The country's biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, has raised concerns about the continuing slide in small car sales.
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.
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.
Second quarter numbers hint at a rocky road ahead with a slowdown in discretionary categories set to continue.
'We are seeing signs of improvement in rural overall in terms of demand, but I would still keep my fingers crossed.'
TVS Motor Company met expectations in terms of revenue and posted a strong margin performance in Q1FY25. The key drivers were material cost savings and a better mix. The domestic demand outlook looks good with a rural rebound but geopolitical uncertainties in key export markets may dent overall growth.
With over 10 deals announced in 2024, the cement sector logged the highest number of pacts, including acquisitions and fresh financial investments, in a single calendar year since 2014, with the combined value of investments over $3.5 billion. During the year so far, 11 deals have been announced, according to Bloomberg data.
Google says its AI models are being used across sectors in India, from improving maternal health programmes and streamlining patient-care to supporting agri-tech solutions and advancing the country's sovereign AI efforts.
'About $8.5 billion in free cash, about $3 billion as annual debt refinancing, and $3 billion-4 billion in fresh borrowing. An additional $1.6 billion-1.8 billion will come from development profits in 2025-26.'
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) reported 6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) consolidated net revenue growth in Q4FY24 to Rs 3,385 crore and this was impacted adversely by currency movement. The constant currency (CC) growth would have been 30 per cent Y-o-Y in Q4FY24. India business clocked 12 per cent Y-o-Y revenue growth (5 per cent of it organic) with volume growth of 15 per cent Y-o-Y (7 per cent organic).
Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday posted 24 per cent increase in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 1,169 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025 riding on higher margins backed by better product mix, parts revenue and cost effectiveness. The company had reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 943 crore in January-March FY24.
Realtor Godrej Properties Limited (GPL) is present in top real estate markets such as Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, and Bengaluru. In the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), NCR contributed 36 per cent, Bengaluru 17 per cent, and MMR 27 per cent to revenues with the rest 20 per cent coming from Pune, Hyderabad, etc.
Tata Motors (TaMo) is aiming to gain market share across its passenger vehicle (PV) and commercial vehicle (CV) businesses - targeting a 40 per cent share in CVs and a 16 per cent share in PVs by 2027. Meanwhile, it has already achieved earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) breakeven in its electric vehicle (EV) business at 1.2 per cent (up 830 basis points), ahead of its target of 2025-26 (FY26).
Power utilities may report moderate growth in earnings for Q3FY25. Generation is up 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q3 on lower cooling demand and high base, to 429 billion units (BU). Peak demand was steady at 224 Gw in Q3FY25, a 10 per cent decline from the record highs of 250 Gw in May 2024.
ITC stock slipped over 4 per cent on Thursday (February 8) after British American Tobacco (BAT) said it could sell some of its stake in the company, recovering partially in trade. The stock of the cigarette-to-hotels conglomerate traded at Rs 420 levels, rising 1.3 per cent in intraday deals as compared to the S&P BSE Sensex that traded flat for most part of the day. The development, meanwhile, saw Jefferies downgrade the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' earlier with a target price of Rs 430, down a huge 17.3 per cent from its earlier price target of Rs 520.
Balance-level delinquencies in the credit card segment saw a 17 basis points (bps) year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in the quarter ending June 2024 (Q1FY25). In all other credit segments, including personal loans, delinquencies declined even as retail credit growth moderated, consequent to banks tightening the supply of credit to the unsecured segments, a report by TransUnion CIBIL said on Monday. Data shows that balance-level delinquencies, measured in terms of 90 days or more past due, in the credit card segment stood at 1.8 per cent in Q1FY25- highest among all other credit segments.
JSW Paints, part of $23 billion JSW Group, on Friday said it will acquire majority controlling stake in Akzo Nobel India Ltd (ANIL), the maker of Dulux paints, for Rs 8,986 crore. It will acquire 74.76 per cent stake from its Dutch promoters/holding entities -- namely Imperial Chemical Industries and Akzo Nobel Coatings International BV -- for a consideration of Rs 8,986 crore, according to a statement from the JSW Group firm.
Passenger vehicle retail sales witnessed 3 per cent on-year decline in May with customers delaying purchases in several states due to India-Pakistan conflict and further softening of demand for entry-level models, dealers' body FADA said on Friday. The passenger vehicle registrations last month stood at 302,214 units, as compared to 311,908 units in May 2024.
The government has been stringent with pricing changes. Prices of 651 essential medicines came down from April 1, 2023 by 6.73 per cent with the government capping ceiling prices of these drugs.
Major Indian carmakers are preparing for sluggish domestic PV sales growth of just 1-2 per cent in FY26.
'My job is to provide people with a bouquet of options they can choose from.'
The recent price correction in broader markets has hit cement companies hard. So far in the current month, smallcap firms like Visaka Industries, Andhra Cements NCL Industries, Sahyadri Industries, and KCP have lost 19.7 per cent, 14.3 per cent, 13.8 per cent, 13.5 per cent, and 11.5 per cent, respectively. On the contrary, largecap companies, while registering losses for the month, have seen a softer blow.
Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India on Monday reported a dip in passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers in the domestic market last month as the companies tried to adjust vehicle inventory amid slowing demand. Maruti Suzuki India said it "calibrated supplies" to the dealers, aligning with the industry's retail sales projections amid India-Pakistan conflict and a dip in sales of entry-level cars.
Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Maruti, Tata Motors, ITC, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were also among the gainers. Nestle, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and Titan were among the laggards.
While demand for sub Rs 50-lakh affordable housing prevails, market players cite increased land rates, escalated construction costs and low margins as key prohibiting factors.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (IPRU) disappointed the market even though some analysts said the Q3FY25 results were in line. Most analysts cut margin estimates. The insurer reported M9FY25 growth of 8.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in value of new business (VNB) premium to Rs 1,575 crore, while total annual premium equivalent (APE) grew 27.2 per cent to Rs 6,910 crore.
'Our approach has been to work with consumers and help them drink better, not more.'
India's major ports registered a 4.3 per cent rise in cargo handling to 855 million tonnes in 2024-25, an official statement said on Tuesday. The increase in traffic was driven by higher container throughput (10 per cent), fertiliser cargo handling (13 per cent), POL cargo handling (3 per cent), and handling of miscellaneous commodities (31 per cent) compared to the previous fiscal year, according to the statement.
German carmaker Volkswagen will be driving in its two globally acclaimed performance models Golf GTI and Tiguan R-line in India as part of its steps to enhance brand positioning in the country, a senior company official said on Monday.
State-owned Engineers India and MECON as well as four private entities are in the fray for the project to comprehensively revamp RBI's currency management infrastructure in order to cater to future cash needs of the country's fast growing economy. The four private entities are: Accenture Solutions; Colliers International (India) Property Services; PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Boston Consulting Group (India).
Rising penetration of trade generic medicines is eating into the value growth of the domestic pharmaceutical market, showed a recent analysis. According to a Kotak Institutional Equities analysis, 70-110 basis points (bps) annual dent is expected from trade generics and Jan Aushadhi on Indian Pharma Market (IPM) growth at least until FY27-28 (see chart). Trade generic medicines are those that are not pushed into the market through doctor promotions.
The stocks are largely from sectors such as chemicals, finance and cement, which struggled earlier but the worse seems to be behind them.
India's exports grew marginally by 0.7 per cent to $41.97 billion in March, while the trade deficit stood at $21.54 billion in the month, the latest government data showed on Tuesday.
Dabur India has been the worst performer in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space this year (CY23), posting a 1 per cent decline even as its peer index, the Nifty FMCG, has delivered returns of over 29 per cent in this period.
Retailers are set to end a prolonged period of sluggish sales as the end-of-season sales (EOSS) coincide with the upcoming long weekend. Apparel and lifestyle retailers have faced challenges since the festival season last year. However, with EOSS, which began in June, sales have started to recover, showing noticeable improvement in July and August.
Overall automobile retail sales in India grew a modest 2.95 per cent in April this year to 22,87,952 units with completion of purchases by customers around Chaitra Navratri, Akshay Tritiya, Bengali New Year, Baisakhi and Vishu helping April end on a positive note, Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations said on Monday.
'Today, we have 2 million active drivers earning through our platform every month.'
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.
The country's Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry witnessed a consumption slowdown in the December quarter, with an overall "negative" volume growth, as consumers continue to reel under inflationary pressure, says a report. According to the report released by data analytics firm NielsenIQ on Thursday, in October-December, the FMCG industry grew 7.6 per cent in terms of value but its volume growth was (-) 0.3 per cent. "... Overall FMCG volume growth is negative, the absolute values, as well as volumes, continue to be above pre-Covid levels across markets," it said.
A cocktail of heatwave and upcoming cricketing events is expected to usher in the peak season for the country's largest beer maker, United Breweries. The beer maker, which has gained share in some key markets, will be a major beneficiary as April to July is an important period contributing to 40-45 per cent of its annual beer volumes. Going ahead, the T20 Cricket World Cup in June and the ongoing IPL will have a positive impact on volumes and should be able to offset the negative impact of elections on sales, experts believe.
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