ITC's move to demerge the hotel business into a new entity, ITC Hotels Ltd, is a step in the right direction and will allay investor's concerns on the company's capital allocation strategy in the medium-to-long term, said analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note. According to the company, the board of directors has approved in principle the demerger of the hotels business, wherein ITC will hold a 40 per cent stake in the new entity, and the remaining 60 per cent will be held directly by shareholders. The scheme of arrangement shall be placed for approval of the Board at its next meeting to be convened on 14th August 2023.
Margins for the oil refining and retailing sector have moved off their peaks, and the average integrated margins (refining plus marketing) for oil marketing companies (OMCs) have normalised. The ascent in crude oil prices, combined with static retail prices, has depressed marketing margins for diesel and petrol. However, the fall in marketing margins has been offset by increased gross refining margins (GRMs).
The resolution seeking his reappointment as chairman and managing director of the diversified conglomerate will be put to vote at the company's annual general meeting to be held on August 11, 2023, according to a notice sent to the shareholders on Tuesday. The company under Puri drove the 'ITC Next' strategy in the last four years encompassing digital acceleration, cost optimisation, investing in new growth vectors and ensuring supply chain agility, its officials said.
After clocking losses for seven straight quarters, Tata Motors on Wednesday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,043 crore in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022-23. This came on the back of a strong order book, better semiconductor chip supply, tempered commodity prices, and a better product mix. "We remain cautiously optimistic about the demand situation, notwithstanding the global uncertainty.
Billionaire Gautam Adani has said the decision to withdraw a fully subscribed share sale of the flagship firm of his group was primarily because of volatility in the market. Adani Group company stocks have lost over $90 billion in value since a US short seller made damning allegations. Adani Enterprises Ltd's Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer managed to get investors on the last day of the share close on Tuesday.
The question is: Will the company have a strong balance sheet to support this massive investment plan?
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) rating to 'BBB', one notch above India's sovereign rating, as the company benefits from cash flow generation across diversified business segments and continuation of deleveraging. In a statement, Fitch said it has upgraded RIL's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) to 'BBB', from 'BBB-', with a negative outlook. At the same time, the agency has affirmed RIL's long-term local-currency IDR at 'BBB+' with a stable outlook.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the parent of Nykaa, has had a roller-coaster ride since listing last November. The initial public offering (IPO) was priced at Rs 1,125 apiece, and the stock listed at a 96 per cent premium, closing the first day at Rs 2,205 apiece. It subsequently hit a high of Rs 2,573 in late November, but has seen steady selling since, hitting a low of Rs 1,208 in May.
Acceleration in demand, together with marginal price hikes of about 2-3 per cent by cement companies in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23, may not be enough to cushion the impact of high input costs on the bottom line, reveal Bloomberg consensus estimates for the quarter. Year-on-year (YoY) net sales growth in Q3 will come in at nearly 7 per cent, shows Bloomberg data, while bottom-line growth will show a sharp decline of 25 per cent from a year ago. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) will likely decline by nearly 5 per cent versus a year ago, shows data.
E-commerce player Meesho, backed by marquee investors like SoftBank Group and Meta Platforms, will look at an initial public offering (IPO) only in 2025, and till then, its focus will be on generating profits after tax and not just on being Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation)-positive, top sources in the company told Business Standard in New Delhi. In a clear shift of strategy, the company, which has reduced its cash burn by 85 per cent, is now looking to trim its annual revenue growth target to 40 per cent from the 100-plus per cent earlier. The sources, however, said even this level of growth was far higher than that of most e-commerce companies.
On Thursday, Adani Enterprises announced that it will not go ahead with acquiring Macquarie group's two road companies at an enterprise valuation of Rs 3,100 crore.
'India has the potential to do a lot more to take advantage of the time today where we stand to gain, geopolitically and in terms of market attractiveness.'
Oravel Stays - which operates hospitality tech firm OYO - on Friday pre-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with stock market regulator Sebi, sources said. Sources close to the company told PTI, OYO may launch its initial public offering (IPO) around Diwali this year. Unlike the traditional route where companies have to launch the IPO within 12 months from the Sebi approval, or final observation; in the pre-filing route, an IPO can be floated within 18 months from the date of Sebi's final comments.
After new-age tech companies reported better-than-expected June quarter (Q1FY23) results, analysts said it will be a long road to recovery for their respective businesses and the stock prices. Moreover, brokerages differ on whether it is the right time to own these stocks. The common thread, however, that runs across most brokerages is Zomato, where they suggest buying the stock with the one-year target price ranging between Rs 60 - 115, translating into an upside of around 9 - 109 per cent from the current levels. The company's gross order value (GOV) of food delivery jumped 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 42 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q1, aided largely by growth in volume, and mild growth in average order value (AOV) at 1-2 per cent. The company also broke even on an adjusted Ebitda basis during the quarter.
'Favourable product mix, sales recovery, and cost saving initiatives are expected to support margins going ahead while focus on debt reduction (target of debt free by FY24) will aid balance sheet strength'
The Nifty IT Index, the gauge for the performance of information technology (IT) stocks, was the worst performer on the stock exchanges on July 29, a day after Infosys posted lower-than-expected earnings growth for the June quarter and sharply cut its revenue growth guidance for 2023-24 (FY24). The IT index was down 4.1 per cent, its biggest one-day fall in three months. The decline was led by Infosys, with its shares plunging nearly 8 per cent, followed by HCLTech (-3.2 per cent), Wipro (-3.0 per cent), and TCS (-2.7 per cent).
Trade generic drugs (medicines that are sold directly through distributors) are fast becoming a key segment for domestic pharma firms as volume growth slows in the overall market. Big companies like Cipla and Alkem have a significant presence in the segment but recently, players like Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) have also entered this market. What is driving big pharma's focus on trade generics? The volume growth in the Indian Pharma Market (IPM) has come down from 5.6 per cent in FY16 to 0.1 per cent in FY23.
Vodafone-Idea is working on a multi-pronged strategy to begin its long journey to get back in the game but much hinges on how much money it can raise following the government's decision to go for equity conversion last week. Based on discussions with sources aware of the company developments and with vendors, VIL's immediate plan is to invest in increasing 4G coverage to the level of its competitors. Currently, it covers a 1 billion population with 4G while its competitors cover 1.2 billion people.
The recovering valuations, will lead to enhanced optimism among investors about funding startups.
Paytm founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma will receive his stock grants only after the company's market capitalisation (m-cap) stabilises at its initial public offering (IPO) level, the financial technology (fintech) major said on Wednesday. Paytm's stock price has been in free fall since its IPO at Rs 2,150 apiece, with m-cap at around Rs 1.4 trillion - plunging 76 per cent to a lifetime low of Rs 520 on March 23, when m-cap dropped below Rs 34,000 crore. Since then, the company's share price on the BSE has recovered some value and closed at Rs 637 on Wednesday.
There's a straightforward relationship between economic activity and power consumption. If economic activity increases, so does power consumption. Since the latest GDP (gross domestic product) data indicates India's growth rates exceeded expectations in the second half if the 2022-23 financial year (H2FY23) and GDP estimates of FY24 are strong, we would expect power consumption to rise as indeed it has. There is also a direct relationship between power consumption and National Thermal Power Corporation or NTPC's results since the public sector undertaking (PSU) is the largest power generator in India.
Reliance Industries on Friday reported a 41.5 per cent jump in its third quarter net profit as oil, retail and telecom businesses fired on all cylinders. Net profit of Rs 18,549 crore in October-December compared with Rs 13,101 crore a year back, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Income from operations rose to Rs 1.91 lakh crore from Rs 1.28 lakh crore.
Amid cooling raw material prices, the crude-oil linked companies, which includes paint and tyre firms, have been on a roll over the past one year. Shares of related companies have gained up to 84 per cent, as against a 14 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. Analysts, however, believe stretched valuations in both these sectors could trigger a de-rating.
This is the Mukesh Ambani-led company's second entry into the dairy segment and it will directly compete with Amul and Mother Dairy.
'The tie-up with Serum Institute Life Sciences brings to the table their strengths in manufacturing and also their vaccine portfolio.'
Overall, Tata Steel becomes the seventh non-financial firm, including four oil PSUs to report quarterly revenues of Rs 50,000 crore.
Info Edge (India) reported a good fourth quarter for the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) given depressed conditions in the Key IT segment. The billing growth of 13.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in recruitment was well ahead of market expectations. There was solid growth in realisations (up 5.5 per cent) as well as unique customers (up 7.7 per cent).
Rising prices of international coal - both coking and thermal - used in the making of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, respectively, are expected to have an impact on margins of metals companies in July-September quarter (Q2) as steel companies may see margins getting eroded, while the base firms could stand to benefit, said brokerages.
India's second-largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Tuesday posted more than twofold year-on-year jump in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 2,008 crore, buoyed by a lift in average revenue per user and an exceptional gain. The telco said its Q4 scorecard was backed by strong performance delivery across the portfolio and its CEO Gopal Vittal, in a statement, exuded optimism about opportunities in the coming years and Airtel being "well-poised" as a company. Airtel, which competes in the market with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, as well as state-owned BSNL/MTNL, promised to maintain razor sharp focus on financial flexibility, optimising the capital structure and finance cost.
Encouraging results for the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) have led to a big surge in the share price of DLF. The realty major closed FY23 with Rs 15,000 crore (up 107 per cent year-on-year or YoY) of pre-sales, leading to cash generation of Rs 2,500 crore (up 14 per cent YoY) and reduced net debt by Rs 1,960 crore YoY. The launch of The Arbour project in Q4FY23 alone drove sales of Rs 8,000 crore in the quarter.
ONGC's January-March quarter results for the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) indicated changes in the trends of the energy cycle as well as the impact of policy change in gas-pricing. The public sector oil and gas major reported standalone Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) at Rs 16,340 crore, down 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY), and down 20 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). There was a net loss of Rs 250 crore due to exceptional items of Rs 9,240 crore for provisions related to the ongoing dispute regarding the applicability of service tax and goods and services tax on Royalty.
Zomato shares may see limited upside in the near-term amid news-flow around government-backed ONDC expanding its footprint in the delivery market, believe analysts. Zomato shares have dropped 4 per cent in three days on the BSE. By comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has added 0.2 per cent.
Vedanta Limited (Vedanta) helping its parent and group holding company Vedanta Resources to deleverage its balance sheet has started to strain its balance sheet. Vedanta's gross debt (consolidated) was up 24.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY23 and reached a six-year high of Rs 66,628 crore by the end of March. Similarly, its net debt went up 20.3 per cent YoY to Rs 45,706 crore at the end of FY23, up from Rs 38,228 crore a year ago; it was the highest since FY20.
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.
Zomato has lost over 9 per cent thus far in calendar year 2023 (CY23) and has underperformed the S&P BSE Sensex that has slipped nearly 5.3 per cent during this period. Despite this underperformance, analysts at HSBC think that the stock can hit Rs 87 going ahead - up over 64 per cent from the current levels. The food delivery industry, wrote Yogesh Aggarwal and Abhishek Pathak of HSBC in a recent note, has slowed considerably in the last few months.
Diversified entity ITC Ltd on Thursday reported a 22.66 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,225.02 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2023, led by a strong growth momentum across operating segments. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,259.68 crore a year ago, ITC Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations increased 7 per cent to Rs 18,799.18 crore in the period under review against Rs 17,754.02 crore in the year-ago period.
The early bird results for the January-March quarter of 2022-23 (Q4FY23) show a pick-up in earnings growth, despite a slowdown in revenue growth, thanks to a decline in input costs and lower provisioning for bad loans by banks. The combined net profit of 66 companies that have, so far, declared their quarterly results was up 15.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q4FY23, an improvement from 4.3 per cent YoY growth in Q3. Net sales growth of these companies, however, slowed down to 11.5 per cent YoY in January-March 2023, the slowest rate in eight quarters.
Street gave a thumbs down to Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL)-TCNS Clothing deal as analysts flagged near-term profitability risks for ABFRL with its latest acquisition. At the bourses, shares of the Aditya Birla group company tumbled 6.2 per cent in the intra-day trade, before settling 3.27 per cent lower at R 207.2. Those of TCNS, meanwhile, plunged 20 per cent to end at Rs 416.64.
A deal for United is expected to shatter records for the sale of a sports business. The club's current majority owners, the Glazer family, are seeking a valuation as high as 7 billion pounds ($8.42 billion).
At the 45th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries (RIL) in August, chairman and managing director (CMD) Mukesh Ambani described the company as an "unputdownable book" with never-ending chapters of success. "Reliance grew from strength to strength because we internalised the founder's mindset of purpose, philosophy and passion," he said. Wednesday marked the 90th birth anniversary of RIL founder Dhirubhai Ambani.