The fresh meat and seafood delivery startup Licious plans to set up 500 stores nationwide within the next five years as part of an omnichannel strategy. The aim is to attract new users in the offline channel and encourage them to transact online as well. The move would also help the company in its efforts to achieve profitability and go for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 24 months, according to the sources.
Low levels of communication services, such as Internet, telephone, fax and television, have impacted occupancies at three- and four-star hotels, a study conducted by the Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Association of India said.
The Nifty IT index, data shows, has outperformed the markets in each of the last four election years post the result. announcement.
India's top technology companies will witness a tepid revenue expansion in the third quarter (October - December) of the current financial year (Q3FY24) - along expected lines - on the back of furloughs and no blockbuster deals, even as the momentum gained from Generative AI (GenAI) is likely to take centre stage. IT services and consulting firm Accenture's first quarter numbers in FY24 showed a significant pick up in GenAI spending. It signed new bookings to the tune of $450 million in this space, a surge from the $300 million signed in the whole of FY23.
Certain changes in the past two or three years could have a long-term structural impact on the IT services market.
Even as Srini Pallia, a Wipro veteran, is set to take charge as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, analysts expect the stock's underperformance to continue in the near-future. This, they believe, will be on the back of likely loss of market share, and difficult business environment. "We expect Wipro to underperform peers on growth once again in FY25 as channel checks and media reports suggest Wipro is losing share with select clients across multiple verticals.
According to a Gartner study, Indian IT services market is likely to grow to USD10 bn by 2011.
Zee Entertainment on Friday said it has "pruned" its Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) by about 50 per cent following the guidance of a special committee, which had conducted a critical assessment of its several business verticals. The MD & CEO has pruned TIC staff strength by 50 per cent to achieve a cost-effective structure, a Bengaluru-based business vertical of the company that offers technology solutions, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) said in an official statement.
In an interesting move, S Ramadori, chief executive officer and managing director of information technology major Tata Consultancy Services, recently said that TCS may provide IT services to casinos in Macau.
From the Sensex basket, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki India, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and NTPC were the major laggards. Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
Even as banks and finance companies are reporting record-high earnings, their weighting in the benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index has seen a downward trajectory. Investors expect a stronger performance from other sectors in the new year. Currently, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies collectively hold a weighting of 34.5 per cent, down from 36.7 per cent at the end of December 2022 and a record high of 40.6 per cent at the end of December 2019. This represents the sector's lowest weighting in the index since December 2021 when it stood at 33.7 per cent.
After a sharp fall in the share prices of HDFC Bank and other private sector lenders in the past three days, the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector weighting in the Nifty50 has slipped to a seven-year low of 32.03 per cent, down from nearly 36.6 per cent at the end of March 2023 and 34.5 per cent at the end of December 2023.
More than 100 days as the chief executive of India's second-largest information technology (IT) services company Infosys, Vishal Sikka on Wednesday said he was upset at the sector. He added there was a "better direction" the industry must look to take.
Profits of India's top listed companies have been growing at a faster pace than those of their American peers, but when it comes to revenue growth, the order has reversed recently. The combined net profit of the S&P 500 companies was up 14.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) during the trailing 12 months (TTM) ended December 2023, as against 17.4 per cent profit growth logged by the BSE 500 companies in the same period. This is the second consecutive year of faster profit growth for the BSE 500 companies.
The writing has been on the wall for some time. Exodus of senior leadership and growth behind its peers are reasons that have prompted Thierry Delaporte, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Wipro to resign, analysts said. Delaporte, Wipro's seventh CEO, also resigned without completing his five-year term, like his predecessor Abidali Neemuchwala decided to end his tenure prematurely in 2020. Phil Fersht, HFS Research CEO and chief analyst believes the change in leadership was at least six months overdue.
The number of cyber attack cases in India increased by 15 per cent per week on an average in 2023, trailing only Taiwan in the Asia Pacific region, cyber security firm Check Point said on Monday. Organisations across the globe experienced an average of 1,158 weekly cyber attacks each, which was a 1 per cent increase in the number of incidents compared to that in 2022. "In 2023 India received 2,138 weekly attacks per organisation, which is a 15 per cent surge since 2022.
TCS saw its headcount reduced by 6,333. Infosys' headcount decreased by almost 7,500, and HCLTech saw its employee numbers shrink by 2,299.
Umesh Keelu said he would be motivating other youngsters from Dharavi slums to join the armed forces.
Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS') contribution to the overall market capitalisation (mcap) of listed Tata group companies has slipped below 50 per cent for the first time in over a decade. This has happened amid a rally in other Tata stocks, led by smaller companies, even as TCS, the group's largest company by mcap, has lagged. In recent quarters, Tata's listed firms have emerged as leading performers on the bourses, with the group's combined mcap crossing Rs 30 trillion early last week - a first for a private sector conglomerate.
With the last quarter of 2023-24 (FY24) expected to have been soft owing to lower discretionary spend and macro uncertainty, many are hoping FY25 will be a year of recovery for the information-technology (IT) industry. The fourth quarter, January-March, is considered soft, and will continue to see the headwinds the sector has been facing. And the sector has entered the new financial year on a weak footing. Analysts are expecting Tier-I firms to report sequential growth of -1 per cent to 1.5 per cent and midcap players' growth may range between 0.7 per cent and 4 per cent.
Trouble started brewing after Cognizant announced that Ravi Kumar, former Infosys president, would take over as the Nasdaq-listed company's CEO.
'If creative jobs can get disrupted, then left brain jobs like coding are easily disrupted. We are going through the journey of huge disruption.'
Despite multiple headwinds at the start of 2023, the Indian markets delivered a strong performance, posting 19-20 per cent growth for the year. Even as new records were set, investor sentiment remains strong going into 2024, given the lower inflation, expectations of steady to lower interest rates, higher economic growth, and strong inflows. However, the overriding concern for most brokerages is valuations.
New age diagnostic tools come in handy for BharatBenz to predict repair needs and breakdown in advance.
French consulting-IT major to focus on specialised areas in energy, tax and telecom
IT services firm Infosys has said that a global company has decided to terminate a multi-year contract worth $1.5 billion with it. On September 14, 2023, Infosys announced a pact with a global company to offer enhanced digital experiences alongside modernisation and business operations services leveraging Infosys platforms and AI (Artificial Intelligence) solutions. In a BSE filing on Saturday, Infosys said the global company has now elected to terminate the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the parties will not be pursuing the master agreement."
'Given the inherent volatility, investors should take at least a three to five-year view.'
Large Indian IT services companies are expected to report "muted" sequential show in a traditionally strong second quarter, as macroeconomic challenges continue to weigh on global discretionary spending, say market watchers. The big earnings week for tech heavyweights is up ahead, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) scheduled to announce its results on October 11, and both Infosys and HCL Technologies on October 12. Wipro is slated to declare its Q2FY24 results next week, on October 18.
Indian information technology companies are making a huge splash all across the world.
IT company Wipro on Wednesday reported almost flat growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,667.3 crore for the September 2023 quarter and projected a 3.5 per cent fall in revenue in the current quarter on a weak global economic outlook. The company had posted a profit after tax of Rs 2,649.1 crore a year ago. Its lower IT services growth estimate for the December 2023 quarter by 3.5-1.5 per cent is in the range of $2,617-2,672 million in constant currency terms or about Rs 21,642.59 -- Rs 22,097.44 crore.
The key proposals from the IT industry that were not addressed included removal of dual levies on software products
The edtech major promised a learning revolution, offering hope to millions of under-educated youth. Now, those dreams are shattered, observes Devangshu Datta.
Indian IT services company Infosys on Thursday said all its employees in Israel are safe. Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Infosys CEO and MD Salil Parekh said its employees in Israel are primarily locals but declined to comment on the exact staff strength there. The company further said it is "saddened" by the situation unfolding in the region.
Corporate earnings got a big boost from the fall in commodity and energy prices in July-September 2023 (Q2FY24) despite a slowdown in revenue growth during the quarter. The combined net profits of 3,123 firms that have declared their results so far were up 38 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 3.07 trillion in Q2FY24, up from Rs 2.24 trillion a year ago. Earnings were, however, down 3.5 per cent on a sequential basis from Rs 3.18 trillion in April-June (Q1) FY24.
Stake sales by promoters and private equity/venture capital (PE/VC) investors this year are already exceeding twice those of last year. So far this calendar year, the selling stands at over Rs 87,400 crore, 2.2 times the Rs 39,700 crore worth of shares sold by promoters and PE/VCs in 2022. This year's tally has received a boost from stake sales by Adani group promoters.
The combined net profit of "early bird" companies, those that have declared their quarterly results, rose for the third consecutive quarter in July-September 2023 (Q2FY24). But the figures suggest a continued slowdown in revenue growth and stagnation in earnings over recent quarters. This slowdown is severe for companies in the manufacturing and non-financial service sectors.
Network services provider GTL has sold its enterprise network services and managed services business to Orange Business Service, an arm of France Telecom, for about Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) in cash.
'It will drive a lot of surrounding business, that is where we see some good projects coming in.'
'...which is possible through flexicap and multicap funds.' 'The latter has a better balance between large, mid and smallcap stocks.'
Corporate India reported high double-digit growth in net profit for the fourth consecutive quarter in October-December 2023 (Q3FY24), driven by margin gains from lower prices of raw material and energy.
