India's corporate sector is likely to report a slowdown in revenue growth and earnings for the July-September 2023 period (Q2FY24), according to earnings estimates by brokerages, after the country's top listed companies posted higher than expected profits for the first quarter. The combined net profit of Nifty50 companies, based on brokerage estimates, is expected to have grown by 19.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1.75 trillion in Q2FY24 - a sharp deceleration from 37.6 per cent Y-o-Y growth in the combined earnings of index companies in the April-June 2023 period. According to estimates, the combined earnings in the second quarter would be down 8.8 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis and the lowest in the past three quarters.
Defence exports grew 33 per cent in the calendar year 2023 (CY23) to around Rs 21,083 crore while domestic defence orders serviced by listed companies were Rs 48,000 crore. The sector is poised for steady growth. Budgeted domestic capex is likely to hit Rs 3 trillion per annum, and exports could reach $6 billion by FY29.
FMCG major Britannia Industries' results for the January-March quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) were received enthusiastically by the market with the share going up by 6.7 per cent on Monday to close at Rs 5,061.60 on the BSE. However, analysts said the results were in line with margins, and disappointing in terms of revenue growth. The consolidated net sales (excluding other operating income) rose 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 4,010 crore in Q4.
Strong margins in the jewellery segment in Q4FY25, steady growth guidance for FY26 and expectations of outperformance in the organised jewellery sector boosted sentiment for the largest listed jewellery maker by market capitalisation, Titan Company. The stock was the highest gainer on the benchmark indices (Sensex as well as Nifty), rising 4.1-4.5 per cent at close on Friday, taking the total gains over the past month to about 12 per cent.
The slowdown in private consumption in the economy is taking a toll on the growth of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). The net sales growth of listed FMCG companies hit a 14-quarter low of 2.5 per cent in October-December 2023 (Q3FY24). This is the lowest revenue growth for the industry since the June 2020 quarter, when the FMCG firms in the Business Standard sample had reported a 13.2 per cent Y-o-Y decline in combined net sales owing to the lockdown.
Listed paint majors posted another lacklustre showing in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), with average revenue growth under 3 per cent. Sales were weighed down by Asian Paints - the market leader and the only major to report a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline.
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.
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.
LIC Housing Finance (LICHF) delivered a healthy FY24 with improvements in net interest margin (NIM) and credit costs and an improved return on assets of 1.7 per cent compared to an average of 1.3 per cent between FY14-FY23. Loan growth was low due to technology upgrades to the platform in H1FY24, though momentum improved in H2FY24. In Q4FY24, the net interest income (NII) came in at Rs 2,250 crore.
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has underperformed the Nifty over the past year as its 20 per cent return is trumped by 29 per cent of the benchmark index. The FMCG index saw a 2.2 per cent drop in the last session, while the Nifty lost 1 per cent. FMCG is seen as a defensive segment. The demand for staples like personal care products, groceries and snacks tend to be stable. FMCG companies are consistent dividend-payers.
The June quarter is usually considered as a seasonally strong period for the IT sector.
Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories delivered a muted operational performance in the fourth quarter of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25), even as revenue growth remained healthy. Lower gross margin performance and muted domestic growth are key concerns. Most brokerages have a "Sell" or "Reduce" rating as there are uncertainties related to the development of a new product portfolio and the launch timelines.
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.
Banking credit in the economy grew by 11.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the fortnight ended March 7, while deposits grew at 10.2 per cent during the same period, which is a gap of around 90 basis points (bps), according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Godrej Properties (GPL) reported strong pre-sales of Rs 22,500 crore in FY24, up 84 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). The performance was led by new launches, which increased 65 per cent to Rs 23,000 crore in FY24, and contributed 70 per cent to total pre-sales. The sales volume increased 31 per cent Y-o-Y to 20 million square feet (msf), while realisation rose 40 per cent Y-o-Y, driven by contribution from high-realisation markets of National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi and Metropolitan Mumbai Region (MMR) and positioning in the premium segment.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) delivered a stronger-than-expected operational performance in the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25), driven by solid growth in its automotive (auto) and farm equipment segments. Higher volumes improved operating leverage, expanding margins.
After a technology upgrade, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) appears poised for an improvement in volumes. The premier commodity and forex exchange reported a loss of Rs 19.1 crore in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24). This was attributed to higher software charges payable under an extended service agreement with 63 moons technologies and a one-off cost towards core guaranteed funds (CGF).
The country's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Saturday said it will grow its loan book slower than the industry in the current financial year (FY25). The move comes as the lender looks to bring down its elevated credit - deposit (CD) ratio to pre-merger levels. "We will bring down the CD ratio faster than what we had anticipated.
The slowdown in corporate revenue growth over the last one year has begun to reflect in India Inc's capital expenditure, or capex. The country's top listed companies are going slow on fresh investment in capacity expansion, in line with a deceleration in their top line growth. The combined fixed assets of the listed companies, excluding banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI) and the government-owned oil & gas firms, were up 10.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) during April-September 2023 (H1FY24) - the slowest in 18 months - as against 21.1 per cent Y-o-Y growth in H2FY23 (October 2022-March 2023) and 11.6 per cent growth in the April-September 2022 period (H1FY23).
Inflows into equity mutual fund (MF) schemes declined for the third month in a row in March even though the equity market recovered sharply. Equity MF schemes raked in a net Rs 25,082 crore in March, down 14 per cent from February.
The April-June quarter (Q1) of the current financial year (FY25) may be soft for banks with loan growth moderation, net interest margin (NIM) pressures, and higher staff and credit costs inching up, according to analysts. Credit growth could ease due to the lagged impact of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightening and deposit growth has weakened, and the current account and savings account (CASA) ratio has declined 10-370 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) for many banks.
Credit card spending reached Rs 2 trillion in October, a 14.5 per cent rise from September, largely driven by festival season purchases. However, the volume of outstanding credit cards increased only marginally during the same period. The spike in spending comes at a time when nearly all major credit card issuers are calibrating their growth in the segment due to visible signs of stress.
The meltdown in Dalal Street that wiped out investor wealth to the tune of 44 trillion in 2025 also seems to be having a ripple effect on the country's vibrant automobile retail sales.
In the e2W category, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of total EV sales, volumes fell 15 per cent to 118,944 units in November, compared to 139,787 units in the previous month
Once declared a dud stock, Suzlon has generated stellar returns for investors thus far this calendar year. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, Suzlon's share price has doubled investor wealth by soaring 109.35 per cent on the bourses. By comparison, the benchmark BSE Sensex has gained just 11.2 per cent.
Info Edge (India) reported good Q2FY24 results with hiring across other segments helping offset weak IT performance. The revenue increased 11.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 593 crore, (up 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter or Q-o-Q). The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) margin was excellent at 40.7 per cent, up 200 basis points year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
This could fundamentally transform the industry that had been a major source of employment in countries like India and the Philippines.
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.
Titan's October-December quarter (Q3) business update claims 22-23 per cent revenue growth in the standalone jewellery sales (excluding bullion sales), implying a 4-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3 per cent. Store additions also looked healthy, with 21 new Tanishq stores opened in Q3, taking the total count to 466 (+43 in 9 months of FY24) including two in the US and one in Singapore. Titan added 90 stores in Q3, pushing its total retail outlets to 2,949 (including CaratLane).
Audi plans to focus the Indian market, including deepening market penetration and increasing sales volume.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's call for making lending rates affordable may not resonate anytime soon as banks still struggle with margin compression, and await clues from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on liquidity and rate action. Hinting that any lending rate cut was some time away, State Bank of India (SBI) managing director Vinay M Tonse said there was still some aggression in the market regarding deposit pricing.
Dixon Technologies' January-March quarter (Q4) results came in well below expectations, but the potential for signing up a new mobile client, and plans for backward integration into display manufacturing kept investors happy. Dixon's Q4FY24 revenue grew 52 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 4,660 crore, below Street consensus, due to weakness in consumer electronics (Rs 890 crore) and home appliances (Rs 294 crore) segments.
Despite state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) reporting an improvement in value of new business (VNB) margin in Q1FY25, analysts believe the growth has not been satisfactory in the context of the insurer's medium-term targets on margins. VNB margin is a measure of profitability of life insurance companies. LIC's VNB margin improved by 20 basis points (bps) to 13.9 per cent in Q1FY25 over the same period last year due to a change in the business mix of the insurer.
Management commentary on demand environment, and forward guidance will be in focus when Indian IT services players declare their September quarter results for financial year 2024-25 (Q2FY25). The industry is exepected to have continued on the path of recovery in Q2, similar to the preceding quarter, rather than sprint towards growth. The top four firms likely grew between 0 per cent and 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), according to consensus estimates.
In the July to September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24), Voltas' revenues grew by 29.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), but the adjusted net profit was down by 63 per cent Y-o-Y. The revenues hit Rs 2,290 crore, led by growth in the Unitary Cooling Products segment (up 15.4 per cent Y-o-Y, and in the EMP (Electromechanical project) business (up 66.8 per cent Y-o-Y). The UCP revenue rose to Rs 1,200 crore in Q2FY24, driven by volume growth despite weak consumer spending - the three-year annual growth is 18 per cent.
The trade deficit widened to $12.8 billion last month
Steel companies are witnessing margin pressures in Q2FY25 and this may persist until China sees growth recovery.
Big, listed FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Nestl, and Britannia have been top-performing stocks on the bourses in recent weeks. The Nifty FMCG index, which tracks the share prices of the country's top 15 listed FMCG companies, is up 1.9 per cent month-to-date in May compared to a 2.4 per cent decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 in the period.
As there is a moderation in car sales, dealer stock levels across the entire industry have surged to alarming heights. However, the situation is under control at HMIL.
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