He was speaking to reporters after the company's annual general meeting here on Wednesday.

The subsidiary has been booked under the name e-Usha Martin and Jhawar expects it to be cleared by the concerned authorities. The new company will provide support to UBL's brick-and-mortar business, both in India and abroad, besides enhancing the group's information technology and knowledge-based business. The group is targeting a turnover of around $1.75 billion in the next five years.

Although the major thrust of the group's operations will be on information technology and knowledge-based business through its demerged entity Ubest, UBL which manufactures steel, wire, wire ropes and jelly-filled cables, will continue to play a major role.

To improve profitability, UBL has adopted measures to scale up the value chain and capture higher value addition in steelmaking. It expects to consume 75 per cent of steel production inhouse to make wire and wire ropes, while the remaining 25 per cent will be used to manufacture speciality steel.

"Our B2B e-commerce initiative will replicate our entire business model," Jhawar said. He expects it will lead to a reduction in costs of marketing, enable customers to selectively access the company's planning system, facilitate faster interaction with customers, reduce the cycle time for delivery and increase the component of value-added services.

"I am sure it will redefine the way wire ropes are sold by anybody in the world in the coming days," he said. In the company's steel division, sales to the auto sector increased value addition by about 40 per cent. UBL added Maruti Udyog Ltd to its customer base and has been approved as a supplier to the Indian Railways.

Usha Beltron Q1 net falls marginally
Usha Beltron reported a marginal fall in net profit for the first quarter of 2000-2001, despite an increase in net sales. According to the unaudited financial results, the company posted Rs 7.47 crore net profit on a turnover of Rs 224.23 crore as against Rs 7.79 crore net profit on Rs 205.14 crore turnover achieved in the same period last year. Production volumes were also higher in the first quarter, resulting in an increase in stocks by Rs 34.74 crore which the company expects to get liquidated in the coming months.