product category in homes into Super-luxury and Luxury homes, Lifestyle homes and Premium homes. Within each category, specifications and designs are being standardized, as far as possible, to expedite execution and optimum value engineering.

DLF has plans to launch projects in all these different categories in every

major city in India to offer a wide array of choice to the end users with different income-levels. To achieve this, substantial land resource has been procured across India in places like Delhi, Kasauli, Goa, Pune, Kochi, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ambala, Jalandhar, Lucknow and Indore.

2. OFFICES:

DLF's offices business develops commercial space across various formats such as large MITES facilities, multi-tenant corporate office buildings, built-to-suit properties and integrated commercial complexes. Besides its dominant presence in NCR, DLF commercial projects are spread across Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore.

DLF's contemporary workplaces are equipped with modern facilities like wi-fi environment, business centre, food courts, ambulance service etc. that synchronize functional efficiencies with aesthetic appeal. DLF's offices are being identified as preferred destinations by leading MNCs and Indian corporate, including many Fortune 500 companies.

Performance - FY 08:

2007-08 has been another exciting year for Indian/IT BPO sector, where India continues to be the 'nerve centre' for Global sourcing with over two-third of the Fortune 500 and majority of the Global 2000 firms leveraging Global service delivery - sourcing from India. Along-with this contribution coming from service sector dominated by MITES sectors, DLF also saw increasing demand emerging from the 'domestic' MNC's leading to strong demand for Grade-A office space.

DLF being the name synonymous with global standards, new generation workspaces and lifestyles achieved a pre-leasing rate of a total of 12 msf approx. in all major metros including Gurgaon, Chennai, Hyderabad, Noida and Pune.

31 March, 2007 2008Under Construction (Offices) 24 39Development Potential (msf) 124 164

Development Potential by Geography (Offices) (msf):

Super Metros 39%Metros 42%Tier-I 16%Tier-II 3%

With the notification of the SEZ Act, attractive tax incentives are available for the MITES industry as well as the developer. With growing demand for IT SEZ spaces, DLF is aggressively pursuing the development of MITES SEZs across India and has invested heavily in the same.

DLF has 7 MITES SEZs that have been notified, along with 4 for which approvals are pending and another 4 that have been applied for. DLF's MITES SEZs have already started operations in Gurgaon, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Significant Developments & Acquisitions:

* Acquired quality land parcels for office development, including TIDEL Park - Chennai, spread over 42 acres with a potential of 4.7 msf of developable office space.

* Further expanded footprint to new locations like Gandhinagar, Nagpur, Rai in Sonepat, Mumbai and Bhubaneshwar.

DLF started construction on 18 msf of office space and delivered 5.65 msf of office space in FY08.

Outlook:

Envisioning the ways of the contemporary corporate culture along with setting new benchmarks in architectural finesse DLF Offices is one of the Group's most progressive verticals. With around 40 msf of ongoing projects, DLF is poised to change the landscape of India's work spaces.

DLF expects to retain its leadership position in the commercial segment by targeting development of IT and non-IT commercial space over the next 10 years. The demand for quality workspace is expected to continue to be strong over the coming years and DLF, with its pan-India dominance, can service prime customers, both MNCs and Indian corporates, across the country.

3. RETAIL MALLS AND COMMERCIAL COMPLEXES:

DLF's retail malls and shopping centres consist of an array of different formats of malls, resulting in a distinctive package of a superior shopping experience with quality ambience, parking, safety, security and entertainment. DLF has embarked upon an ambitious plan to develop approx. 25 msf of retail space in leased mall category in next 5 years. The Company has acquired land for construction of large retail space of about 92 msf.

Beginning 2006-07, DLF introduced a concept of commercial complexes on a build and sale model. These include commercial spaces for small offices or small shops, typically about 1000 sq. ft., with or without retail space on one or two floors. The initial sales in this segment started well, with entire area on offer being booked by customers at attractive realisations to DLF.

DLF operates the Cinemas business in the brand name of 'DT Cinemas' in various malls. Currently, it has 2 operational properties at City Centre and Mega Mall in Gurgaon. DT Cinemas also started operations at DT City Centre, Chandigarh in April, 2008.

DT Cinemas are multiplexes well equipped to provide latest movies and exciting entertainment to its clientele. DT Cinemas features advanced projection systems procured from US-based Christie, a company known to have the best projection systems in the world.

Performance - FY 08:

a) Retail Malls:

Having introduced new concepts like destination malls and theme malls in the arena of retail space, DLF completed and handed over three malls in the affluent areas of Saket and Vasant Kunj in New Delhi, which are expected to commence in the current fiscal.

Retail (msf):

Year Under Construction Development potential

31 March, 2007 13 90 31 March, 2008 11 62

Development potential by geography (Retail):

Super Metros 36%Metros 39%Tier-I 15%Tier-II 10%

DLF Emporio is the first super-luxury mall in India. Some of the luxury brands that Emporio will house include brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Georgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier, Burberry and Ferrogama.

Promenade in Vasant Kunj is a destination mall housing a 7 screen multiplex with 5 mini-anchors. It will have an exciting mix of premium brands such as Calvin Klein, FCUK, Lerros, Lacoste and Apple Store.

Between both these malls, a landscaped open air entertainment has been planned which will be a centre of activity for performances, concerts, plays, exhibitions and a host of other shows.

Courtyard in Saket, New Delhi will boast of largest food court in India.

Apart from these, there are 9 new projects that will be launched for leasing in FY09. Also there are 13 projects going under construction in the current fiscal.

b) Commercial Complexes:

DLF successfully launched 6 new projects spanning over 2.69 msf of commercial space across various locations in India in fiscal 08.

Significant launches:

* SIEL-1 - Delhi * Hyderabad Towers* SIEL-2 - Delhi * Kolkata Towers* Okhla - Delhi * Ludhiana Galleria

Offices in Okhla (Delhi), Banjara Hills (Hyderabad), SIEL-2 (Delhi) and Kolkata booked almost 100% within a week from its date of launch.

The success of projects in Hyderabad and Kolkata, has validated the scale-up and sustainability of this new segment of commercial complexes in the company's business model.

DLF has plans to launch another 12 commercial complexes in the current fiscal across various locations like Delhi, Gurgaon, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Pune, Panipat and Baroda.

c) DT Cinemas:

There are plans to increase the spread of DT Cinemas with a vision to open multiplexes across various places like Shalimar Bagh, Saket, Vasant Kunj and Greater Kailash. This will take the total number of screens of DT Cinemas to 29. Plans are also at final stages for destinations like Noida, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ludhiana, etc.

Outlook:

Indian retail market today is at an inflection point with exponential growth potential in the next decade. Growing consumerism will be a key driver for organized retail in India. Several demographic trends - rapid income growth with greater purchasing power, increased urbanization, growing young population and tendency to spend rather than save - are favourable for the growth of organized trade. With strong demand of organized retail, real estate development for malls will be the critical driver to build scale.

Catering to this potential, DLF envisages to provide 'next generation theme malls' to cater to different tastes and lifestyles of people.

Apart from developing high-end malls in super-metros and metro cities, DLF will also expand its foothold across other cities in India. DLF plans to position itself strategically in the retail space in India by offering a mix of Luxury malls, City malls and Super malls, to provide differentiated products with value-added facilities. It also expects to close few significant JVs with large international brands, which will also create significant pull for other brands to lease space in DLF malls.

For commercial complexes, DLF expects to roll-out pan-India projects, given the acute shortage of quality space for small offices. It expects this 'build and sell' model with quick turnaround of projects to bring in a healthy cash flow for the retail unit. DLF envisages to develop some of the finest commercial complexes, which combine the best in design, aesthetics and comfort offering the finest business solutions to their customers.

4. HOTELS:

DLF has strategic intent to become a leading hospitality player in the country through integrated hotel development and management. DLF Hotels will be developing, acquiring and actively managing world class properties across a range of hospitality and related formats including Luxury Hotels & Resorts, Business Hotels, Service Apartments, Convention & Exhibition Centres and Family Recreational Clubs. DLF Hotels is well poised to open 4000 plus keys by 2011. The projects are located across India and will be managed and operated by global partners and alliances.

DLF has strategic business partners like Hilton International to manage and operate business hotels and service apartments, Four Seasons to manage and operate a super luxury hotel at DLF Golf Links and AEG Ogden of Australia to manage and operate Convention & Exhibition Centres.

Performance - FY 08:

DLF has acquired 51 sites for hotel developments, which are under various stages of design, development and execution.

Total number of alliances under the DLF-Hilton alliance increased to 16 in the FY08.

Significant Developments & Acquisitions:

* DLF Hotels recently acquired controlling stake in AMAN Resorts, one of the pre-eminent and most innovative luxury hotel groups in the world. 'Aman' - an outstanding brand and winner of over 500 awards since 1988, such as Conde Nast 'The Gold List', Gallivanter's Guide 'Best Hotel Worldwide' etc. - owns and operates 18 boutique resorts across countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Morocco, Bhutan, France and the USA.

Aman Lodhi, a super luxury hotel in Delhi of the Aman Resorts, is scheduled to open by end 2008.

Several new projects in key exotic locations like Gocek (Turkey), Venice (Italy), Luang Prabang (Laos), Bodrum (Turkey), Playa Grade (Dominic Republic), Kyoto (Japan), Chaing Mai (Thailand), Yaukuve Island (Fiji), etc. are at advanced stages of development.

* DLF bagged the prestigious project for development of the International Convention Et Exhibition Centre at Dwarka (New Delhi).

* Also acquired land for development of hotels in Old Mahabalipuram Road (Chennai) and EM Bypass (Kolkata).

Outlook:

DLF aims to become a leading hospitality player in the country with plans to develop around 20,000 business hotel keys, 5,000 luxury hotel keys and 5 world-class convention Et exhibition centres. Along with this, there are plans to develop around 40 clubs, as a strategic partner to residential/ township developments in 30 cities around India.

To achieve these goals, DLF has identified and finalized tying up with leading international panel of architects, consultants and vendors. With 4,000 keys planned to go under construction in FY09 and clubs slated to open in Phases II, III and V in Gurgaon, DLF looks well-poised to achieve its targets.

DLF also plans to cater to the ever-growing demand for quality fairs, conventions and exhibition space by creating Convention Et Exhibition centres as per International standards. It is planning to open the first of these centres at Dwarka (New Delhi) by 2010.

V. EXECUTION ENABLERS:

1. CONSTRUCTION:

To facilitate introduction of world class construction and modern techniques, DLF entered into a 50:50 JV with Laing O'Rourke Plc, UK's largest private construction company. The JV has invested significantly in modern construction equipment which has been instrumental in accelerating construction schedules and raising the overall construction quality standards.

* Strategic Sourcing: DLF has been importing essential items like cement, reinforcement steel, reflective glass etc. from neighbouring countries. This has helped DLF in meeting material requirements on time and also saved cost. DLF has also entered into long term contracts with various vendors for cement, steel and electromechanical equipments for timely Et cost effective delivery. During the financial year 2007-08, DLF effected a saving of Rs 800 mn on the value of materials ordered and also by making use of Higher Grade Reinforcement Steel.

DLF has an independent world-class procurement function for all organizational purchases. In this hub-and-spoke structure, the hub represents the central procurement group supported by spokes comprising project-based procurement groups. While the central procurement group focuses on purchase strategy, responsible for vendor selection, rate/contract finalization and long-term alliances at the project level, the procurement team is responsible for the execution of purchase contracts based on the rates agreed by the central group. This structure facilitates the negotiating power at the central level and promotes operational flexibility at the project level.

Innovation and Technology:

DLF-LOR has introduced advanced technology and updated construction methodology by using imported Aluminium Table form with large sized tables, and adopted high strength concrete & Pos - tensioning system to reduce cycle time. DLFLOR has installed manufacturing plant for precast building components, especially hollow Core/EP slab plant, which would produce building elements in advance, ready for subsequent assembling & thus improving the delivery. DLF-LOR has mechanised the construction processes as far as possible by using Tower Cranes, Batching Plants,Transit Mixers, Pumps etc. to expedite the construction process.

Time Management:

DLF-LOR has implemented working in two extended shifts of 10 hours each, on large projects to increase productivity in the same time frame and thus reducing the completion time of the project.

Labour welfare:

For execution of projects, DLF-LOR has provided well constructed &furnished labour camps with all necessary civic amenities and provisions for creche, medical facilities etc.

Staff strength of DLF-LOR has increased to 1,000 at present.

DLF would be working in 26 cities in India in this fiscal as compared to 14 in 2007-08. The Company would target to increase the area under construction to around 100 msf at the end of current fiscal.

2. DESIGN:

DLF tied up with WSP Group Plc., UK, one of the world's fastest growing design, engineering and management consultancies. WSP Engineering Services Ltd. (WSPESL), a joint venture Company was formed to provide engineering and design consultancy for DLF projects.

The Company draws technical expertise from the worldwide offices of WSP Group, reinforcing DLF's position as an industry leader in detailed design. The bench strength for the WSPESL stands at 102 at the end of FY08.

3. TOOLS FOR PROJECT MONITORING:

Complex projects requiring very high degree of planning and resource allocation, have to be closely monitored. DLF has adopted 'primavera' as a project planning, monitoring and resource allocation tool. All the Company's projects are well connected and real time information for project management is updated and provided.

VI. CORPORATE FUNCTIONS:

1. HUMAN RESOURCE:

Human resource is a critical element as DLF converts raw land into monetisable real estate assets. DLF has pioneered innovative human resources policies with an aim to retain its position as a preferred employer of the best talent through a performance-oriented and opportunity-enhancing environment. To ensure HR philosophy is translated into action, the Company continuously strives towards having sound, proactive and progressive HR strategies and practices in place. It is ensured that Company's objectives and employee aspirations and needs are aligned.

Recruitment:

The Company has high caliber, multi-functional team of over 3700 employees at the end of FY08, up from 2478 in FY 2006-07. DLF has built a young and vibrant team (average age of 37 years) of highly qualified professionals and fresh graduates from technical and non-technical backgrounds.

Key highlights:

Year No. of employees

31 March, 2007 247831 March, 2008 3700

* Partnering with international consultants for key hiring.

* Sustaining and building DLF Brand in top notch B-Schools and professionalinstitutes and recruiting from premier institutes.

* Overseas Recruitment:

- Reaching out to Expatriates;

- Encouraging reverse brain drain by reaching out to NRIs/PIOs; and

* Equal opportunity employer and working towards improving gender ratios.

DLF endeavours to institutionalize a structured process for manpower planning and optimize the Company's manpower utilization in the current year.

Compensation and performance management:

DLF recognizes that compensation is a key driver to attract and retain talent. FY 2007-08 witnessed introduction of variable component in the salary structure linked to individual KPI's.

Employee Stock Options Schemes introduced by the Company have been extremely successful across different levels.

Training & Human Development:

To cope up with the dynamic real estate sector, it is important to unleash the latent capabilities of the employees. For this purpose, the training and development team of DLF has been substantially strengthened. Training initiatives rolled out include:

* Streamlined induction & orientation processes across all levels;

* MT/GET training on an ongoing basis;

* Programmed orientation for hiring from Armed Forces;

* Sponsorship for functional and behavioral training; and

* Conducting ongoing team integration and work effectiveness programs.

Apart from the regular training program for the employees, the Company also intends to carry on various organizational development processes, primarily to bring about transformation process within the organization. DLF also seeks to grow and develop talent internally.

Employee Engagement & Welfare:

HR philosophy is communicated to the employees through various interactions with the top management -Town halls, Business Reviews etc. Various channels to provide information and receive feedback, including fortnightly HR Newsletter-SAM PARK, intranet (DLF Connect) and internal HR helplines have been successfully launched.

Welfare focus includes counselling for employees', health check ups etc. Also, momentum has been stepped up in team building initiatives like Outbound Fiesta, Cricket Cups, competitions and quizzes, etc.

DLF seeks to accelerate momentum of employee engagement initiatives. A process for Grievance Resolution for employees is also under formalization.

2. FINANCE AND CONTROL:

To ensure a dynamic system of flexibility and control, DLF's corporate finance team is complimented by independent finance teams within all business units. This structure ensures financial propriety and accurate reporting of business transactions, ensuring that all statutory requirements are strictly adhered to and continuously monitored. This is supported by a compliance monitoring system, an enterprise-wide MIS that identifies any deviations from compliances and prompts remedial action.

DLF has a strong internal audit team that performs a pre-audit, ensuring compliance of procedures and internal controls, and plays an important role in improving checks and balances. The team is headed by a Chief Internal Auditor, who reports directly to the Audit Committee, consisting of majority of independent directors. The significant observations made in the internal audit reports and their implementation status is regularly presented and reviewed by the Audit Committee to the Board.

DLF has also implemented a stringent external audit mechanism, as required by applicable statutes.

3. LEGAL:

With presence in 32 cities across India, DLF has to comply with laws in various states, along with complying with various regulatory issues as a real estate developer. For this, DLF has setup a large legal department for efficient legal management, ensuring compliance of all statutes periodically applicable across all business units and functions.

The Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors supervises the overall legal compliance of the Company. The Committee has also adopted a legal compliance manual for implementation across business segments.

DLF has implemented a state-of-the-art legal compliance system to ensure compliance at every level of the organization, and a risk management system to undertake complete risk assessment and risk mitigation exercise.

4. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

With DLF's growth, both in terms of geographical spread and diversification, the roles and responsibilities of IT function have also been fast changing over a period of time. DLF's IT-function takes care of all the IT-related aspects across the group (excluding JVs) ---infrastructure management, procurement of industry-specific standard software and their implementation, implementation of advanced technological products.

With DLF having joined hands with IBM for technology partnership, extensive IT initiatives are being taken in terms of bringing the latest infrastructural and software technologies to DLF, to support its vast infrastructure across India, forming the backbone of all processes and functions.

Performance - FY 08:

Technology-partnership with IBM:

DLF has pitched in IBM as a technology partner, through a Technology Partnership Agreement, for tenure of 10-years to bring-in innovativeness and world-class technologies to keep pace with the current trends.

Bharti as connectivity partner:

DLF has tied up with Bharti Airtel to support its huge infrastructural connectivity. This tie up provides DLF with MPLS VPN connectivity backbone through a dedicated leased line with secured connections to all DLF offices/ locations across the country.

Implementation of ERP: ERP, implemented with the help of Ramco Systems, has been rolled-out successfully replacing the standalone legacy systems residing on different platforms. Ramco ERP is an integrated web-based system that comprises all modules pertaining to DLF's business functions based on a unified platform. This has helped in standardization of processes across the Company and its business units.

Intranet & Workflow Management:

DLF, with the help of IBM, has developed DLF Intranet portal for in-house employees. Corporate intranet facilitates communication and access to Company's sharable corporate resources/information. It has also integrated workflows to incorporate departments' functions and processes, making it more reliable and fast.

Compliance-Monitoring System:

To track adherence to filing of statutory statements to respective government bodies, a system is in place that ensures all the compliances are met on time.

Digitization of Records:

All records since DLF's inception - including customer copies of agreements, financial records, approved drawings, copies of approvals and government sanctions and other statutory records, etc. - have been digitized to ensure preservation of records in databases as well as to facilitate a faster retrieval as and when required.

Geographical Information System:

As tracking of huge land bank has become very crucial for effective utilization or decision-topurchase purposes; DLF has undergone a pilot for digitization of land records for one of its business units. The application is intended to keep track of acquired lands as well as prospective lands for acquisition purposes, providing real-time availability of such records to the management. The application is being unleashed to the requirements of DLF's other business units involved in land procurement.

Going forward...:

Set-up of state-of-art Document Centre:

Work is in progress to set up state-of-art document centre in an area of approximately 43,000 sq. ft. in the Cyber City, Gurgaon. All documents and records are planned to be digitized and integrated into a workflow for effective management of documents apart from migration of existing ones.

ERP Enhancements:

The scope of ERP has also been planned to expand beyond its regular transactional cycles. Tools have been proposed for data analysis, data mining and decision support systems, for better planning and control.

Project Planning & Control:

Project management systems are being put in place for real-time project tracking/monitoring, scheduling and execution for management that will have visibility across business units. This will be helpful in controlling expenditures, costing and timely execution of projects.

Effective Customer Relationships:

DLF is in the process of setting up systems capable of handling a huge integrated database that shall be used for auto communication, call/lead management and interactive web communication. Revamping of corporate website to accommodate customer facilities like online payments, auto-communication, 3D-walkthroughs for new projects and community blogs have also been initiated.

Employee Services:

Initiatives are on to provide employee services with ease and speed. IT developments have been targeted to enhance employee productivity and employee retention by facilitating Internal Job-posting module on the intranet.

Security/Infrastructure:

Efforts are on to provide maximum data security in the organization. The proposed plan will also take care of physical security of DLF facilities through advanced DVS systems. Data security will be facilitated by introducing RSA tokens for access to computers. The IT infrastructure processes are also being planned in accordance with the ISO 20000 certification.

Support to Retail Joint-Ventures:

IT function will also provide support to the DLF's retail joint-venture companies in setting up the required infrastructure at their facilities. This will include managing commercial contracts, providing state-of-art systems for malls including kiosks, web-interfaces, LCDs etc.

VII. DISCUSSION OF CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE:

Profit and Loss Account:

DLF reported robust financial performance in FY 2007-08 with a strong improvement in topline and bottomline. The total revenue increased by 262% to Rs 146,839 mn from Rs 40,533 mn in the previous year, while net profit after minority interest increased by 304% to Rs 78,120 mn from Rs 19,336 mn in the previous year.

The increase in revenues were led by robust sales and strong execution across various segments of the business, and increase in rental earnings, which stood at Rs 2,847 mn for the year. The year saw launch of commercial complexes across the country and premium homes targeted at mid-income segment.

Total expenditure increased from Rs 11,477 mn to Rs 47,224 mn, commensurate with increase in revenues. As a percentage of revenues, the total expenditure saw a marginal jump due to change in business mix, resulting from sales of premium homes, which have lower gross margins. The increase in expenditure as a percentage of revenues was contained, despite challenges on increased cost of construction owing to wage inflation and rising commodity prices. The increase in cost of construction was mitigated to a large extent by rationalization of work processes, adoption of latest construction techniques and value engineering.

The staff cost increased to Rs 2,998 mn from Rs 1,051 mn, partly owing to increase in number of employees on the rolls. The implementation of employee stock option scheme during the year led to a charge of Rs 560 mn in the employee costs. During the year, the Company also introduced a variable pay structure amongst its senior and middle management, which also led to increase in the wage costs.

The finance charges stood at Rs 3,100 mn (excluding interest capitalised) as against Rs 3,076 mn in the previous year, despite loan funds increasing to Rs 122,771 mn from Rs 99,327 mn. The Company was able to contain its interest costs due to efficient mix of various debt instruments. Also, the Company raised Rs 91,680 mn through issue of fresh equity during the year.

The direct tax outflow from DLF trebled to Rs 18,208 mn in 2006-07, as against Rs 6,033 mn.

The EBITDA margins saw a marginal decline to 67.8% from 71.7% in the previous year, owing to changed product mix, which saw launch of premium homes and higher share of leased assets.

The key drivers of robust performance during the year were:

* Increased sales and strong execution across different SBUs - homes, offices and retail;

* Higher realizations and increased lease rentals across different SBUs; and

* Launch of premium homes targeted at mid-income earners and commercial complexes.

Balance Sheet:

DLF's balance sheet size improved significantly with the launch of its public offering in the equity markets. The shareholders' funds improved to Rs 196.9 bn from Rs 35.6 bn. The loan funds saw an increase to Rs 122.8 bn from Rs 99.3 bn. The net debt-equity ratio reduced to very comfortable figure of 0.51 as compared to 2.67 at the beginning of the year, despite the land resource with the company increasing to 751 msf from 574 msf during the year. This debt-equity ratio is the lowest in the industry, showing a strong balance sheet of the Company.

Net fixed assets grew to Rs. 48.2 bn from Rs.15.6 bn as leased-out assets on the balance sheet rose to over 8 msf. Capital work-in-progress rose to Rs. 51.8 bn from Rs 26.2 bn as projects under execution rose significantly to 62 msf from 44 msf at the beginning of the year.

Investments and Goodwill on consolidation showed a sharp increase owing to various land purchases, which is made through subsidiary companies and consolidation of Aman Resorts, which was acquired during the year. The increase in stocks to Rs 94.5 bn from Rs 56.8 bn reflected increased land resource and increase in construction work-in-progress on various projects.

The increase in sundry debtors was owing largely due to increase in booking revenue on account of percentage of completion method (PoCM) on the balance sheet date while the customer payments would be due a few days later. The increase in sundry debtors need also be seen in light with advances from customers, which is reflected in current liabilities and stands at Rs 26 bn.

The cash and bank balances increased to Rs 21.4 bn from Rs 4.1 bn at the beginning of the year. The increase in loans and advances to Rs 73.7 bn from Rs 52.2 bn was on account of advances given to subsidiaries and others in relation to land purchase agreements.

The current liabilities include advances received for sale of properties that were not recognized in sales revenue. While the current liabilities increased to Rs 43 bn from Rs 33 bn, the advances from customers amounted to Rs 26 bn, reflecting that other current liabilities have come down.

VIII. RISK MITIGATION:

DLF is committed to pro active awareness, appraisal and action with an integrated risk management framework, comprising risk identification, creation of an appropriate risk management structure and evaluation of performance. Risk management is centrally initiated and prudently decentralised, percolating to line managers and helping them mitigate risks at all the transactional levels. Some of the prominent risks faced by the organisation as a whole and the steps taken to mitigate them are:

Market recession:

To mitigate the risk of demand recession owing to the nature of the industry, DLF has created a diverse and comprehensive portfolio spanning across residential, commercial, retail and hotel properties of various sizes, locations and prices. This strategy of leading a multi-business, multi-segment business across geographies, backed by along experience in managing huge land banks, catapults DLF in a strong position to counter any downtrend.

Regulations:

DLF has consciously built a compliance system to ensure legal and regulatory compliance across all business units and at each level, to avoid any risks associated with not meeting statutory regulations.

Project execution:

To mitigate any risk arising out of non-completion of existing projects, DLF has moved to a project-based organisation structure, enhancing project flexibility and control, improving the quality of real estate construction and reducing the time taken for commercialization.

Human resources:

DLF's business growth is dependent on the capabilities of its people. Business growth could be affected due to a dearth of qualified professionals. To mitigate this risk, the Company completed a round of major recruitment in 2006-07, implemented a rewarding human resource policy to attract and retain talent and provided incentives for self-development.

Financial resources:

DLF has a strong balance sheet (post IPO) and most of its projects are already under construction, expected to generate attractive returns over the coming years. This helps in mitigating any concerns about the Company's ability to mobilize funds for its projects.

Land availability:

DLF has created a large land bank sufficient to meet its needs for the next 10 years. The Company has also created a strategic land acquisition team possessing all capabilities to identify, pursue and acquire any more significant and quality land banks. This step helps guard against concerns regarding inability to add to the existing land bank or the quality of land titles.

Also, to ensure adequate replenishment of its land resources, DLF has carved out a land replenishment fund, wherein 15% of the sale value of its real estate development is credited.

Natural disasters:

DLF has consciously diversified its businesses and expanded its presence across several geographies to protect against natural calamities like floods and earthquakes in a certain area.