Experts point to the higher contribution of rural from the north for the growth reported by the region, a point endorsed by companies who've been pushing their presence aggressively there.
Tea estates across Assam and West Bengal, which were hitherto closed owing to the lockdown, opened in April.
Top global brands such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, Facebook and Texas Instruments visited the campus.
In spite of a severe second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and a widespread disruption in public life therefore, India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMGC) sector seems to have emerged as one of the most resilient segments of the economy. The early numbers and estimates for the April-June quarter indicate a steady recovery in FMCG players' business, which is now set to exceed the pre-pandemic level. Amid nationwide lockdowns because of the first Covid wave, FMCG revenues had been severely affected in mid-2020.
Improve speed of delivery, introduce smaller packs, create greater value
Investors became richer by over Rs 6.34 lakh crore on Monday as markets gave a big shout-out to the Budget 2021-22, which analysts termed as 'unprecedented' against the backdrop of the pandemic-induced slowdown. Cheering the Budget proposals, the BSE benchmark Sensex zoomed 2,314.84 points or 5 per cent to close at 48,600.61. During the day, it jumped 2,478.63 points to 48,764.40. This was the best Budget-day gain for the markets since 1997, analysts said. Following the extremely positive market sentiment, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies rallied Rs 6,34,069.67 crore to Rs 1,92,46,713.70 crore.
While sales momentum from rural areas may last another three to six months, sales growth in urban areas could stage a comeback by next year's June quarter as people learn to live with the coronavirus and economic activity gradually improves in the cities.
Infosys was the top Sensex loser along with other index heavyweights ITC and HDFC.
Investors indulged in profit booking at attractive and higher valuations
HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) -- with free-float market cap of over Rs 3 trillion -- have the highest weight in the Sensex and the Nifty.
While reforms may translate into new opportunities for firms like ITC, Adani Wilmar and Reliance Retail, farmers are unlikely to use it for fear of upsetting commission agents.
While the company did not reveal its profit or loss for the period, according to its fillings, food and beverages was the largest category - accounting for 62.23 per cent or Rs 5,184 crore of its total sales.
'Our preference remains for the less-expensive industrial stocks, which are showing good earnings momentum.'
Clearly, the domestic market has taken sharp knocks in April, which is likely to be visible in May as well, said analysts tracking the market, as FMCG companies are grappling with improving capacity utilisation and dealing with labour shortage.
After the hit of the pandemic, India Inc is now worried about the adverse impact of inflation and higher commodity prices on their revenues and margins. The inflation scare is the strongest among manufacturers of consumer goods such as automobiles, consumer durables, and fast-moving capital goods (FMCG). Companies across sectors fear they will not be able to pass on the hike in input costs to their consumers due to weak demand, which, in turn, would lead to a hit on margins and profitability in the forthcoming quarters.
Overall expenses in Q1 stood at Rs 6,466.52 crore (Rs 64.66 billion), as against Rs 5,789.88 crore (Rs 57.89 billion) in the year-ago period.
In the past four months, $7.5 billion has flowed back into domestic stocks, helping the benchmark indices bounce back more than 40 per cent from their 2020 lows.
Wrapped in blue and orange wax paper, it's a familiar sight on the shelves of kirana stores across the country. Given how well travelled and mobile it is - starting its journey in Chennai, then turning to Singapore and now landing in Mexico - you could say it lives up to its name: Modern. Modern Food Enterprises, the company that manufactures and sells the bread in question as well as other bakery products under the "Modern" brand name, has recently been sold to the world's largest baking company, Grupo Bimbo, for an undisclosed amount. This latest transaction is the second change of guard at Modern within five years and third since the government divested the company at the turn of the century. At a time, when the National Democratic Alliance government has decided to privatise, or shut down, public sector enterprises except for those deemed strategic, Modern makes for a promising case study of how divestment led to the brand's growth, both in revenue and reach.
Top companies reported that despite most of them making staples and essential products, movement of raw material, goods and labour remained restricted, impacting sales.
A dip in 'dream job' applications could also mean that students are bagging their desired offers in the first go itself.
Terming the comments 'factually incorrect and without basis', HUL said Pureit was the world's largest-selling water purifier brand and had been approved for sale by regulatory authorities in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia.
Employees of some top Indian companies were in for a pleasant surprise when they received a mail from their HR team announcing a hike in salaries and bonuses. Led by IT firms and start-ups, HR managers say that while some have offered cash and stock options, others are in a wait-and-watch mode and add the trend will pick up in other sectors. For example, IT giant Cognizant - which had an attrition rate of 19 per cent in the December quarter - has established a $30-million employee retention fund in order to bring down the high attrition rate.
About 50,000 truckers, most of whom are single-truck owners, could be thrown off their businesses due to the recent fuel price hike. "Already the vehicle supply on the road is higher than the requirement. "With the fuel price hike, fleet owners will look to cut down fleet size wherever needed and due to this, small single-truck owners could be at the receiving end," Ashok Goyal, managing director at BLR Logistiks (I) Ltd said. The company has a fleet of 500 vehicles of all types-small, medium and large with pan-India presence.
For a product initially positioned as a "closet mate" which could help improve a woman's marital prospects, HUL Chairman Sanjiv Mehta says the communication now is all about women's empowerment.
The highest salary rose by 14.22 per cent from last year.
Sofia Ashraf, along with a guitarist and three other women, stormed Sasikala's residence and sang the song, protesting her elevation.
Combined profit before tax of 81 firms down 37.5% y-o-y, worst show in at least 3 years.
FIIs have offloaded shares of Bajaj Corp, Nestle, Jyothy Laboratories and Britannia.
Mukesh Ambani is stringing in new partnerships within the Reliance ecosystem with the best in global business -- from Facebook, Google and Microsoft to umpteen sovereign wealth funds and a soon-to-be-declared strategic partner in a big global retailer, notes Shailesh Dobhal.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Gujarat-based tea major will run a Rs 2-cr roadblock on Hindi and regional news channels.
HDFC and HUL are the latest entrants in the club
FSSAI will put the draft guidelines in front of a seven-member expert committee.
Combined net profit up 7.4% over a year ago, versus 11.2% in Q2.
Market experts say that of the total 600,000 villages in India, under two per cent or around 10,000 villages contribute to about half of the rural consumption in the country. Targeting these villages and ensuring that penetration is strong is key for most consumer goods companies.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever on Friday reported 23.43 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 1,019.25 crore (Rs 10.19 billion) for the first quarter ended June 30, 2013.
Most companies reporting an improvement in operating margins in Q1 as they cut ad spends and other expenses.
From its all-time peak of 38,989.65 scaled on August 29 this year, the Sensex has fallen by 2,921.32 points, or 7.5 per cent, to 36,068.33.
The board meeting also saw Mehta, 57, being re-appointed as MD & CEO for a period of five years after the completion of his term in October
Mandates have been handed out to staffing solutions companies such as Randstad India and TeamLease, officials at these firms have said, as players increasingly push into rural areas to capitalise on the uptick in the hinterlands.
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