Despite volume growth in the export segment and strong demand in the domestic market, pricing uptick is eluding Indian agrochemical companies.
UK-based Vedanta Resources is looking to start copper production at its Konkola copper mines (KCM) in Zambia and is eyeing to serve global and Indian markets, according to company executives. Promoted by billionaire Anil Agarwal, the miner in November 2023 regained control of the copper mines and smelter, which the Zambian administration had seized in 2019, but needed to pay creditors of the mines to revive operations. The conglomerate was locked in a legal battle over the ownership of the KCM mines prior to a September 2023 Zambia government decision to reinstate the group as owners of the mines.
The Street will thus keep an eye on the operating profit margins over the next couple of quarters.
UltraTech Cement's announcement that it would snap up a controlling stake in India Cements may only be a sign of more to come. In the wake of one of the country's most expensive deals in recent times, cement majors may slug it out to add smaller firms from the region to their portfolio. UltraTech's buy is the latest in the four deals the southern market has seen in less than a year, with Adani Cement being the other buyer.
While praising the internship scheme announced in the Budget, India Inc wants clarity on how it will be implemented. The scheme is expected to help companies address the skill gap in employment. Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, auto major Ashok Leyland, said: "We had started an internship programme at our plant in Pantnagar, which we established in 2010 with colleges there.
Chief executive officers (CEOs) across sectors have expressed intentions to expand capacities, expecting the government's target to invest a record Rs 11.11 trillion on infrastructure development will act as a catalyst for a jump in consumer demand. "With the government planning a capex of Rs 11.11 trillion, private sector investment will come in a big way. Companies will be preparing for it right from today," H M Bangur, chairman of Shree Cement, told Business Standard. For the past few years, the investment scene in India has been dominated by government capital expenditures; private investments in the manufacturing sector have remained muted.
Weighed down by the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, Reliance Industries (RIL) results for the April-June quarter (Q1) of 2024-25 (FY25) missed Street estimates. A 14 per cent fall in the O2C segment's operating profit compared to the year-ago quarter and a 22 per cent sequential decline pulled down the consolidated performance. The O2C segment accounts for a third of the overall operating profit and about 60 per cent of the attributable consolidated profit.
Shares of Avenue Supermarts (DMart) have gained about 5 per cent over the past week on better than expected June quarter (Q1FY25) performance, hopes of a recovery in discretionary demand, and margin gains going ahead. The key takeaway from the results was the robust gross margin performance. Riding on improving mix, DMart posted a 34 basis point year-on-year (Y-o-Y) improvement in gross margins to 14.9 per cent.
Stocks of electronics manufacturing services companies have been major outperformers, with four of the top eight listed majors by market capitalisation doubling their value over the past 12 months. The biggest gainer in this space has been the market leader, Dixon Technologies (India), which is up nearly threefold.
From its recent lows, the stock of consumer major Marico is up 7 per cent on the back of a better-than-expected June quarter performance and robust outlook. In a pre-quarter update, the management indicated that domestic volume growth should witness an improvement in FY25, while other segments (growth portfolio, international business) too would see traction going ahead. The near-term trigger is strong sales and operating performance for Q1FY25.
Government officials believe that central bridge projects perform better than state projects due to stricter checks and balances.
Consolidated earnings for oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) may report sequential weakness, and modest year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in the June 2024 quarter (Q1FY25), said analysts. Lower refining margins are expected to moderate gains made from other businesses. RIL is slated to report its financial performance for Q1FY25 on July 19.
Fresh order wins for capital goods and industrial companies may have seen a major slump due to Lok Sabha polls in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25). At the same time, revenue and profit growth trajectory is expected to have stayed the course, according to brokerage firms. Elara Capital, Motilal Oswal, and InCred Equities expect this sector universe to report a 12- 21 per cent growth in revenue, 21 -36 per cent growth in Ebitda and 24-38 per cent growth in profit on a year-on-year (Y-oY) basis.
The June quarter is usually considered as a seasonally strong period for the IT sector.
Severe skilled, unskilled shortage threatens to pull emergency brakes on India's industrial engine.
The stock of Voltas, the country's largest room air- conditioner (RAC) maker, is up 22 per cent in the past three months. Robust demand on the back of a sweltering summer, distribution expansion, slew of launches and backward integration are expected to forge a good operating performance for the company. In the core RAC segment, there are multiple triggers for the company.
In seeking visa approvals for engineers from China, the company has reasoned that India lacks the expertise to set up such a solar facility.
The stock of commercial vehicle (CV) company Ashok Leyland is up 46 per cent in the past three months, gaining despite worries about a slowdown in sales volume. Brokerages have a mixed view on the country's second-largest medium and heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer. The company reported steady March quarter results and its valuation, focus on growth and medium-term prospects are positive, but some brokerages are cautious, given near-term demand concerns and the risk of competition increasing in the industry.
'As the city grows, so do its fire incidents.'
Larger listed domestic-focused tyre companies have underperformed the benchmarks in the last three months but exporter Balkrishna Industries has bucked the trend. The company, which exports off-highway tyres, has generated 43 per cent returns in this time compared to MRF and Apollo Tyres, which are down 5-10 per cent. In addition to better-than-expected performance in the March quarter, exports and market share gains have helped Balkrishna pull ahead of peers.
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