Current profit of MUL Maruti Udyog Ltd

Mumbai, Jan 23 : India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki Saturday reported that net profits during the third
quarter ended Dec 31 had tripled to Rs. 687.53 crore, largely due to improved sales.

The company, in which Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp has a 54.2 percent stake, saw net profit during the third
quarter of 2008-09 drop to Rs. 213.57 crore, due to auto sales being hit in the midst of the economic slowdown.

Total income during the third quarter of the current fiscal was Rs. 7,594.1 crore, a rise of 58.09 percent from Rs.
4,803.5 crore in the year-ago period.

In the quarter under review, Maruti's domestic sales grew by 37.8 percent to 218,910 units, led by compact cars
Alto and WagonR. Sales in the domestic A2 segment grew by 38.6 percent, while in the A3 segment sales rose
by 41.7 percent as compared to October-December 2008.

The company's exports during the October-December 2009 quarter increased by over 167 percent to 39,116
units. The company had exported 14,634 units in the year-ago period.

The car major's income from the servicing business also grew to Rs. Rs. 38.8 crore in the quarter compared to
Rs. 24.48 crore earlier.

For the nine-month period April-December, net profit stood at Rs. 1,841.07 crore, compared to Rs. 975.54 crore
in the year-ago period.

The total income stood at Rs. 21,198.46 crore compared to Rs. 14,419.62 crore in the first nine months of the
last fiscal.

"The company remains cautiously optimistic about sale volumes in the current quarter. The margins would be
under pressure due to introduction of BSIV technology in the large volume models and hardening of commodity
prices," said Maruti on its outlook for the rest of the fiscal ending March 31.

Maruti Suzuki currently has the capability to manufacture a million units at its Gurgaon and Manesar factories.
The company is planning to expand its capacity at Manesar, from the current 300,000 units to 550,000 units.

The investment for this expansion will be Rs. 1,700 crore, with the additional capacity set to commence
commercial production by April 2012. (IANS)
Kraft finally acquires Cadbury after vote in favour
of £11.4bn deal
Cadbury was finally acquired for £11.4bn by the US food giant Kraft yesterday, closing the door on nearly 200
years of independence for the Dairy Milk maker.

Kraft, which makes Philadelphia cream cheese and Oreo biscuits, said that holders of 71.7 per cent of Cadbury
shares had accepted its final offer, sufficient for it to take control of the Bournville, Birmingham-based
manufacturer and create a company with global sales of $50bn in 160 countries.

The rubber-stamping of the deal brings to an end the five-month battle for Cadbury, which was often a bitter
war of words until Kraft made its improved offer of 850p a share, including a special dividend of 10p, last
month.

It also came on the day that Lord Mandelson met Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive and chairman of Kraft, to
discuss UK job losses. Earlier yesterday, an entourage of Cadbury employees had protested outside Parliament.

A representative of the Unite union reportedly said: "Ministers must make it abundantly clear that closures and
mass redundancies will not be accepted by the British government or the British people." Kraft has not yet
indicated how many jobs will be lost, as part of the deal's slated $1.3bn of restructuring costs.

Kraft will apply for Cadbury to be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange after 75 per cent of the UK
company's shareholders sell their shares to Kraft, which they are widely expected to do. Once it receives
acceptances of 90 per cent, the US giant will acquire the remaining Cadbury shares.

Yesterday, Ms Rosenfeld said: "The combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury creates a global powerhouse in
snacks, confectionery and quick meals." She added. "Together we have impressive global reach and an
unrivalled portfolio of iconic brands, with tremendous growth potential."

On Monday, Unite's national officer for food and drink, Jennie Formby, said: "Our workers at Cadbury are
extremely worried that what was a bright future for them will be dimmer under Kraft." She added: "The
workforces have been kept in the dark too long. Specific questions have been put to Ms Rosenfeld by our
European colleagues, including will the takeover lead to the closure of existing plants and will there be lay-offs?
All these questions need urgent answers."

Kraft acquired Terry's chocolate in 1993 and vowed not to close its York headquarters. However, the US
company sold off the building by 2005, as it moved production to Poland.

It made its first indicative offer at 745p, but this was lambasted by Cadbury's chairman, Roger Carr, as being
"derisory".

He also called Kraft a "low-growth conglomerate" and went on to urge shareholders not to let it "steal your
company". Kraft publicly questioned whether Cadbury could actually meet its revised targets for the next three
years.

However, on 19 January, Kraft made a final offer of 850p a share, which the board of Cadbury recommended.
Difference between English wilow & Kashmir Willow

The main difference in the two is derived from their growing conditions. Kashmir willow is traditionally grown
in dryer conditions and therefore has a lower moisture content than that of English willow, which is traditionally
planted next to a water course.

It is this lack of moisture that makes the fibres within the wood less able to spring and rebound, which in turns
makes the wood harder. It is also because of the lack of moisture that Kashmir willow tends to be more brittle
and suffer from a shortened life span.

However, a top quality Kashmir bat can (and often will) play as well if not better than a low grade 3 English
willow bat, especially if chosen correctly. Accordingly, if the bat is well maintained there is no reason to expect
a dramatically shorter life span either.

Wherever possible try to obtain a good quality grade 1 English willow bat but if funds or availability dictate
otherwise then don't be put off by the perceived stigma attached to Kashmir willow; however quality of Grade 1
English willow is always the best of the best.

Arcelor agrees to Mittal takeover

LUXEMBOURG — A new steel giant is to be created out of a bitter battle, after Arcelor formally agreed on
Sunday to a €26.5 billion takeover by rival Mittal Steel.

The deal combines Arcelor - a symbol of successful, pan-European cooperation and economic revival, with
operations that span Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Spain - with a fast- growing conglomerate founded by
the India-born Lakshmi Mittal, who built a fortune turning around sick steel plants in rapidly expanding markets
from Trinidad to Kazakhstan.

The deal, valued at $33.1 billion, is the latest sign that shareholder activism is marching through the once staid
and sleepy boardrooms of Europe. The agreement to pair with Mittal caps a wrenching turnaround for Arcelor's
management, which once dismissed Mittal as a "company of Indians" but were forced to backtrack after
shareholders threatened to revolt.

Politicians in Europe who once criticized Mittal have remained mum in recent days, and the merger brings hope
that protectionist barriers against such deals may be eroding in Europe.

Mittal is paying €40.37 a share for Arcelor, nearly double what the company was trading at when Mittal first
made an offer in January. The new company will be named Arcelor-Mittal and will be headquartered in
Luxembourg. Joseph Kinsch, chairman of Arcelor, will be chairman of the new company, and will be succeeded
by Mittal when Kinsch retires next year.

It was unclear what role Guy Dollé, Arcelor's chief executive, will have. Mittal will be president until Kinsch's
departure.

"It's been a long struggle," said Wilbur Ross Jr., a U.S. billionaire investor and Mittal board member. "Now that
we have had an opportunity to be inside, with management, we believe there will be even more synergies than
we thought."

Kinsch, speaking in the courtyard of the Arcelor headquarters, said that the deal would create "global leadership
in steel" not just by ton but by value.
Getting to this point has involved a bruising fight for both sides. Mittal first made an unexpected €18.6 billion
offer for Arcelor in January, and was swiftly and harshly rebuked by Arcelor management and a chorus of
European politicians who criticized everything from his grammar to his Indian origins to the quality of his
company's steel. Arcelor's bare-knuckled defense strategy included refusing to meet with Mittal until a string of
demands were met, and simultaneously orchestrating a €13 billion deal with Severstal of Russia to keep him
away.

Arcelor's choice of Severstal as a white knight was problematic from the beginning. An unconventional vote on
the deal, which was scheduled for Friday, was immediately criticized by shareholders. It allowed the deal to be
approved unless the meeting was attended by an unprecedented number of Arcelor shareholders and they voted
it down.

After Arcelor executives and Severstal's chief executive, Aleksei Mordashov, appeared at a triumphant news
conference to announce the deal, they were rarely seen together again. Instead, Mordashov embarked alone on a
global tour to win Arcelor's investors to his side. He found shareholders were willing to listen to him, but angry
with Arcelor's top executives, according to one of his advisers who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"They had managed to alienate everyone," the adviser said. Management had "taken their shareholders for
granted."

In fact, Arcelor's shareholders, including institutional investors and a growing number of hedge funds, were
angry enough about the way the last- minute deal with Severstal was being pushed that they had started to talk
about trying to oust Arcelor's management, and suing its board members.

Such shareholder revolts have been successful in the past.Last year, for example, the chief executive of
Deutsche Börse, Werner Siefert, was forced out after shareholders opposed his plans to buy the London Stock
Exchange.

Support eroded for Arcelor's plans behind the scenes, too. Representatives from the Luxembourg government,
which is one of Arcelor's largest and most influential shareholders, spoke out strongly against the Mittal deal at
first. Luxembourg regulators approved the Severstal deal, even though it had a few quirks. But as shareholder
wrath grew over the Severstal agreement, the government began to privately question it. One representative
claimed that Arcelor management had tried to "bully" the government into writing a takeover law that shut
Mittal out.

BARCODE of INDIA

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