please answer these questions
Answers
2.wordpad
3.calculator
4.windows media player
Indian equities. Leading Indian business houses, comprising the big shots of the corporate world, also saw their market capitalisation plunge. Five years on, these powerful business houses still continue to fly the flag for corporate India.
The combined wealth of the top six promoter families has swelled to Rs 14.8 lakh crore, a 12% rise per year over the past five years. However, it has been an arduous journey. Stalled projects, high cost of credit and lack of policy initiatives combined to subdue corporate growth, forcing these industrial houses to cut corners in diverse areas. The sharp fall in the rupee has also caused a lot of pain for these businesses.
India Inc's business confidence is now at its lowest level in 17 quarters, says a Ficci survey. In this backdrop, it makes sense to throw the spotlight on India's top business houses and see how they have navigated the tough environment over these years and where they stand today in individual businesses.
ADVERTISEMENT
Here is a snapshot of the top industrial houses today.
1) Tata group
ADVERTISEMENT
In the past five years, the Tata group has not only overtaken the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group in terms of market capitalisation, but left it miles behind. With diverse businesses spanning IT services, autos, steel and chemicals, the Tata group's combined valuation has grown at 24% per annum over the past 5 years--the highest among the top 10 leading business groups. The group made some bigticket foreign acquisitions in the past decade.
While Tata Motors' acquisition of JLR was a masterstroke for the automaker, Tata Steel's buyout of European firm Corus has been a drag on its profitability. Tata Motors delivered a CAGR of 42% over the past 5 years--the highest among Tata group companies--while Tata Steel has delivered a negative CAGR of -5%.
The group's flagship company, TCS, is today the country's most valued company, with a market cap of Rs 3.81 lakh crore, having delivered a staggering 37% compounded annualised return on investment. Titan Industries and Tata Global Beverages, its other big businesses, have also done well, delivering 31% and 17% CAGR respectively, during this period. In the coming years, TCS will remain the cash cow but the group's consumer oriented businesses are likely to grow at a much rapid pace. A turnaround in steel will be delayed.
2) Reliance group
While the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group has multiple business interests, it only has two listed companies--the flagship Reliance Industries and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure. Both combined, their market value stands at Rs 2.83 lakh crore--roughly at the same level it was 5 years ago. The group's activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles, retail, etc. Shares of Reliance Industries have underperformed the broader market in the past few years, with question marks over the output from its offshore gas fields. Production from the KG basin has fallen significantly since its peak in 2011. In fact, for the past three years, a chunk of the profits reported by RIL have been a result of sizeable contribution from 'other income', including investments.
The government's recent decision to increase the price of natural gas from $4.2 per mbtu to $8.4 mbtu from 1 April 2014 would have been a huge boost for the company's profitability, but the matter is currently before the Supreme Court. RIL recently became a debt-free company. The company's retail venture, Reliance Retail, has taken pole position, beating others such as Bharti and Aditya Birla group. It is even expected to turn profitable by the end of the next financial year, while its rivals continue to bleed.
Meanwhile, its new telecom venture will kick-start pan-India operations shortly, which would add significantly to its earnings. Going forward, the group's fortunes will continue to be shaped by oil and gas discoveries as well as the traction in its the retail and telecom businesses.