Stocks to Focus: RIL, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Vedanta, IRCTC, Yes Bank, EMS

Stocks to Watch today, July 22, 2024: The Indian stock markets' benchmark indices -- BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- are expected to open weak on Monday. At 7:05 AM, GIFT Nifty futures indicated a gap-down of over 100 points. The weakness follows last Friday's profit booking, below-par June quarter results by Reliance Industries, and the announcement of incumbent US President Joe Biden dropping out of the November 2024 elections. Globally, Nikkei and Kospi were down over 1 percent each, Shanghai Composite 0.8 percent each, and Hang Seng 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, the markets are gearing up for the Economic Survey 2023-24, Union Budget 2024-25, monthly F&O expiry for the July series, Q1FY25 results, and the release of US GDP data this week.

Reliance Industries: In Q1, the company's consolidated profit decreased to Rs 17,448 crore from Rs 18,182 crore, while revenue grew by 11.5 percent to Rs 2,57,823 crore from Rs 2,31,132 crore. EBITDA rose by 2 percent to Rs 42,748 crore from Rs 41,906 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 16.6 percent, down from 18.1 percent. Jio Platforms' profit increased by 11.7 percent to Rs 5,698 crore from Rs 5,101 crore, and revenue rose by 12.8 percent to Rs 34,548 crore from Rs 30,640 crore. Reliance Retail Ventures' profit climbed by 4.6 percent to Rs 2,549 crore from Rs 2,436 crore, and revenue increased by 8.1 percent to Rs 75,615 crore from Rs 69,948 crore. Furthermore, oil to chemicals revenue spiked by 18.1 percent to Rs 1,57,133 crore from Rs 133,031 crore, and oil & gas revenue surged by 33.4 percent to Rs 6,179 crore from Rs 4,632 crore.

HDFC Bank: The bank's standalone profit decreased by 2 percent to Rs 16,174.8 crore in Q1FY25, down from Rs 16,511.85 crore. Revenue increased by 2.6 percent to Rs 29,837.1 crore from Rs 29,076.8 crore. Provisions decreased significantly to Rs 2,602 crore from Rs 13,511.6 crore. The gross NPA ratio went up to 1.33 percent from 1.24 percent, while the net NPA ratio increased to 0.39 percent from 0.33 percent.

Wipro: The company's IT services revenue decreased by 0.8 percent to Rs 21,896.3 crore in Q1FY25 from Rs 22,079.6 crore. IT services EBIT fell by 0.4 percent to Rs 3,605.7 crore from Rs 3,619.5 crore. The margin increased by 10 basis points to 16.5 percent from 16.4 percent. Dollar revenue decreased by 1.2 percent to USD 2,625.9 million from USD 2,657.4 million. The company anticipates that its revenue from IT services business will be in the range of $2,600-2,652 million in Q2 versus Q1.

Kotak Mahindra Bank: In the first quarter, the bank's standalone Year-over-Year (YoY) profit increased by 81 percent to Rs 6,249.8 crore from Rs 3,452.3 crore. Revenue also went up by 9.8 percent to Rs 6,842.4 crore from Rs 6,233.7 crore. Provisions rose to Rs 578.5 crore from Rs 364.3 crore. The Gross NPA ratio remained steady at 1.39 percent (quarter-over-quarter), while the Net NPA ratio increased to 0.35 percent from 0.34 percent (quarter-over-quarter).

Vedanta: The company has successfully closed its Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) issue, raising Rs 8,500 crore by selling 19.31 crore equity shares at Rs 440 per share. The issue attracted participation from institutional investors, including Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale, SBI MF, Nippon MF, ICICI Mutual Funds, and Copthall Mauritius Investment.

Union Bank of India: The bank's first quarter standalone profit increased by 13.7 percent year over year in Q1FY25 to Rs 3,679 crore from Rs 3,236 crore in the same period last year. Net interest income grew by 6.5 percent to Rs 9,412 crore from Rs 8,840 crore. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio fell to 4.54 percent from 4.76 percent quarter over quarter (QoQ), and the net NPA ratio declined to 0.90 percent from 1.03 percent QoQ.

IRCTC: The government has announced the upgradation of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) from ‘Schedule B’ to ‘Schedule A' category, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE).

JSW Steel: The company's first-quarter consolidated profit for the fiscal year 2025 dropped by 64.3 percent year-over-year to Rs 867 crore from Rs 2,428 crore. Revenue increased by 1.7 percent to Rs 42,943 crore from Rs 42,213 crore. EBITDA decreased by 21.8 percent to Rs 5,510 crore from Rs 7,046 crore. The margin fell by 390 basis points to 12.8 percent from 16.7 percent.

RBL Bank: The bank's standalone profit increased by 29 percent year-on-year to Rs 372 crore in Q1FY25 from Rs 288 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. Net interest income rose by 20 percent to Rs 1,700 crore from Rs 1,422 crore, and the net interest margin improved to 5.67 percent from 5.53 percent. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio increased to 2.69 percent from 2.65 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), while the net NPA ratio remained unchanged at 0.74 percent (QoQ).

JK Cement: The company's consolidated Q1FY25 profit surged by 66.9 percent YoY to Rs 184.8 crore, from Rs 110.7 crore in the same quarter the previous year, while revenue increased by 1.6 percent to Rs 2,807.6 crore from Rs 2,762.6 crore.

Yes Bank: The bank's standalone profit in the first quarter of FY25 increased by 46.7 percent year over year to Rs 502 crore from Rs 343 crore in the same quarter the previous year. Net interest income rose by 12.2 percent to Rs 2,244 crore from Rs 2,000 crore. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio remained steady at 1.7 percent quarter over quarter, while the net NPA ratio decreased to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent quarter over quarter.

JSW Energy: The company’s consolidated profit surged by 84 percent YoY to Rs 534.2 crore in Q1FY25 from Rs 290.4 crore int he same quarter the previous year. Revenue declined by 1.7 percent to Rs 2,879.5 crore from Rs 2,927.9 crore.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company: The company’s first-quarter profit jumped by 48.7 percent year over year to Rs 580.4 crore from Rs 390.4 crore. Gross premium written increased by 19.8 percent to Rs 7,931 crore from Rs 6,622.1 crore. The combined ratio decreased to 102.3 percent from 103.8 percent.

Patanjali Foods: The company's standalone profit surged by 199.6 percent YoY to Rs 262.9 crore from Rs 87.8 crore in the previous year's quarter. Revenue decreased by 7.6 percent to Rs 7,173 crore from Rs 7,767.1 crore.

CreditAccess Grameen: The company’s standalone profit increased by 14.8 percent year-over-year to Rs 397.7 crore from Rs 346.3 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. Revenue rose by 28.7 percent to Rs 926.8 crore from Rs 720.3 crore.

Tejas Networks: The company's consolidated profit decreased by 47.2 percent quarter over quarter to Rs 77.5 crore in Q1FY25 from Rs 146.8 crore in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, revenue increased by 17.8 percent to Rs 1,562.8 crore from Rs 1,326.9 crore.

EMS: The company has received a Letter of Acceptance from the Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development Agency for the development of the water supply and sewerage system in Vikas Nagar, Dehradun. The order value is Rs 535.19 crore, and EMS holds a 95 percent share along with another joint venture partner for an 18-year operation and maintenance (O&M) period.