Devangshu Datta

Stories by Devangshu Datta

Novelis' disappointing Q4 suggests near-term weakness for Hindalco stock

Novelis' disappointing Q4 suggests near-term weakness for Hindalco stock

Rediff.com   20 May 2023

Novelis' results for the January-March quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) disappointed investors and as a result, the share price of Hindalco (Novelis is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hindalco) has slid. The non-ferrous metals major is suffering from the impact of a down-cycle in aluminium and copper, as well as the slowdown imposed in Europe by the Russia-Ukraine war. Prospects for the firm look gloomy, at least for the first half (H1) of FY24.

Larsen & Toubro's rich valuations leave little room for disappointment

Larsen & Toubro's rich valuations leave little room for disappointment

Rediff.com   19 May 2023

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) disappointed the Street with its results for the January-March quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) due to weaker core engineering & construction (E&C) segment performance by the engineering giant.' Although core E&C order inflows for FY23 rose 19 per cent year-on-year (YoY), with orders from railways, metals and water sectors, margins in the infrastructure segment crashed to all-time low. Revenue at Rs 58,300 crore was up 10 per cent YoY but somewhat below expectations.

Strong fourth quarter perks up Paytm stock; stock jumps nearly 5%

Strong fourth quarter perks up Paytm stock; stock jumps nearly 5%

Rediff.com   16 May 2023

Encouraging results for PayTM (One97 Communications) for the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) have led to a surge in the company's stock price, gaining nearly 5 per cent during Monday's trade. PayTM reported Q4FY23 revenues at Rs 2,330 crore, up 51 per cent on year-on-year (YoY) basis (13.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter or QoQ), led by monthly transaction user (MTU) growth of 27 per cent and average revenue per user or ARPU growth of 19 per cent YoY. MTU is defined as users with at least one transaction/month.

Improving profitability, lower debt to give strength to UltraTech Cement

Improving profitability, lower debt to give strength to UltraTech Cement

Rediff.com   9 May 2023

UltraTech Cement's results for the fourth quarter results of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) were broadly in line with the Street estimates. The consolidated revenue, operating profit and net profit stood at Rs 18,700 crore, Rs 3,300 crore and Rs 1,670 crore, respectively, which were up 18 per cent, 8 per cent and 13 per cent YoY, respectively.

Valuation comfort likely to limit downside for Axis Bank's stock

Valuation comfort likely to limit downside for Axis Bank's stock

Rediff.com   8 May 2023

Axis Bank's results for the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) were skewed due to large one-off charges related to its acquisition of Citi's retail business. Axis reported a loss of Rs 5,730 crore on account of exceptional items of Rs 12,350 crore (net of tax) towards Citi's acquisition, policy harmonisation etc. Excluding this one-off, the adjusted net profit or profit after tax (PAT) would be Rs 6,630 crore, up 61 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

Living In The Times Of Crime

Living In The Times Of Crime

Rediff.com   3 May 2023

Redress for a victim is not easy. It is not really painful to file a cyber-crime complaint.
But someone who is technically unsophisticated enough to fall for a scam will find it hard to navigate the processes, points out Devangshu Datta.

Weak guidance, muted sentiment to weigh on near term IT outlook

Weak guidance, muted sentiment to weigh on near term IT outlook

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2023

The two IT majors -- Infosys and TCS -- delivered disappointing results for the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23). Poor macro conditions and weak sentiment in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) space accounted for the miss. For TCS, revenue in constant currency (CC) terms grew at 0.6 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. Weakness was visible in North America, primarily due to deferred discretionary spending.

What's Time Zone Politics?

What's Time Zone Politics?

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2023

In a world without politics, time zones would change by an hour for a shift of 15 degrees of longitude. But, of course, political considerations apply, explains Devangshu Datta.

Street cheers auto volume data amid interest rate, chip crunch concerns

Street cheers auto volume data amid interest rate, chip crunch concerns

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2023

The automobile sector is considered a good indicator of economic health. It has a very long value chain, from primary materials, like metals, glass and plastic, to value-added high-end electronic components, specialised alloys, and software.

With policy ammunition, defence stocks set to fire

With policy ammunition, defence stocks set to fire

Rediff.com   10 Apr 2023

A spate of recent orders under the Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) category have led to investor focus on defence stocks. Actually, the defence index has been an outperformer for a long while with public sector undertakings (PSUs) like Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers (GRSE), Cochin Shipyard and Goa Shipyard being beneficiaries of the policy.

Gold: Little sparkle for financiers despite tailwinds

Gold: Little sparkle for financiers despite tailwinds

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2023

Gold prices hit record high in the third week of March as fears of bank collapses and high inflation led investors to the traditional safe haven. Gold prices are often inversely correlated to dollar strength because the international price is dollar-denominated. The Federal Reserve's (Fed's) stance indicates that the dollar may appreciate further since it is prepared to keep pushing up policy rates. But demand for gold is also up - the World Gold Council claims central banks are buying in addition to private demand.

Significant room for upside in Indian Hotels stock

Significant room for upside in Indian Hotels stock

Rediff.com   5 Apr 2023

In the longer-term, analysts expect IHCL to see revenue CAGR of 15 per cent between FY23 to FY25 and Ebitda CAGR of 20 per cent in the same period. Analysts are seeing targets of around Rs 375-Rs 380 for the stock, which is a significant upside from the current Rs 313.

More upsides ahead for Coal India

More upsides ahead for Coal India

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2023

Conflicting views on Coal India (CIL) might leave investors confused. The bullish perspective that India has strong power demand (and also high steel production) means high demand for coal. As CIL is the monopoly producer of coal -- supplying over 80 per cent of the domestic requirement - the public sector undertaking should be a beneficiary of the rising power demand.

Metal stocks: Buying opportunity or a deeper fall?

Metal stocks: Buying opportunity or a deeper fall?

Rediff.com   28 Mar 2023

Given wild swings, investors are wondering where the metal market is going. There was a strong uptrend in industrial metal through much of the last three years due to fears of supply chain issues - first due to Covid-19 and then due to the Ukraine War. That uptrend broke down as it became apparent that global growth would moderate as inflation rose and Western Europe (the EU plus the UK) went into a near-recession and China was in a rolling lockdown.

Global Banking Crisis: Low Prices To Brighten Prospects Of OMCs

Global Banking Crisis: Low Prices To Brighten Prospects Of OMCs

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2023

While prices sustaining lower levels is crucial, Govt actions are also a key monitorable given the forthcoming elections in 2024.

Magnus Carlsen's Last Gambit

Magnus Carlsen's Last Gambit

Rediff.com   21 Mar 2023

A title match requires months of preparation and pulling out of other events, putting together a team of seconds, etc. Carlsen just says he lacks the motivation to do this again.

Nifty PSU: Positive rerating of these stocks likely

Nifty PSU: Positive rerating of these stocks likely

Rediff.com   16 Mar 2023

The last year has seen public sector undertakings (PSUs) outperforming the Nifty50, albeit by a small degree. But PSU valuations are still, on average, less than half of private sector peers at price-to-equity or PE 8.7x for the Nifty PSU Index versus 20.9x for the Nifty50. There are several reasons for lower valuation.

Why investors have largely ignored Indus Towers

Why investors have largely ignored Indus Towers

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2023

Telecom infrastructure player Indus Towers has been largely ignored by investors with occasional bursts of trading when there's news flow. For example, the stock fell from Rs 188 (Jan 1, 2023) to Rs 135 (Jan 27) and then bounced back to Rs 165 in early February as the Government of India (GoI) converted Vodafone Idea's (Vi) debt into equity and Bharti Airtel pushed up its direct stake in Indus to 47.95 per cent. The cash-strapped Vi holds 21 per cent stake in Indus Towers and Indus also has substantial receivables to come in from Vi which is a negative overhang.

Valuation comfort remains with PSU banks despite sharp gains

Valuation comfort remains with PSU banks despite sharp gains

Rediff.com   13 Mar 2023

Despite rising interest rates, and high inflation, the banking sector is doing well, on the back of a recovering economy. The last couple of quarters indicate credit demand is picking up and Return on Assets (RoA) is more than acceptable at the moment. The PSU bank pack may be more interesting at the moment simply due to being valued at far lower multiples than the private banks.

India's aviation sector likely to return to profit in FY24 on higher traffic, pricing

India's aviation sector likely to return to profit in FY24 on higher traffic, pricing

Rediff.com   9 Mar 2023

India's aviation industry could return to profitability in 2023-24 for the first time since the pandemic. The industry may pare aggregated net loss by 75-80 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to between Rs 3,500 crore and Rs 4,500 crore in 2022-23 (FY23), compared with Rs 17,500 crore of net losses in 2021-22 (FY22). A combination of recovery in passenger volumes and easing cost pressures due to stable fuel and foreign exchange (forex) costs could spark a turnaround. CRISIL says domestic and international passenger traffic recovered to 90 per cent and 98 per cent, respectively, of pre-pandemic traffic (2019-20, or FY20), in April-December 2022, compared with April-December 2019.