The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
State-owned NMDC has reported a 15 per cent rise in its iron ore production and 3 per cent growth in sales of the mineral in April.
Iron ore mining major NMDC's results for the April-June quarter (Q1) of FY25 were better than estimates. Weak volumes were balanced off by higher realisations, better average selling price (ASP) and lower royalties which boosted bottomline. The revenue was in line with estimates at Rs 5,400 crore, flat year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and down 17 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q).
Its 11MFY24 production is around 40.2 mt. In FY25, it could hit 50 mt and it may reach 55 mt by FY26. The PSU has capex plans for multiple projects, which should improve the product mix and augment capacity to 100 mt for FY30.
NMDC reported a strong standalone revenue at Rs 5,410 crore, rising 45 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and 35 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-q) in line with consensus. Iron ore sales at about 11.4 million tonnes (MT) grew 18.9 per cent Y-o-Y (19 per cent Q-o-Q). Realisation stood at Rs 4,679 per tonne, higher by 22 per cent Y-o-Y (12.9 per cent Q-o-Q).
NMDC, the country's largest iron-ore miner, posted a consolidated revenue in the January-March quarter of FY24. This was in line with estimates at Rs 6,500 crore, which was up 11 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), and a 20 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) rise on the back of realisations. Iron-ore production was 13.3 million tonnes (down 6 per cent and up 8 per cent Q-o-Q), while the sales stood at 12.5 MT (up 1 per cent Y-o-Y and up 10 per cent Q-o-Q).
More than 25 crore workers engaged in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, postal to coal mining, highway and construction are expected to go on a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, potentially disrupting services across the country. A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates has called for a general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' to "oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government".
'Day by day we expose how soulless we have become as a society. Every day is a disappointment.'
'The universe of PSU stocks is huge and diverse.' 'Investors should bet on specific sectors and stocks from the basket as most of them may continue to consolidate after years of outperformance.'
The "weaponisation" of economic activity - through tariffs and sanctions - is now a reality, with countries leveraging these tools strategically, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Raisina Dialogue recently.
There is a reason this 11 year phenomenon is a rule as much as it is an observation. It speaks to the nature of man and what humans are like, explains Aakar Patel.
Stocks of Indian steel companies are reeling from pricing pressure that is partly blamed on cheap imports. The stocks have declined up to 9 per cent on the NSE in one month, likely allowing investors an opportunity to use the correction to enter the pack as pricing pressure eases. "In steel or any other commodity, if prices or spreads are nearing their bottom, it can be an opportune time to invest in those stocks. In India, domestic fundamentals such as steel consumption remain robust, hence one can take fresh positions in these counters," said Amit Dixit, an analyst at ICICI Securities.
Stocks of Indian steel companies are reeling from pricing pressure that is partly blamed on cheap imports. The stocks have declined up to 9 per cent on the NSE in one month, likely allowing investors an opportunity to use the correction to enter the pack as pricing pressure eases. "In steel or any other commodity, if prices or spreads are nearing their bottom, it can be an opportune time to invest in those stocks.
Steel companies are witnessing margin pressures in Q2FY25 and this may persist until China sees growth recovery.
Iron ore miner NMDC is set to buy two Australian iron ore mines
NMDC Spice International, a proposed 50:50 joint venture between state-owned miner NMDC and Spice Minerals and Metals, a part of the Spice Energy group, is close to acquiring two iron ore deposits in Armenia. The acquisition is likely to entail an investment of $500 million (Rs 2,173 crore).
Macroeconomic data announcements, the last batch of Q1 earnings and global trends are the major factors that would influence trading sentiments in the equity market in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Besides, trading activity of foreign investors would also be a crucial factor in dictating movement in the market. Equity markets would remain closed on Thursday for Independence Day.
The state-run mining giant NMDC on Monday filed the draft prospectus with the market regulator Sebi for its follow-on public offer, through which the government expects to mop up Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion).
In an interim order, the Supreme Court has permitted the state-run NMDC to operate two mines in Bellary district. The NMDC, which has been granted leases by the state government, was permitted by the Supreme Court to extend the production of iron ore to the tune of one million tonnes per month from Saturday. Incidentally, the NMDC finds a mention in the Lokayukta report due to alleged lease violations.
The CEC gave its latest report to the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Country's largest iron ore producer NMDC on Wednesday said it is in talks to buy coking coal mines from Kolmar in Russia to feed its proposed steel plants in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.
The stock has underperformed the market due to concerns on mining volumes, delayed expansion, and lower realisations. However, now the volume outlook is improving with gains expected from FY14 onwards, given the ongoing capacity expansion.
Megha Engineering had emerged as the second-biggest buyer of electoral bonds and donated the highest amount of about Rs 586 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party, according to the data released by the Election Commission on March 21.
After a sedate start, the follow-on public offer of NMDC saw interest reviving on the second day of book building, with bids for 79 per cent of the shares on offer.
Steel secretary Atul Chaturvedi said on Sunday about Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 130 billion) would be raised from NMDC's stake sale, while SAIL would fetch Rs 19,000 crore (Rs 190 billion). He was addressing the media on the sidelines of the 47th National Metallurgists' Day celebration of the Indian Institute of Metals.
Equity markets may witness a gradual up-move this week with some volatility as both election and earnings season are nearing their end, analysts said, adding that global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would hold significance in dictating investors' sentiment. Benchmark indices, which had a record-breaking rally last week, would also track global oil benchmark Brent crude and the rupee-dollar trend. The monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday may also fuel volatility in markets.
Steel secretary D R S Chaudhary said that the government is planning to sell 10 per cent stake.
Like its predecessors REC and NTPC, mining major NMDC, the third government-owned company to hit the markets this year, received tepid response on the first day of follow-on offer (FPO).
The NMDC issue was oversubscribed 1.73 times on Wednesday, fetching Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) for the government for its 10 per cent stake, thanks to strong participation from FIIs and state-run insurer LIC.
Fresh plans of privatisation or divestment in central public sector enterprises and public sector banks might take a back seat this financial year because these may require a large consensus among coalition partners.
'Those betting against PSUs will likely be punished in this upswing.'
When the country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC, declares its financial results for 2009-2010, it will report a Rs 1,000-crore drop in net profit. Not on account of last year's slowdown, but Naxalite attacks.
NMDC Ltd has decided to set up its second steel plant in Chhattisgarh and is in talks with two companies to form a joint venture. One of them is Tata Steel.
National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), the Hyderabad-based public sector undertaking, is the first PSU to come up for divestment during the current financial year.
This is a good opportunity for long-term investors to pick quality small and midcap stocks at reasonable valuations.
Shares of public sector enterprises have corrected by up to 22 per cent month-to-date until March 19, 2024. Analysts attribute this steep fall to the valuation exuberance seen after a sharp run in these counters last year and suggest investors remain selective regarding the stocks in this space. "The rally in public sector undertaking (PSU) stocks has been stretched and sharp, although it is somewhat justified by improvements seen in earnings, operations, balance sheets, and overall profitability.
Equity markets would take cues from domestic inflation data announcement, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Markets would remain closed on Tuesday for 'Diwali Balipratipada'. "As we enter a truncated week with Muhurat trading on Sunday, global cues will play a pivotal role in shaping the market direction.
Industrial metals (ferrous and non-ferrous) suffered great volatility once the Ukraine War began in February 2022. First, there was a sharp price rise due to fears of supply disruption, followed by weak global demand. China's weakness and rolling lockdowns have hit production and demand.
Jio Financial Services, a unit of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL), got valued at Rs 1.66 trillion ($20 billion) following an hour-long special trading session conducted by stock exchanges on Thursday. Shares of RIL's unit got priced at Rs 261.85 apiece - higher than analysts' expectations of Rs 134-224 per share. The price was arrived at after calculating the difference between RIL's Wednesday (July 19) close of Rs 2,840 and Rs 2,580, the price discovered during the first-of-its-kind pre-trade session.
With general elections on the horizon, the government's privatisation bandwagon has almost but stalled as a government wary of being accused of selling family silver opts for minority stake sales on stock exchanges over outright privatisation. The result -- the divestment target for current fiscal year is again likely to be missed. Big ticket privatisation plans such as that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and CONCOR are already on the backburner and analysts feel meaningful privatisation can happen only after April/May general elections.
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