Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the largest IT software services exporter of India, recently posted a 23-percent rise in quarterly net profit, beating street forecasts.

The gains were made on rising demand for outsourcing services from western clients.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

The total income for FY11 increased to Rs 37,324.51 crore from Rs 30,028.92 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2010. This signifies an increase of 24.30%. The income received a major boost from sale of equipment and software licences that reported an increase of nearly 35 per cent.

Within the income segment, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) contributed the largest share followed by telecom, retail & consumer packaged goods and manufacturing. Meanwhile, the company took a hit of Rs 36.23 crore on account of foreign exchange loss in FY11.

The board of the company has recommended a final dividend of Rs 8 on equity share of Re 1 each, which shall be paid on the fourth day from the conclusion of the annual general meeting, subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company.

Shares in TCS, valued at about $54 billion, have risen more than 4.6% this year, outpacing a 9% fall in the sector index and a near 5% drop in the broader market.

The Q4 quarter numbers were boosted by excellent execution and constant customer focus, according to the software exporter.

Tags: banking, financial services, outsourcing, software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services, TCS

According to new data from IAB Ireland and PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC), the growth of internet advertising surpassed predictions last year and grew 13.5 per cent to hit €110 million.

IAB Ireland, the trade body for online advertising, revealed that all online advertising formats experienced growth.

From Irishtimes.com:

Suzanne McElligott, chief executive of IAB Ireland, described the growth as “fantastic” but she said there were “real reasons for it”.

These included an increase in the use of broadband, with 2.1 million connections according to the latest ComReg data, and people spending more time online; on average 19.1 hours per week last year according to research firm Red C.

Ms McElligott also cited Red C research that shows people spend an average of 2 hours 49 minutes watching television every day and 2 hours 44 minutes online.

The car industry became the biggest spender last year, accounting for 21 per cent of spend.

Recruitment and property, previously the largest spending category, was 17 per cent of the total.

The next three largest sectors were fast-moving consumer goods, telecommunications and financial services.

Display ads were particularly strong, increasing share from 26.6 per cent of the total in 2009 to 31 per cent last year, according to IAB.

Tags: internet advertising, online advertising

Tata Power has bagged an over Rs 1,000 crore-contract from the Indian Air Force for modernization of its 30 airfields in one of the biggest private sector engagement in the defence sector.

The company received the order to modernise the Airfield Infrastructure of Indian Air Force from the Ministry of Defence.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

The contract is quite important and encouraging in terms of private sector participation in the defence sector and would create a “precedence”, the source added.

“The programme, known as Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure Phase I (MAFI-I), is of strategic importance and aims to improve capability of the Airfields to handle the modern combat air fleet being inducted by IAF,” Tata Power said in a statement today.

Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division (SED) Chief Executive Officer Rahul Chaudhry said the contract “won against a Global Defence tender of MoD, is a watershed moment, not only for us, but also for increasing private sector participation in Indian defence sector”.

The company has been working closely with the Ministry of Defence and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to provide state-of-the-art solutions to Indian Armed Forces for the past four decades, he added.

A source said this contract would probably be the largest defence contract awarded through a global tender process.

Tags: Indian Air Force, Ministry of Defence, Tata Power

In this YouTube video, you will learn the difference between social media and SEO besides learning about how to take advantage of this web promotion technique. This video is a must-see for small business owners who want more visibility and credibility for their business by maximizing the power of the internet.

Tags: SEO, social media, web promotion, YouTube video

Cast: Andie MacDowell, Aidan Quinn, Ryan Merriman, Anessa Ramsey, Andrea Powell, Maureen Mountcastle, Michael Harding, Jillian Batherson, William Smith Yelton, Patrick Stogner

Director: Rick Bieber

Writer: Rick Bieber

Genre: Drama

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 101 minutes

Advisory: Some thematic elements

Synopsis: The 5th Quarter is one of the best movies of 2010 without any second thoughts. This emotional and true story about family, football, inspiration, and the gift of life has all the abilities to mesmerize you from the time you enter the movie hall to the time you leave it.

A tragic car crash claims the life of Luke Abbate and his brother Jon decides to end his college football career. However, things change and Job decides to honor memory of his brother and continue with football. Job dons his dead brother’s jersey number 5 and leads his underdog Wake Forest Demon Deacons to the ACC Championship to make it the most improved team in America. With his inspiration, Jon helps himself and others achieve more than they could have ever imagined.

Tags: Aidan Quinn, Andie MacDowell, Andrea Powell, Anessa Ramsey, college football, football, Jillian Batherson, Maureen Mountcastle, Michael Harding, Patrick Stogner, Ryan Merriman, The 5th Quarter, William Smith Yelton

Acording to a retired Air Force major, the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is expected to be viewed by over a billion people around the world and a few UFOs.

It is common to see extraterrestrials around important events, and is highly possible they may be watching the royal wedding too, according to Former military officer George Filer who runs the National UFO Centre.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

Speaking about a conversation he once had with Prince Philip, he said: ‘It was around 1961 or ’62, when I was a navigator in a tanker.

‘He met with a group of us after a dinner because he wanted to talk about UFOs. He told us that the RAF had stopped sending fighters after UFOs because some of them didn’t come back.

‘They decided to send tankers, which were nearly as fast as the fighters but could hold 15 hours of fuel, compared to two for the fighters.’

Mr Filer also claimed that Prince William’s grandfather told him that his uncle, the Earl Mountbattan, had seen some UFOs up close.

Filer is also expecting sightings around Westminster Abbey on April 29 because he says the royal family has shown interest in UFOs.

Tags: Business Operation, business promotion, Business Reviews, extraterrestrials, Fantastic reviews, Internet marketing, Kate Middleton, National UFO Centre, online marketing, online presence, Personal Reviews, Prince William, royal weding, Social Networking, UFOs, web promotion

Britain’s top electrical retailer DSG International, the owner of high street chains Dixons, Currys and PC World, enhanced its online presence when it took a controlling stake in one of Europe’s leading internet retailers.

DSG agreed to pay €266m (£185m) for a 75% stake in Paris-based Fotovista that owns the Pixmania online retailer of digital photographic and other consumer electronic products.

From Guardian.co.uk:

The deal was the second big shake-up for DSG in a week after earlier announcing plans to ditch the Dixons brand on the high street and replace it with the name Currys.digital. Dixons will live on in cyberspace as one of DSG’s online brands.

DSG has already made a push into Europe and has stores in 14 countries including Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Pixmania operates in 25 European countries, served from a central operation in Paris. Of those markets, DSG said Pixmania is the leading online electrical retailer in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. The business owns online digital photo services, a 250 store based photographic operation in France and specialist studio and portrait services in France and Belgium.

Fotovista had sales of €354m and profit of €6.2m in the relevant last year.

Tags: consumer electronic, customer satisfaction, DSG International, effective online presence, effective web presence, internet retailers, online business, online customers, online presence, potential customers, viable online presence, web presence

The Chairman and CEO of the world’s largest steel-maker ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal, earned a 11 per cent hike in his base salary in 2010, after suffering pay cuts in the previous two consecutive years.

The ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO earned a base salary of USD 1.65 million in 2010, compared to USD 1.49 million in the previous year, according to ArcelorMittal’s annual report.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

In addition, Mittal’s daughter, Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, received a base salary of USD 172,000 in 2010, up from USD 164,000 in the previous year.

Mittal’s other peers on the board — Narayanan Vaghul, Wilbur L Ross, Lewis B Kaden, Francois Pinault, Antoine Spillmann and HRH Prince Guillaume — also witnessed a hike in their base salaries in 2010.

According to the report, the total compensation paid in 2010 to members of the company’’s senior management, including L N Mittal in his capacity as CEO, was USD 17.8 million in base salary, including certain allowances paid in cash, such as allowances relating to car, petrol, lunch, financial services and balance settlements.

Furthermore, the company gave USD 7.2 million in short-term performance-related variable pay, consisting of a bonus linked to 2009 results that was paid partly in cash and partly as share-based compensation.

As of December 31, 2010, about USD 1.8 million was accrued by the company to provide pension benefits to its senior management.

The company had given a pay cut to its entire board, including Mittal, in the previous two years as the firm lost money amid slumping steel sales.

Tags: ArcelorMittal, financial services, Lakshmi Mittal