Stocks in Focus: Tata Consumer, Dr Reddy's, HUL, Lupin, ICICI Pru., Tata Elxsi

Equity markets seem to be continuing their winning streak on Wednesday, buoyed by strong global sentiment. Today, the markets will be guided by a range of factors, including Q4FY24 results, foreign flows, the trajectory of oil prices, and bond yields. As of 7:25 AM, Gift Nifty futures were trading 78 points higher at 22,450 levels.

Tata Consumer Products: The company reported a 22.5 percent decline in net profit on Tuesday, April 23. The net profit for Q4FY24 was Rs 267.7 crore, down from Rs 345.6 crore in Q4FY23. However, the company's operational revenue for the quarter increased by 8.5 percent to Rs 3,927 crore in A4FY24 from Rs 3,619 crore in Q4FY23. From an operational standpoint, the company's EBITDA for the March quarter was Rs 629.6 crore, marking a 23 percent growth from the Rs 511.7 crore reported in the same period last year. Additionally, its EBIT margin increased by 160 basis points to 16 percent, compared to 14 percent in the year-ago period. The group's net profit before exceptional items stood at Rs 427 crore, a 46 percent increase driven by robust operational performance and one-time tax credits during the quarter. Furthermore, the company's board proposed a final dividend of 775 percent for FY24, translating to Rs 7.75 per equity share of Rs 1 each, subject to shareholders' approval.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories: The pharmaceutical company has announced its decision to withdraw six lots of a medication designed to lower blood phenylalanine (Phe) levels from the US market as a proactive measure due to subpotency. The company is recalling specific lots of Sapropterin Dihydrochloride Powder for Oral Solution 100 mg at the consumer level because of powder discoloration in some packets, which has led to reduced potency. The issue was identified during an ACCelerated stability test, and customers have also reported it. The reduced effectiveness of the medication could result in increased Phe levels in patients. Persistently high Phe levels in infants and children can cause permanent neurocognitive deficits such as irreversible intellectual disability, developmental delay, and seizures.

Hindustan Unilever: HUL is expected to report moderate earnings growth for the fourth quarter of FY24, with the results expected to be announced on April 24. The company's revenue is expected to grow by 1.16 percent to Rs 15,067 crore in Q4FY24, up from Rs 14,893 crore in the same period last year, according to the average estimates of five brokerages. The company's volume growth for the quarter is expected to be around 3 percent. HUL's net profit for the quarter ending March 2024 is projected to increase by 2.71 percent to Rs 2,538 crore, up from Rs 2,471 crore year-on-year. On the operational front, the company's EBITDA for Q4FY24 is expected to rise by 0.60 percent to Rs 3,492 crore, up from Rs 3,471 crore year-on-year. The EBITDA margin is estimated to remain steady at 23.2 percent year-on-year, due to increased advertising expenditures and higher other expenses.

Lupin: The company announced on Tuesday that it has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US FDA for its manufacturing facility in Aurangabad. The inspection, which took place from 6 March to 15 March, resulted in the facility being classified as Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI) by the drug regulatory authority. In a separate regulatory filing, Lupin disclosed that a Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 6, 2024. The agenda includes reviewing and recording the audited financial results for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024, and discussing potential dividend recommendations.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance: The company announced a decrease in its new business margin on Tuesday due to a sustained drop in demand for high-value policies. The Value for New Business (VNB), which is the projected profit from new policies, dropped by 19.5 percent to Rs 22.27 billion ($267 million) for the year ending March 31. This resulted in the VNB margin falling to 24.6 percent from 32 percent the previous year. The linked segment accounted for 43.2 percent of the overall product mix by Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) for the year, according to ICICI Prudential. The company's APE sales increased by 4.7 percent for the year. The insurer reported a net premium income growth of 17 percent to Rs 147.88 billion for the three months ending March 31. However, the company's profit after tax for the fourth quarter decreased by 26 percent to Rs 1.74 billion from the previous year.

RIL, Amara Raja, JSW Energy: The Ministry of Heavy Industries has announced that it has received seven bids for the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme, which aims to produce 10 GWh (gigawatt-hour) Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC). The government's press statement highlighted the significant industry response, as the number of bids received is seven times the manufacturing capacity to be awarded. The tender attracted bids from companies like Amara Raja Advanced Cell Tech, Reliance Industries, JSW Neo Energy, Lucas TVS, Waaree Energies, ACME Cleantech Solutions, and Anvi Power Industries. These companies jointly bid for a total capacity of 70 GWh. In January, MHI had issued a Request for Proposal to shortlist and select bidders under the PLI Scheme for setting up ACC Manufacturing Units. The proposed scheme has a total manufacturing capacity of 10 Giga Watt Hour (GWh) with a budget allocation of Rs 3,620 crore.

Tata Elxsi: Tata Elxsi, a company in India, reported a 4.6 percent decrease in net profit for Q4FY24, falling to Rs 197 crore from Rs 206.4 crore in Q3FY24 on Tuesday, April 23. The company also saw a slight decrease of 1 percent in operational revenue for the quarter, dropping to Rs 906 crore from Rs 914.2 crore in the December quarter. However, the company's revenue from operations rose by 13 percent YoY to Rs 3,552 crore. On an operational basis, the company's EBITDA for the March quarter was Rs 233.7 crore, a 4.5 percent decrease from Rs 244.7 crore in the December quarter. The EBIT margin increased to 25.8 percent, up from 26.8 percent in the preceding quarter. The EBITDA margin was at 29.5 percent, and the PBT margin was at 28.5 percent. Moreover, the Profit before Tax (PBT) grew by 11.9 percent to Rs 1048.7 crore, crossing the Rs 1,000 crore-mark for the first time in a full year, subject to shareholders' approval.

Larsen & Toubro: On Tuesday, L&T announced that it had manufactured a hydrotreating reactor for the Antonio Dovali Jaime Refinery in Salina Cruz, Mexico. The reactor was produced at L&T's A M Naik Heavy Engineering Complex in Hazira, Gujarat and then shipped to Mexico. The reactor is made up of crucial Cr-Mo-V metallurgy and is based on technology developed by Axens, a French company. What's remarkable is that the reactor was manufactured at the Hazira Complex in just 15 months, setting a record. The reactor uses a hydrotreating process, which is a catalytic conversion technique used in petroleum refining. This process is particularly effective in removing impurities like nitrogen and sulfur compounds from hydrocarbon streams.

MCX: The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) has announced that it has finally turned a net profit of Rs 87.8 crore for the January-March quarter of FY24. This comes after two consecutive quarters of losses. The commodity derivatives market segment exchange saw a 35 percent YoY increase in its revenue, reaching Rs 181.1 crore. However, the exchange experienced a 5.42 percent sequential decrease in its revenue, falling from Rs 191.53 crore in the December quarter. For FY24, MCX reported a significant 44.2 percent decrease in its net profit, dropping to Rs 148.97 crore from the previous fiscal year. On Tuesday, the company also declared a final dividend of Rs 7.64 per equity share for FY24.

IIFL Finance: IIFL Finance has announced that it will undergo a special audit, as directed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), starting from April 23rd. The audit is a part of RBI's supervisory measures to address concerns about certain loan disbursement practices. To ensure a satisfactory completion of the audit, the company has suspended the issuance of new gold loans. IIFL Finance has also stated that it is fully cooperating with the special audit team.

Tata Power: On Tuesday, Juniper Green Energy announced that it has partnered with Tata Power to develop an 85 megawatt hybrid power project in Maharashtra. This project marks the first time that the company is venturing into the wind-solar energy sector, as it will combine 51 MW of wind energy with 34 MW of solar power. Juniper Green Energy has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tata Power for this 85 MW hybrid power project in Maharashtra. The project is expected to generate a total of 215 million units (MUs) of electricity annually, which will provide power to approximately 42,753 households.

Cyient DLM: The company has reported a significant increase of 23.3 percent in its consolidated net profit for Q4FY24, amounting to Rs 22.7 crore, as compared to Rs 18.4 crore in the previous quarter of the same fiscal year. It has also witnessed an impressive YoY increase of 80.7 percent in its net profit, from Rs 12.6 crore in the same period last year. The company's revenue has sequentially risen by 12.7 percent to Rs 362 crores, as compared to Rs 321 crore in the previous quarter. On a yearly basis, the total consolidated revenue has increased by 30.5 percent from Rs 277.4 crore. In FY24, Cyient DLM's profit after tax (PAT) has seen a significant increase of 92.9 percent, reaching Rs 61.2 crore as compared to Rs 31.7 crore in the previous fiscal year. The company's FY24 revenue stood at Rs 1,192 crores, marking a YoY growth of 43.2 percent. Additionally, it has reported an FY24 EBITDA of Rs 111 crores, with a margin of 9.3 percent and a YoY growth of 26.5 percent.

Nelco: Nelco Ltd, a satellite services company under the Tata Group, recently announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ending on March 31, 2024. The company reported a net profit of Rs 6.1 crore, which is a 7 percent YoY increase from the previous year's net profit of Rs 5.7 crore. However, the company saw a slight decrease of 0.5 percent in its operational revenue, which dropped to Rs 81.6 crore from Rs 82 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. On the operational level, the company's EBITDA increased by 12.5 percent, rising to Rs 14.7 crore in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year from Rs 16.8 crore in the same period of the previous year. The EBITDA margin for the reporting quarter was 18 percent, compared to 20.5 percent in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The board of directors has proposed a final dividend of Rs 2.