Footwear companies were among the weakest performers in the consumer discretionary sector during the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25. The combined revenue growth of the top four listed firms was just 2.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) - the lowest among major discretionary categories.
'As the global economy undergoes significant transformations in 2025, India's ability to navigate the complexities of trade wars, financial realignments, and emerging blocs will be pivotal,' explain Harsh V Pant and Soumya Bhowmik.
'We also realised that locking customers to our Cloud was not fair to them.'
India's smartphone shipment grew by 11.5 per cent in the first quarter of calendar year (CY) 2024 on a year-on-year basis to 34 million units. This is the third consecutive quarter of growth in shipments, International Data Corporation's (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker said.
Indian smartphone sales, traditionally dominated by the entry and mid-range segments, are set to change as high-end and super-premium devices capture consumer attention. The premium category is expected to grow by more than 20 per cent in calendar year (CY) 2024 compared to the previous year. While the overall smartphone market is expected to w
Mint Road, on December 21, 2023, flagged the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in strengthening the compliance culture in regulated entities (REs) and providing a consultative platform for policymaking. It also decided to issue an omnibus framework for SROs.
The retail broking industry's top line could more than double over the next five years, according to the estimates of consultancy firm Bain & Company. The industry, which facilitates stock market trading for investors, has already witnessed its revenues double from Rs 14,000 crore during 2018-19 (FY19) to Rs 27,000 crore in 2022-23 (FY23), reflecting an annualised growth rate of 17 per cent. "This growth has been fuelled by the emergence of India's mass-affluent and affluent segments, coupled with increasing financial literacy.
After lagging behind the broader market over the past three and six months, defence sector stocks have regained ground, reversing their performance from the past month. Concerns about slowing order inflows, execution hurdles, supply chain disruptions, and high valuations had weighed on the sector.
The first quarter has scored mostly flops, with just one blockbuster (Chhaava) and a smattering of those which have recovered costs.
Implications for capital gains, wealth taxes, and investment strategies require careful consideration, notes Anil Rego, founder and CEO, RightHorizons.
'...similar to the 2008 global financial crisis, the 2012 taper tantrum, or the 2018 midcap crash.' 'This could lead to a substantial decline in activity and revenues for the broking industry.' 'When this will happen is uncertain, but as brokers, we must be prepared for such a downturn.'
Double-digits salary hikes are making a post-pandemic comeback on the back of a buoyant business outlook in 2023, according to global professional services firm Aon. Aon's latest "Salary Increase Survey in India" has not only projected a 10.4 per cent average hike across sectors for 2023, but also identified actual hikes in 2022 at 10.6 per cent as against its previous projection of 9.9 per cent in February. The figure of 10.6 per cent is the highest since 2012, whereas the 10.4 per cent levels projected for 2023 were last seen in 2015.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has completed the merger of its media assets with the India business of global media house Walt Disney and formed a joint venture with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. The JV will be one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India with a combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore and will be led by Nita Ambani as its chairperson, according to a joint statement.
Quick commerce (qcom) industry is poised to lead gig workforce hiring in 2025, propelled by a surge in demand for faster deliveries, expansion by existing players, entry of new competitors, and evolving consumer preferences in the post-pandemic era, according to industry experts. The qcom industry currently employs nearly 260,000 people - around 200,000 delivery personnel and 60,000 dark store workers, according to TeamLease Staffing.
'The government will carefully regulate and monitor the Digital Rupee, and because the currency is supposed to be tied to INR or supported by reserves, we should expect little fluctuation in pricing.'
Share prices of Nestle India, Asian Paints, Bandhan Bank, Tata Technologies, AU Small Finance Bank and Avenue Supermarts, all a part of the BSE 500 index, have hit their respective 52-week lows on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade after a sharp correction in the equity markets.
The FMCG industry hopes for a revival in consumption growth in 2025 with some 'green shoots' already visible, after having a challenging year amid escalating input costs and a double-digit rise in food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of the urban market growth in the second half of 2024. Soaring prices of commodities such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wheat forced FMCG players to go for a hike of 3 to 5 per cent or resort to shrinkflation by reducing pack sizes and grammage to retain attractive price points, fearing a volume loss.
More than 50 per cent of SIP accounts come from semi-urban and rural areas.
Tata Elxsi (TelX) reported a weak Q3FY25, with a sharp deceleration in the transportation vertical. However, recent deals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), higher mix of original equipment makers (OEMs) and partnership with Qualcomm will improve growth. FY25 is the third successive financial year of revenue growth deceleration and second successive financial year of profit deceleration.
The October-December quarter (Q3FY25) results of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) indicated weak demand, with urban growth muted and rural showing recovery. Consolidated revenue grew by 1.6 per cent (volume was flat) to Rs 15,818 crore, due to price hikes. Prices of key raw materials such as palm oil and tea remained elevated, leading to compression of gross margin.
India should convert the Trump threat to an India opportunity, re-embracing a more liberal trade regime as a way of reviving manufacturing output and exports.
The answer depends on your financial goals and risk appetite, says Certified Financial Planner Ramalingam Kalirajan, and explains why.
Have the markets already played out their dynamics before the economy has even properly taken off? Are we now destined for a period of mediocre returns despite a strong economy? asks Akash Prakash.
Employers seek individuals who can prioritise tasks, solve problems, and work within deadlines, notes Ankit Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Unstop.
Thermax reported 13 per cent Y-o-Y revenue growth with operating profit margin decline in Q1FY25. It took a hit of Rs 70 crore on specific projects. The company enjoys a strong order pipeline across sectors like power, steel, refining and petrochemicals.
Auto majors, including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors, on Sunday reported high double-digit growth in their domestic passenger vehicle sales in July riding on stabilisation of macro-economic factors and better consumer sentiments. Similarly, Honda, Nissan, MG Motor and Skoda also reported healthy growth in their sales last month leveraging on improved market mood amid prevailing lower coronavirus infection rate, despite supply constraints of semi-conductors. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) domestic sales increased by 39 per cent to 1,41,238 units last month as against 1,01,307 units in July 2020, the company said in a statement.
'Consider 40% to 50% in equities, 10% in gold as a hedge, and the remaining 30% to 40% split between multi-asset funds and hybrid funds.'
It is imperative to invest in real time marketing, even at double speed.
the largest transactions of the year include the merger of Quality Care India and Aster DM Healthcare valued at $5.08 billion, followed by Bharti Enterprises' acquisition of a 24.5 per cent stake in the BT Group at $4.08 billion, and a family settlement transaction in the Godrej family at $3.5 billion.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) is set to acquire Haleon's global portfolio of consumer healthcare brands in the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) category outside of the US. DRL will pay a total consideration of 500 million, including an upfront cash consideration of 458 million and contingent cash payments up to 42 million based on performances in CY25 and CY26. DRL will acquire the portfolio through the purchase of shares of Northstar Switzerland SARL, a Haleon group firm.
Will allowing business correspondents to hawk insurance products help in reviving 5-lakh strong field agents as a viable channel?
On the exports front, Bajaj is under pressure in Bangladesh and Africa. On the domestic front, it could ride improvement in rural demand and new launches but it also has to cope with competitive intensity and a high base. The management projects 7-8 per cent volume growth in domestic 2W in financial year 2025 (FY25) with moderation in H2FY25 due to a high base Y-o-Y.
Major two-wheeler (2W) manufacturers in India witnessed a single-digit decline in domestic sales in November after dispatches had picked up in October for the festive season when wholesales went up by 14 per cent and retail also grew by 36 per cent.
'Does 99 percent guarantee character and capacity for an independent awareness of life or does it make you -- barring exceptions -- a compliant careerist beholden to governments and corporations?' 'What kind of political and social choices would such minds make?' asks Shyam G Menon.
'Health and motor insurance will continue to be our two most important segments'
Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler maker, has seen a decline in its market share in rural areas since 2018, losing ground to major competitors such as TVS Motor Company, Bajaj Auto, and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), according to data from JATO Dynamics reviewed by Business Standard. Hero's share of rural two-wheeler sales in India has dropped from 40.4 per cent in 2018 to 33.3 per cent in 2023. In contrast, Bajaj's share increased from 12.7 per cent in 2018 to 13.9 per cent, HMSI's from 21.8 per cent to 22.2 per cent, and TVS' from 15.5 per cent to 17.8 per cent. Suzuki Motorcycle India has also seen its share rise from 1.7 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
Employers in India are planning to outpace global adoption in certain future technologies as companies operating in the country are heavily investing in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), energy technologies, robotics, and autonomous systems, said the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its latest "Future of Jobs" report released on Wednesday. The report, released days before the WEF annual meeting in Davos from January 20-25, notes that 35 per cent employers in India think that adopting semiconductors and computing technologies (compared to 20 per cent globally) will transform their operations while 21 per cent employers think that adopting quantum and encryption technologies (compared to 12 per cent globally) will also transform their operations.
A single security lapse could lead to complete wipe out of your crypto assets in seconds, with no recovery in sight, warns Nikhil Sethi.
India is the second-largest global venture capital investment hub for digital shopping companies, growing by a whopping 175 per cent from $8 billion in 2020 to $22 billion in 2021, according to an official analysis released here on Wednesday. On a global scale, India came in second to the US last year, which attracted $51 billion in investment, followed by China at third with $14 billion and the UK at fourth with $7 billion. Within India, Bengaluru comes out on top globally with $14 billion worth of Venture Capital (VC) investments in digital shopping in 2021, followed by Gurugram at No. 7 with $4 billion and Mumbai at No. 10 with $3 billion.
Roles ranging from digital marketing to wealth management are some of the emerging roles, notes Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, a job search app.
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