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Benchmark equity indices ended with modest gains as IT, metal and FMCG stocks advanced during the week. However, losses in banking and pharma stocks capped gains. For the week, the Nifty 50 index rose 0.49% to 17,944.20 and the Sensex closed 0.53% higher at 60,002.57.
In broader markets, the BSE Midcap index fell 0.82% to 24,685.27, while the BSE Smallcap index declined 0.77% to 28,046.40.
Top gainers among Nifty sectoral indices were Oil & Gas [0.87%], Energy [0.64%], IT [0.6%], Metal [0.59%], and FMCG [0.28%]. Top losers were Media [-2.77%], PSU Bank [-2.77%], Realty [-2.69%], Pharma [-1.4%], and Private Bank [-1.3%].
For the week, FIIs were net buyers for Rs 4,005.9 crore and DIIs were net buyers for Rs 2,735.1 crore in the cash segment.
Indian rupee fell 11 paise to 82.83 against the US dollar on Friday.
Company News
HDFC: The company concluded the sale of 10-year non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 25,000 crore, marking the largest domestic rupee bond issuance by a corporate in India. The housing finance company said the bonds would carry an annualised coupon rate of 7.97%. The 10-year benchmark government bond yield closed at 7.35% in the secondary market.
ONGC: The state-owned oil & exploration company has recorded a 26% year-on-year growth in standalone profit at Rs 11,045 crore for the quarter that ended December FY23. Revenue for the quarter at Rs 38,583.3 crore increased by 35.5% over a year-ago period, with crude oil price realization growing 26%. The board members have declared a second interim dividend of Rs 4 per share.
Nestle India: The FMCG major posted a 66% YoY rise in net profit at Rs 628 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 2022. The profit stood at Rs 379 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The company’s sales rose 14% to Rs 4,233 crore in the December quarter, compared with Rs 3,715 crore in the same quarter of last year. EBITDA stood at Rs 973 crore for the fourth quarter ended December, up 14% from Rs 851 crore in the same quarter of last year.
The company, which follows a January-December financial year, said its board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 75 per equity share for the year 2022.
For the full year, the company has reported a net profit of Rs 2,390 crore, while net sales stood at Rs 16,970 crore.
Adani Enterprises: The company’s consolidated net profit was Rs 820 crore in Q3FY23 as against a loss of Rs 11.63 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations increased 42% YoY to Rs 26,612.23 crore. EBITDA increased by 101% YoY to Rs 1,968 crore.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise: The healthcare services provider has registered a 33.3% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 162.3 crore for the third quarter of FY23, impacted by weak operating performance. Revenue for the quarter at Rs 4,264 crore increased by 17.2% over a year-ago period. On the operating front, EBITDA fell 14% YoY to Rs 505.35 crore with a margin down by 428 bps for the quarter. The board declared an interim dividend of Rs 6 per share.
Bharat Electronics (BEL): The state-owned aerospace and defence electronics company and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel’s leading aerospace and defence company, have concluded the MoA to form a joint venture subject to requisite statutory approvals and processes. The JV aims at a single point of contact for extending long-term product support services for India’s Defence Forces and providing life cycle support for MRSAM air-defence systems in the country. The new venture will have its headquarters in New Delhi and provide the required technical and maintenance support to the Armed Forces.
In other news, BEL has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, to work together in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and other emerging technologies.
Separately, BEL has signed an MoU with Globals ITES for co-operation in technology development, co-creation and co-innovation, joint marketing and sales, in the fields of cyber warfare and cyber defence systems.
GAIL (India): The gas distributor is looking to buy an equity stake of up to 26% in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction plant or project in the United States, Reuters reported citing a document issued by the company. It did not say how much the Indian gas distributor had earmarked for any possible deal. In addition, GAIL, directly or through any of its affiliates, is interested to source 1 million tonnes per annum LNG from the LNG liquefaction plant or project on a free-on-board basis for a period of 15 years on mutually acceptable terms and conditions, the company said.
UPL: The company announced the completion of investment of Rs 1,580 crore ($200 Mn) by ADIA,TPG and Brookfield for 9.09% stake in UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions (UPL SAS). The investment will be utilised towards debt reduction target of $500 million by the end of March 2023.
PVR: The theatre operator announced the opening of eight screen multiplex at Phoenix Citadel Mall in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. With this launch, PVR has 1,642 screens at 354 properties in 113 cities (India and Sri Lanka). The cinema is equipped with advanced Laser Projection system for razor-sharp visuals, Dolby Atmos surround sound experience, 3D powered by Volfoni Smart Crystal Diamond solution.
Torrent Power: The Power company has recorded a whopping 86% year-on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 685 crore for the three-month period ended December FY23 as revenue grew by 71% YoY to Rs 6,443 crore during the quarter. On the operating front, EBITDA for the quarter at Rs 1,444 crore increased by 54.6% over a year-ago period, but the margin declined 239 bps in the same period. The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 22 per share including Rs 13 per share as a special dividend for FY23.
PI Industries: The company reported a 58.04 percent increase in net profit at Rs 351.80 crore for the December quarter of FY23 from the year-ago period.PI Industries’ sales were up 18.94 percent at Rs 1,613.20 crore in the December quarter. It had reported sales of Rs 1,356.30 in the year-ago quarter.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL): The company has an order book position of Rs 84,000 crore and another Rs 50,000 crore worth of orders are in the pipeline, its Chairman and Managing Director C B Ananthakrishnan said on Tuesday. He also said Argentina and Egypt have shown interest in buying the HAL-built Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’. While Argentina’s requirement is 15 aircraft, Egypt wanted a fleet of 20 LCAs, Ananthakrishnan told a press conference on the sidelines of Aero India 2023.
Meanwhile, Safran Helicopter Engines and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has signed a workshare agreement for the joint development of the engine intended for the future 13-ton IMRH (Indian MultiRole Helicopter) and its naval version DBMRH (Deck Based Multi-Role Helicopter).
Grasim Industries: The company’s net profit nearly halved to Rs 237 crore in Q3FY23 from Rs 489 crore in Q3FY22. Its revenue was up 7.1% to Rs 6196 crore in the reported quarter as against Rs 5784 crore in the year-ago period. EBITDA fell 48.1% to Rs 478 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 921.4 crore in Q3FY22.
ITC: The company closed 3.27% higher after the media reported that the government does not plan to sell its indirectly held stake in ITC. “The government does not plan to sell its indirectly held stake in ITC at this point,” Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), said. The government held 97.45 crore shares, or a 7.86% stake, in ITC via the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI).
Bharat Forge: The company’s net profit fell 14.3% to Rs 289 crore in Q3FY23 from Rs 337.3 crore in Q3FY22. Its revenue rose 22% to Rs 1952 crore Q3FY23 from Rs 1602 crore in Q3FY22. Its EBITDA jumped 31.2% to Rs 535 crore in Q3FY23 from Rs 408 crore in the year-ago period.
Bosch: The company’s net profit was up 35.8% at Rs 318.9 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 234.8 crore in Q3FY22. Revenue was up 17.7% to Rs 3,660 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 3,109.1 crore in Q3FY22. EBITDA was up 13% at Rs 403.8 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 357.4 crore in Q3FY22.
JSW Steel: The company reported a 15% rise in crude steel production at 18.91 lakh tonnes in January. The company’s crude steel production was at 16.46 lakh tonnes (LT) in January 2022. The production of its flat-rolled products increased by 14% to 14.24 LT over 12.47 LT in January 2022. Its output of long-rolled products also registered a growth of 14% YoY to 4.25 LT in January 2023. The overall capacity utilisation was higher at 99% in January 2023 from 96% in December 2022.
UltraTech Cement: The company announced commissioning of 1.30 MTPA brownfield cement capacity at Hirmi in Chhattisgarh, and 2.80 MTPA greenfield grinding capacity at Cuttack in Odisha. This is a part of the ongoing capacity expansion. With this, company’s total cement manufacturing capacity in India now stands at 126.95 MTPA.
Biocon: The biopharmaceutical company has posted a consolidated loss of Rs 41.8 crore for the December FY23 quarter as against a profit of Rs 187.1 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal as there was the one-time loss of Rs 271.4 crore during the quarter. Consolidated revenue grew by 35.3% YoY to Rs 2,941 crore driven by growth across key segments (generics, biosimilars, and research services). At the operating level, EBITDA surged 32% YoY to Rs 644.3 crore but the margin declined 55 bps on higher input costs for the quarter.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL): The steel production company has registered a 64.5% YoY decline in net profit at Rs 542 crore for the quarter ended December FY23. Revenue for the quarter at Rs 25,042 crore fell by 0.8% compared to the same period last year. At the operating level, EBITDA for the quarter dropped by 39% YoY to Rs 2,078.5 crore with its margin down by 517 bps.
Eicher Motors: The automaker’s net profit surged by 62.4% to Rs 740.8 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 456.1 crore in Q3FY22. Its revenue rose 29.2% to Rs 3721 crore in Q3FY23 from Rs 2881 crore in Q3FY22. Its EBITDA rose 47.2% to Rs 857.2 crore in Q3FY23 from Rs 582 crore in Q3FY22.
Vodafone Idea (VIL): The telecom company has started fresh talks with key lenders, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and HDFC Bank, to refinance Rs 3,000-4,000 crore of loans, Economic Times reported citing bankers familiar with the matter. Refinancing of some debt will help free up cash for Vi, which urgently needs to pay substantial vendor dues – to tower companies like Indus Towers and network equipment makers such as Ericsson and Nokia.
Balkrishna Industries: Shares of fell 11.6% in intraday trading after the tyre firm’s consolidated net profit for the October-December quarter dropped 68% YoY to Rs108.38 crore from Rs 339 crore in the corresponding period last year. Its revenue from operations increased marginally by around 6% to Rs 2,165.57 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 2,045.81 crore in Q3FY22. EBITDA stood at Rs 314.26 crore, falling 44.84% from Rs 569.69 crore in the year-ago period.
Godrej Industries: The company’s net profit more than doubled Rs 314.6 in Q3FY23 as against Rs 144.4 in Q3FY22. Revenue was up 9.1% to Rs 3,842.6 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 3,514.6 crore in Q3FY22. EBITDA rose 53.9% YoY to Rs 373.2 crore in Q3FY23 as against Rs 242.5 crore in Q3FY22.
Fortis Healthcare: The company reported a 11% YoY rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 129.56 crore in Q3FY23 and a 6.4% YoY rise in revenue from operations of Rs 1559.88 crore in Q3FY23. Revenue from the Hospitals business rose by 13.3% YoY to Rs 1,267.4 crore, while net Diagnostics revenue declined by 11% YoY to Rs 292.4 crore in the quarter ended December 2022. EBITDA fell 1.9% to Rs 288.1 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 293.6 crore in Q3 FY22. Average revenue per occupied bed was Rs 2.02 crore, up 8.4% YoY and Average length of stay was 3.77 day, up 7.1% YoY in the quarter ended December 2022.
Economy News
Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 6.52% in January 2023, after declining to a one-year low of 5.72% in December 2022, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday. Core inflation, which is excluding food and fuel inflation, stood at 6.2% in January 2023.
India’s annual wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation eased to 4.73% in January 2023 as compared to 4.95% registered in December 2022 and 13.68% in January 2022. The drop in the inflation rate in January 2023 is primarily contributed by mineral oils, chemicals & chemical products, textiles, crude petroleum & natural gas, textiles, and food products, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.
India’s merchandise exports continued to drop in January 2023, falling to $32.91 billion from $35.23 billion in January 2022. Exports in December 2022 stood at $34.48 billion. Imports of goods declined in January 2023 to $50.66 billion from $52.57 billion in January 2022, as per the data released by the Commerce Department. During April-January 2022-23 period, exports increased 8.5% to $369.25 billion, while imports increased 21.89% to $602.2 billion.
India’s trade deficit narrowed to $17.75 billion in January, compared with $23.76 billion in December 2022.
Global Markets
In the US, major equity indices ended mixed as investors gauged positive signals against concerns over higher inflation and rising interest rates. The Dow fell 0.13%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.28% and the Nasdaq rose 0.59%.
The US Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 0.5% in January, as expected, versus a revised 0.1% increase in December. The inflation rate stood at 6.4% on a yearly basis, higher than expected but the slowest pace since October 2021. Annual core inflation (less food and energy costs) was 5.6%, also modestly above expectations but its slowest pace since December 2021.
The producer price index rose 0.7% in January 2023, its biggest gain since June 2022, while core producer prices increased 0.5%. However, producer prices continued their steady and steep fall since June on a year-over-year basis, declining from 11.2% to 6%. The US wholesale prices rose 0.7% in January, indicating the country’s persistent high inflation.
Meanwhile, the US retail sales increased 3% in January 2023 after declining by 1.1% in December 2022, the Commerce Department said.
Manufacturing output increased 1% last month, the Federal Reserve said. Data for December was revised down to show production at factories declining 1.8% instead of the previously reported 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the UK CPI data showed inflation fell for the third month in a row January to hit 10.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics. The unemployment rate in the UK remained unchanged at 3.7% during the October – December 2022 period, according to data released by the country’s statistics agency.
Japan’s major equity indices ended with mixed returns for the week, with the Nikkei 225 index falling 0.57%, while the Topix index gaining 0.25%. Investors’ sentiments were also dampened by Japan’s economy rebounding less than expected over the final quarter of last year. Japan’s economy expanded by 0.6% on an annualized basis for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government nominated Kazuo Ueda for its next Bank of Governor, media reports stated. The government also nominated Ryozo Himino and Shinichi Uchida as deputy governors , the report said.
Chinese markets fell for a third consecutive week as investors were worried over escalating geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington that is likely to weigh on China’s economic growth. The Shanghai Stock Exchange index dropped 1.12%, while the CSI 300 eased 1.75% and the Hang Seng index fell 2.22%.