Pre Market Analysis: Dalal Street may open lower; RIL, BPCL, United Spirits and Airtel in news today

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL): A joint venture of RIL and energy supermajor BP has opened one of the country’s largest EV charging hubs in Delhi, as they scale up the fuel retail network, offering multiple fuel choices including EV charging infrastructure. They are working with multiple demand aggregators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology partners with a vision of being the leading EV charging infrastructure player in India.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL): The company said it will invest Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years in setting up city gas distribution networks in the cities for which it secured licences in the latest bidding round. BPCL recently won licences to retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas for cooking purposes in six geographical areas or GAs bid out in the latest 11th bidding round of PNGRB.

United Spirits Ltd: The liquor maker reported a 26.62 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 291.1 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021, compared with a net profit of Rs 229.9 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue from operations rose 7.64 per cent to Rs 8,854.5 crore, as against Rs 8,226 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Airtel: The telecom operator is looking to onboard a strategic investor through allocation of preferential equity shares, which is scheduled to be discussed at its board meeting on January 28. Jefferies Equity Research said in a report that there is no immediate need for capital for Airtel and the issuance will dilute the promoter stake in the company.

Raymond Ltd: The company reported a jump in its net profit to Rs 101.07 crore for the third quarter ended in December 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 22.18 crore during the October-December of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations was up 48.25 per cent to Rs 1,843.39 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 1,243.44 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Cipla: The company reported higher profit at Rs 756.88 crore in Q3FY22 against Rs 751.6 crore in Q3FY21, revenue increased to Rs 5,478.86 crore from Rs 5,169 crore YoY.

Meanwhile, the drug major said Naina Lal Kidwai has resigned as independent director on its board, with effect from March 31, 2022. In a letter shared by the drug firm, the banker noted that she has put in her papers to fulfil several other responsibilities and professional commitments.

RPG Life Sciences: The company’s net profit increased 14 per cent to Rs 14.63 crore for the third quarter of FY22 compared with a net profit of Rs 12.87 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations rose to Rs 116.19 crore in the third quarter as compared to Rs 107.72 crore in the year-ago period.

Shriram Transport Finance Company: The company said its collection efficiency returned to 100 per cent in the second half of January after undergoing a brief blip in the first fortnight. Its Managing Director Umesh Revankar said the collection rates would rise in February and March as more people get vaccinated and the Omicron variant was less impactful on business than originally feared.

Macrotech Developers: The realty firm saw a minor impact on housing demand in the first two weeks of January this year due to surge in COVID cases and remains confident of meeting the Rs 9,000-crore sales bookings target for this fiscal, its MD & CEO Abhishek Lodha said. He also said the company has increased prices by an average 4-5 per cent so far this fiscal.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals: The company said its consolidated net profit declined by 16 per cent to Rs 249 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021 on account of muted performance in the US market. The drug maker had posted a net profit of Rs 297 crore in the October-December period of 2020-21 fiscal. The company’s revenue from operations in the third quarter stood at Rs 2,108 crore as compared to Rs 1,995 crore in the same period of previous fiscal.

Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL): The government has valued the 30 per cent stake of state-run TCIL in Bharti Hexacom at around Rs 8,900 crore, based on a formula suggested by SBI Capital Markets, an official source said. Bharti Airtel holds 70 per cent stake in Bharti Hexacom. The valuation formula has been suggested by SBI Capital Markets (SBI Caps) and the government will decide on the time for exit after the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) approves the proposal.

Vedanta Ltd: The company will announce the contours of a proposal to spin off key businesses into separate listed companies by March-end, its chairman Anil Agarwal said, as he looks to simplify and streamline the corporate structure to create value. The company is looking at tailoring its capital structure and capital allocation policies based on business-specific dynamics.

Allcargo Logistics: The private logistics player announced the appointment of Mahindra Group’s former executive board member V S Parthasarathy as its vice-chairman with immediate effect. His role as the company’s non-executive non-independent vice-chairman will be to guide, mentor and help drive its transformation, the company said.

Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL): The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 87.21 crore for the quarter ended December as against a net profit of Rs 80.58 crore in the year-ago period. Total income fell to Rs 355.59 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal, from Rs 756.81 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Cosmo Films Ltd: The packaging firm reported a 66.41 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 104.42 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021, helped by lower finance cost and effective tax rate. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 62.75 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago. Revenue from operations was at Rs 770.53 crore, up 34.64 per cent from Rs 572.31 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Neogen Chemical: Shares of the company have more than doubled in the past one-year period after the Centre announced production-linked incentives (PLIs) for specialty chemical manufacturers. The company specialises in bromine-based compounds, grignard reagents and inorganic lithium salts.