Major two-wheeler manufacturers in India witnessed a double-digit increase in domestic sales in October, driven by the festival fervour.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday exuded confidence the economy would soon break the double-digit growth barrier and said the stimulus measures will not be fully withdrawn until a robust recovery is achieved.
Investors are sceptical that the economy could have picked up so much steam.
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.
Several fiscal and monetary incentives since December 2008 helped the industry to recover into a growth trajectory. The 10 per cent plus growth in manufacturing, basic goods, mining, electricity has been buoyed by these measures, Confederation of Indian Industry said.
Indian companies are generating more cash than ever. The net cash flow from listed firms' operations hit a new high of Rs 11.1 trillion in financial year 2023-24 (FY24), crossing the Rs 10-trillion mark for the first time, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data going back to 1990-91. The FY24 figure represents a 19.3 per cent jump over the previous year, even as quite a few companies are yet to release their numbers.
Volvo India, Indian subsidiary of Swedish automobile giant AB Volvo, would aim at double-digit growth for its Indian operations, a company official said.
While the lifetime score of Gadar 2 and Pathaan is history now, next up is Animal, which would be crossed in a couple of days. The biggest of them all is Jawan and indications are that the Hindi version of last year's biggest hit will be challenged by this year's surprise blockbuster.
The sector may not touch the 30-40 per cent growth rates it witnessed before the slowdown, but an register above 20 per cent growth as it nears calendar year 2011, says Partha Iyengar, regional research head and Vice President, Gartner India.
With crude palm oil prices on the rise, companies have started to jack up rates of soaps and edible oils in order to pass on the hike to consumers. Crude palm oil, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of some consumer goods, saw a price rise of 45.2 per cent in the last three months. One of the country's largest consumer companies, Hindustan Unilever, said it has already started to take price increases in the skin cleansing category.
Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra today said that the country should aim to win 'double digit' medals at the Tokyo Olympics
The companies hope 2010 would be a better year for them as the economy begins to show some signs of recovery.
Competition in the fast-growing quick commerce sector is heating up as Swiggy Instamart faces a tough challenge in narrowing the gap with Blinkit, which currently dominates the market. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2024-25 (FY25), Instamart's gross order value (GOV) rose by 42.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) and 75.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), reaching Rs 3,382 crore.
The Indian job market is expected to see slower hiring activity, but double-digit salary hikes next year as employers are embracing a "cautiously optimistic" approach amid the economic uncertainty.
Maharashtra secured a resounding 439-run victory over Baroda in a Group A Ranji Trophy match, keeping defending champions Mumbai's hopes alive for the knockout stage.
Health premiums have picked up again after a slight moderation in growth, taking the non-life insurance industry's growth to 22 per cent in November, and to almost 17 per cent so far this financial year. Health premiums grew by 22.54 per cent in the April-November period, driven largely by group health plans, which have seen good growth due to rationalisation of discounts in premiums caused by adverse claim ratios in prior periods, medical inflation, and enhanced coverage. Health premiums grew by 29 per cent in the same period last year.
'While investors need to be prepared for making some losses, they should not lose big money chasing euphoria amid fear of missing out.'
Arshdeep Singh registered career-best figures of 6/40 to help India D outclass India B by 257 runs.
Compact sedans (Maruti Dzire, Hyundai Aura, Tata Tigor)' share in the overall sedan category grew from 68% in 2021 to 74.6% in 2024. Mid-sedans' (Honda City, Maruti Ciaz, Volkswagen Virtus) share declined from 26.2% in 2021 to 20.2%.
The stock of online classified major Info Edge (India) was up over 6 per cent on Friday on expectations of demand improvement for Indian IT companies. Strong revenue growth prospects for each of its online verticals - including recruitment, matrimony, real estate, education, and upside from its holdings in companies such as Zomato - had prompted Goldman Sachs to upgrade the stock. Info Edge's standalone revenue grew 10.6 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) in Q2FY25, beating consensus. 99acres (+16.9 per cent Y-o-Y) and Jeevansathi (+33 per cent Y-o-Y) were drivers of growth while recruitment grew 8.5 per cent Y-o-Y.
Most of the Indian batters struggled while adjusting to the bounce which was a good feet and half more than what they are used to in India which is just above knee roll.
One reason is that airlines have ramped up capacity and expanded their presence in tier-II markets. The first of a three-part series analyses how the aviation industry is an outlier in the midst of an overall economic slowdown.
On an annual basis, onions became costlier by 33.48 per cent, whereas on a week-on-week basis, the increase was 4.56 per cent, government data released here shows.
Clock 11% growth in the first 11 months of 2022.
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) raised Rs 8,315 crore from anchor investors on Monday, setting the stage for the country's biggest-ever maiden share sale. The Indian arm of the South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) allotted 42.4 million shares to 225 funds at Rs 1,960 apiece, the higher end of its price band. Among the investors receiving allotments were the Singapore government's sovereign wealth fund (GIC), New World Fund, and Fidelity.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday reported a 11.8 per cent increase in wholesales to 164,469 units in February. The company had sold 147,110 units in February last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. Domestic sales increased 11.8 per cent to 1,52,983 units last month, as against 1,36,849 units in February 2020, it added.
For the first time in history, the luxury car market is poised to cross the sales mark of 50,000 units in 2024, with Mercedes leading the way
Marico may buck the industry trend with the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major reporting strong growth and favourable commentary in a weak quarter for the industry. The company reported consolidated revenue growth of 8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q2FY25. Domestic revenue growth was 8 per cent Y-o-Y with 5 per cent volume growth (4 per cent in Q1FY25).
There has been a sharp slowdown in revenue and profit growth in the cement sector in recent quarters but it is yet to show in the share prices of cement companies. On the contrary, there has been a rally in cement stocks and a re-rating of their equity valuation in the past three years despite an earnings contraction during the period.
More than 100 members of the Indian contingent, including 52 athletes from various sports, will take part in the Paris Paralympics opening ceremony, which will be held outside a stadium for the first time in the Games' history, here on Wednesday.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
India could break the chains of under-achievement and begin attaining higher rates of economic growth in the 1990s only after it discarded the influence of that Soviet model, said Bharatiya Janata Party President L K Advani.
Mukherjee is in Washington, DC to co-chair the US-India CEO's Forum with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
French wine and spirits maker Pernod Ricard expects to report low double-digit growth in India in the medium-term on the back of a strong premiumisation trend emerging in the country. "We are now the second market worldwide for Pernod Ricard and India continues to be a big growth engine for the group. "Our compoun annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years was 8 per cent, which is robust and was maintained at a rather high level," said Jean Touboul (pictured), chief executive officer, Pernod Ricard India.
Mercedes-Benz India is looking at electric entry-level models to attract first-time luxury car buyers, as it sets eyes on another double-digit growth this year, its managing director and CEO Santosh Iyer said on Monday. The company, which launched all-electric entry SUV EQA 250 at an introductory price of Rs 66 lakh, has also introduced the new EQB 350 SUV (5-seater) priced at Rs 77.5 lakh and EQB 250+ SUV (7-seater) tagged at Rs 70.90 lakh (prices all India ex-showroom). It will also launch the EQS Maybach SUV and electrified G-Class models in India later this year.
Leading FMCG companies reported a decline in margins in the September quarter on account of higher input costs and food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of urban consumption. Rising prices of commodity inputs such as palm oil, coffee and cocoa were also accentuated and some FMCG firms have hinted at a price hike. HUL, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), Marico, ITC, and Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) have expressed concerns over squeezing urban consumption, which according to industry experts forms 65-68 per cent of FMCG total sales.
Gross GST collections in August grew 10 per cent to about Rs 1.75 lakh crore, reflecting higher domestic consumption. As per the government data released on Sunday, gross GST revenues from domestic transactions grew 9.2 per cent to about Rs 1.25 lakh crore. Revenues from import of goods were up 12.1 per cent to Rs 49,976 crore.
Five months after the release of Fighter comes a film that is set to take a very good start at the box office.
India Inc continued to grapple with muted revenue growth in the September 2024 quarter (Q2FY25) and witnessed a decline in margins and profits. The headwinds were especially severe for non-financial companies, while banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) firms significantly outpaced the rest of the corporate sector. The total profit of 1,353 listed companies that have released their Q2FY25 results thus far dropped by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) - the first cumulative earnings decline in eight quarters.
Another trend: A preference for coloured diamonds among brides, who are pairing them with their groom's birthstone. So, along with yellow or white diamonds, they are choosing pink, green, blue sapphires, emeralds or red rubies.