Stocks on Focus: Infosys, Wipro, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Securities, ITC, Suzlon, RVNL

Stocks to Watch on Friday, April 19, 2024: Benchmark equity indices may continue their losing streak on Friday due to the tense geopolitical situation, which may keep buyers away during the weekend. At 8:00 am, Gift Nifty futures quoted around 21,730 levels, indicating a likely gap-down of over 300 points on the Nifty 50 due to reports of explosions in Iran and Syria. In India, the first phase of the general elections 2024 will begin today, with voting for nearly one-fifth of a total of 543 Lok Sabha seats across 18 states and 3 Union Territories. Additionally, investors will keep an eye on the Q4 corporate earnings season.

Infosys: Infosys announced on Thursday, April 18 that it had recorded a 30 percent YoY increase in its net profit for Q4FY24, amounting to Rs 7,975 crore, compared to Rs 6,134 crore in Q4FY23. The company's revenue for the quarter was Rs 37,923 crore, indicating a 1.3 percent YoY increase. In terms of constant currency (CC), the revenues remained unchanged YoY and saw a 2.2 percent decrease QoQ. However, Infosys' operating margin, standing at 20.1 percent, decreased 0.9 percent YoY and 0.4 percent QoQ. Infosys also announced its biggest acquisition to date - a $480-million purchase of German engineering research and development firm In-Tech. Despite these positive developments, the company has projected its slowest-ever growth guidance, anticipating revenue growth of 1-3 percent in constant currency terms for FY25 due to its historically weakest full-year dollar-revenue growth of 1.9 percent for FY24.

Wipro: Wipro is expected to report muted earnings for the fourth quarter of FY24, mainly due to a soft demand environment. The company is scheduled to release its Q4 results on Friday, April 19. As per the estimates of five brokerages, Wipro is likely to report a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,746 crore, marking a modest growth of 1.92 percent from Rs 2,694.2 crore in Q3FY24. Wipro's IT services revenue is predicted to witness a sequential growth of 0.18 percent to $2,661 million from $2,656 million. However, in rupee terms, the revenue may experience a slight drop of 0.28 percent to Rs 22,141 crore from Rs 22,205.1 crore QoQ, due to macroeconomic impacts and ongoing weakness in verticals. JM Financial forecasts a -0.2 percent constant currency (CC) revenue growth with a 25 bps cross-currency tailwind, resulting in flat QoQ USD revenue growth for IT Services. The CC growth is likely to be in the upper half of the guided band of -1.5 percent to 0.5 percent.

Bajaj Auto: The company's consolidated net profit for Q4FY24 increased by 18 percent, reaching Rs 2,011.43 crore in comparison to Rs 1,704.74 crore in the same period last year. Additionally, the company's revenue for the January-March quarter increased by 30 percent to Rs 11,249.8 crore, compared to Rs 8,660 crore in the corresponding period last year. For the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024, the company's net profit surged by 33 percent, reaching Rs 7,479 crore in contrast to Rs 5,628 crore in FY23. Furthermore, the company's revenue from operations reached an all-time high of Rs 44,685 crore for FY24, up from Rs 36,428 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal. The automaker's EBITDA for the March quarter also surged by 34.4 percent to Rs 2,307 crore, while operating margins stood at 19.7 percent, increasing by 180 basis points. Lastly, the automaker's board approved a dividend of Rs 80 per share.

ICICI Securities: ICICI Securities has reported its Q4FY24 results, with a consolidated net profit of Rs 536.5 crore, a significant increase from the Rs 262.7 crore profit declared in Q4FY23. The company's consolidated revenue also increased 74.4 percent YoY to Rs 1,543.2 crore, from Rs 884.8 crore posted in the corresponding period last year. Additionally, the company's consolidated EBITDA increased over 96 percent to Rs 1,079.3 crore in Q4FY24, up from Rs 550 crore in Q4FY23. The company's margin for the quarter was 69.9 percent, compared to the 62.2 percent reported in the same quarter a year ago. Furthermore, the company has approved the payment of a second interim dividend of Rs 17 per equity share. The record date for this dividend is April 16, and the dividend amount is expected to be credited on or before May 18.

Tata Motors: Tata Motors plans to invest $1 billion in a new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, India. According to insiders, the plant will mainly focus on producing luxury vehicles under the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) brand. Although the investment was announced back in March, the specific models to be produced were not disclosed at that time. This recent disclosure provides more information about the company's strategic initiative to incorporate JLR further into its operations and utilize the acquisition of the brand in 2008.

ITC: ITC Infotech, a subsidiary of ITC, has announced that it will acquire Blazeclan Technologies for Rs 485 crore. According to an exchange filing on April 18, the acquisition will be finalized in the next 6-8 weeks, subject to standard closing conditions. The acquisition of Blazeclan Technologies, an IT company based in Pune, will enable ITC Infotech to better serve its clients in a multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environment. The company plans to focus on the partner ecosystem to drive future growth.

Suzlon Energy: Suzlon Energy has announced in an exchange filing that the Gujarat High Court has issued an ad interim stay against the penalty of Rs 261 crore, which was levied by the National Faceless Assessment Centre, Income Tax Department, New Delhi in March. The company had been penalized with Rs 87.59 crore for disallowance of the claim of depreciation on goodwill, late payment of the provident fund, and late payment of employees' state insurance during the fiscal year 2015-16 (April–March). Additionally, a penalty of Rs 172.76 crore was imposed for similar reasons in the fiscal year 2016–17. Suzlon Energy Ltd has filed petitions against the penalty order in response to these penalties.

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd: RVNL has signed a MoU with Turkish Engineering Consulting and Contracting-TUMAS India Pvt Ltd, according to an exchange filing. The agreement aims to promote partnership and collaboration in public transportation and infrastructure projects in India. The state-owned railway company was identified as the most competitive (L1) bidder for three contracts at the end of March. In mid-March, it was also awarded a Letter of Award (LoA) for a Rs 106.37 crore project in Madhya Pradesh.

Vodafone Idea: The company has launched a follow-on public offer (FPO) in India, worth Rs 18,000 crore, which has received a promising start on the first day of bidding with a 26 percent subscription. The demand has been primarily driven by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), while the non-institutional investors (NIIs) segment has shown moderate demand and the retail segment has not shown much interest. The QIB segment has seen a good start, with a 61 percent subscription on the opening day, while the NII segment, which includes high-net-worth individual investors, has seen a 28 percent subscription. However, the retail segment has only shown 0.06 percent subscription. The FPO, which is priced at Rs 10-11 per share, will close on Monday, April 22.

Gokaldas Exports: The company started its Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) on Thursday, April 18. The company aims to raise up to Rs 600 crore through this initiative. The floor price has been set at Rs 789.99 per share. The company aims to fortify its financial standing by raising funds from institutional investors. Additionally, the company plans to seize growth opportunities in the vibrant textile industry. This statement was made by the company in an exchange filing.