Kingfisher Airlines' Q2 Net Loss Widens to Rs 754 Cr

Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines today reported net loss of Rs 754 crore for the July-September quarter, a sharp increase from Rs 469 crore in the year-ago period, and said it is working on a plan to resume services.

The revenue plunged to Rs 200 crore during its second quarter of this fiscal from Rs 1,553 crore in the same period last year because of disruption in operations and eventual suspension of its license by aviation regulator DGCA.

Even as the company's expenses declined across various heads, the firm suffered huge restructuring cost. Its tax expenses also rose sharply.

Announcing the result, the carrier said it is in discussions with various stakeholders to ensure that there are no future disruptions and expects to resume operations in the near future.

 Kingfisher Airlines is preparing a comprehensive plan for re-start of operations which will be shared with the DGCA and bankers, the carrier said in a BSE filing.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 12.85, up 0.16 per cent on the BSE at 1025 hrs.

The carrier is already saddled with accumulated loss of Rs 8,000 crore besides a debt burden of over Rs 7,524 crore, a large part of which has not been serviced.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had recently suspended the flying licence of Kingfisher following the airline's failure to come up with a viable plan of financial and operational revival.

It faces the risk of losing its licence if a revival plan is not submitted by next month, while bankers are working on plans to handle large scale defaults by the airline.

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Fujitsu expects to double staff in 3 yearrs

Fujitsu Consulting expects to double its headcount to 6,000 people, hiring mostly from tier II and III towns, in the next two-three years to cash in on the talent pool in the country.
The company currently has about 3,000 people in India across four development centres in Noida, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Given the strong talent pool here, we are looking to double our headcount in two-three years time, especially at our Noida and Pune facility, Fujitsu Consulting India Vice President Sunil Bhave said.
The company is strengthening its presence as part of its plan to increase presence in key growth markets and expanding its IT services offerings to its global client base from India. Fujitsu Consulting offers IT and application management services as well as its own proprietary solutions. We are looking at primarily hiring from tier II and II towns.

We believe that maintaining a diversity mix would enable an overall development in the organisation and the country as a whole. Hence, we are planning to hire aggressively from cities and towns other than the metros, he said. Bhave added that the company has received tremendous response from campus placements and a significant number of the new hires would be freshers.
The company focuses on sectors like utilities and infrastructure, retail, manufacturing and consumer durables as well as some segments of oil and gas industry. Our size has helped us focus on clients and we have witnessed strong growth last year. This year, too, we are looking at atleast 10-20 per cent growth depending on how the client budgets turn out, Bhave said. He declined to comment on the company's revenues.

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Gold zooms by Rs 350 silver by 1,500 on firm global cues

Gold prices surged by Rs 350 to Rs 31,700 per 10 grams in the bullion market here on Wednesday, while silver gained Rs 1,500 to Rs 60,500 per kg in line with rally in the precious metals' overseas amid domestic festive demand.

Traders said sentiment bolstered after gold and silver climbed in the global markets on expectations the US will keep stimulus measures to boost the economy after President Barack Obama won re-election for a second term.

Rate in the global markets normally sets price trend on the domestic front.

In Asia, gold gained 0.8 per cent to USD 1,729.70 an ounce -- the highest level since October 23. Silver also moved up by 1.2 per cent to USD 32.36 an ounce. Sustained buying for the festive season further fuelled the upswing, they added.

Back home, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity surged by Rs 350 each to Rs 31,700 and Rs 31,500 per 10 grams, after gaining Rs 400 in last two sessions.

 steady at Rs 25,450 per piece of eight grams.

Likewise, silver ready spurted by Rs 1,500 to Rs 60,500 per kg while weekly-based delivery by Rs 1,520 to Rs 60,170 per kg. The white metal has gained Rs 1,000 in the previous two session.

Silver coins followed suit and flared by Rs 2,000 to Rs 77,000 for buying and Rs 78,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

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