Healthcare major Max Healthcare Institute delivered a healthy performance in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Strong patient volumes and average revenues not only boosted the top line but also aided the operating performance.
Buoyant domestic sales are expected to lift revenues for pharma companies by 8-11 per cent in Q3FY26, even as declining generic Revlimid (cancer drug) sales in the US remain a key drag. Most brokerages forecast a modest 2-4 per cent growth in profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter. Hospitals and diagnostics companies, meanwhile, are likely to post much stronger numbers, with revenues seen growing 20-22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
After completion of its mandatory tender offer in Fortis Healthcare and Fortis Malar Hospitals, Malaysian health care giant IHH Healthcare is aiming to add 2,000 beds in a bid to double down on value creation in India. IHH, which is Asia's largest multinational private healthcare provider, currently has over 5,000 beds across a combined network of 35 hospitals and 11 states.
The projections in the cement industry are mixed. Prices and demand remained muted in the third quarter (October & November) and short term uptick doesn't seem likely. However, the second quarter of the financial year 2026 (Q2FY26) was good year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for many cement majors aided by base effect, and some analysts expect acceleration in earnings and volume in the next financial year, again aided by base effect.
Adani Power on Thursday posted a 12 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,906 crore in the September quarter, driven by a rise in expenses. It had clocked a net profit of Rs 3,297.52 crore in the July-September period of the preceding 2024-25 financial year, the Adani Group entity said in an exchange filing.
'Crude oil prices are around $66-67 per barrel now but could fall to $55-60 if global disturbances ease.'
India Inc, which is sitting on cash balances of 13.5 trillion, is using the funds to meet capital expenditure as well as brownfield expansion, resulting in 'anaemic' demand for bank loans, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman CS Setty said at an event on Monday. He added that a slowdown in corporate credit is mainly due to lack of demand.
ITC Hotels Ltd on Wednesday reported a 53 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 133.71 crore in the June quarter, on the back of higher revenue. The company, which had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 87.16 crore in the first quarter last fiscal, said it is targeting to reach 220 operational hotels and more than 20,000 keys by 2030.
Leading chains plan Rs 40K crore infra revival to close capacity gap over next 3-5 years
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all of its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House for the passing of the Union Budget 2025-26.
The government on Tuesday notified the Rs 22,919 crore scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of electronics components, display and camera modules, non-surface mount devices, multi-layer printed circuit boards and lithium-ion cells for digital applications, among others. The scheme is likely to be operationalised in the next 2-3 weeks.
After cement, billionaire Gautam Adani's group and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group are set for a face-off in the wires and cable business with both conglomerates announcing forays into the high double-digit growth sector.
Roads, railways, and coal together are likely to account for 70 per cent of the government's takings from the upcoming second edition of the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), set to run from FY26 to FY30. In comparison, these three sectors are estimated to have contributed 66 per cent in the first edition of the NMP - FY22 to FY25.
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a fresh Rs 15,000 crore 'SWAMIH Fund' for completion of 1 lakh units in stalled housing projects across various cities, a move aimed at providing relief to distressed homebuyers whose investments are stuck. In November 2019, the Centre announced a stress fund named 'Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing' (SWAMIH), to complete stalled housing projects across India.
To tap Indian civil aviation market's growth potential, the government on Saturday announced a modified regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) to connect 120 new destinations, airport projects in Bihar and upgradation of infrastructure for air cargo in the Union Budget.
The VBL board approved the purchase of SBC Tanzania for Rs 1,304 crore and SBC Beverages Ghana for Rs 127 crore. These own manufacturing/distribution rights for NARTD (PepsiCo branded) beverages in Tanzania and Ghana. The acquisitions will help VBL gain ground in East and West Africa.
Bhopal-based SOM Distilleries and Breweries has entered the Karnataka market with "Woodpecker" premium beer, India's first twist cap beer. The listed alcobev company targets sales of Rs 1,600 crore by financial year 2025, it told Business Standard. SOM Distilleries launched two Woodpecker beer variants in the state: Woodpecker Glide, a premium mild beer, and Woodpecker Crest, a strong, bold brew.
'Our priority remains brownfield expansion, and in the next few years, we plan to increase our capacity to around 6,000 beds.'
Shares of healthcare services major Max Healthcare Institute have gained over 23 per cent since the start of this month and the stock crossed the Rs 1 trillion mark on September 24. On September 25, it closed 989.85 apiece at the NSE. The gains were cornered on the back of a strong outlook for the sector and aggressive expansion plans for the chain led by acquisitions and organic growth.
'The government has put in a lot of effort to provide infrastructure for the industry.'
IndiGo has delivered impressive operating performance in the past six quarters as it navigated cost and capacity challenges. It has managed to mitigate the impact of faulty engine-related groundings. The airline has also managed costs related to grounding, expensive secondary leasing, increasing airport charges, and pilot compensation inflation and delivered stronger yields and spreads.
'The government has put in a lot of effort to provide infrastructure for the industry.'
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (APH) delivered an in-line performance for the April-June quarter of the financial year 2024-2025 (Q1FY25)with growth in the number of patients. AHLL (Apollo Health & Lifestyle), a subsidiary, posted sales growth and profitability. APH also reduced operational costs at Healthco.
'The Budget will be positive, continuing on the path of growth taken so far.'
'With the deployment of a higher degree of mechanisation, awarding contractual mining to MDOs and operational efficiency, we feel confident of achieving the desired target.'
After some enforced slowdown in offtake during April-May 2024 due to elections, the cement sector is looking at a possible demand rebound which may help it to push up prices. The April'24 offtake was muted while May'24 saw some improvement with a likely 5-6 per cent rise in demand month-on-month (MoM). In June, some price hikes seem to have been taken, which suggests more sustained improvement in demand.
Delhi-headquartered Fortis Healthcare is open to acquisition of hospitals with over 250-300 bed sizes as part of its strategy to grow at a faster clip. It may also opt for a neutral brand name soon. Neutral brand is a new brand, which is not owned by any of the stakeholders.
'Now that we are a pure-play India business, many investors are open to investing.'
Corporate India is starting to step up its capital expenditure plans amid government incentives and signs of rising demand, company executives and analysts have indicated. This coincides with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently citing a double-digit growth in private capital expenditure. Healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, along with increasing capacity utilisation and improving business sentiment, are contributing to a favourable environment for sustained growth in private sector investments, the RBI said in its policy last week.
'While lower steel prices may impact a part of the quarter, this will be offset by softer raw material prices.'
Tata Power saw a big sell-off, with the stock falling almost 8 per cent after declaring disappointing results for the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2023-24 (FY24) on Friday evening. The company reported net consolidated revenue of Rs 14,650 crore, up 4.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) of Rs 2,607 crore, up 2 per cent Y-o-Y, in the quarter, led by higher sales across Odisha distribution companies (discoms) and capacity addition in renewables. This was well below consensus estimates.
'To sustain our growth trajectory, we must continue to explore and capitalise on growth opportunities.'
'This plan is basically to allow some of the government assets for rent, and surely not for sale.' 'There is a difference between selling a house and renting out a house.'
Fortis Healthcare on Thursday said it has inked a pact with the VPS Group to acquire Manesar-based Medeor Hospital for Rs 225 crore. The healthcare major said it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Medeor Hospital for an overall purchase consideration of Rs 225 crore. The hospital has a potential capacity of 350 beds and can be operationalised in a phased manner in around nine months, it added.
Analysts remain selective on cement stocks amid the likely government's capex push ahead of the scheduled general elections in May 2024. While UBS has initiated coverage on the Indian cement sector with an anti-consensus negative view and suggests investors sell select cement stocks on a rally, those at Nomura remain selectively bullish on the sector and prefer companies with large brownfield optionality and multi-region presence. In the near-term, UBS expects strong earnings of cement companies in the next two quarters to be driven by robust demand and margin tailwinds, but suggests any sharp uptick in stock prices could offer a good opportunity for booking profits in the related counters.
Now that almost 10 infrastructure ministries have submitted a fresh list of their core infrastructure assets, the government has realised it stands to make much more money from asset monetisation than previously thought. Two persons in the government said it stood to garner over 30 per cent more than the earlier estimates of Rs 2.5 trillion over the next four years under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP). The NMP, which is being prepared by Niti Aayog, is in the advanced stages of finalisation and is expected to be unveiled in August.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that will look to unlock value in infrastructure assets across sectors ranging from power to road and railways. She also said the asset monetisation does not involve selling of land and it is about monetising brownfield assets. Projects have been identified across sectors, with roads, railways and power being the top segments.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
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