Stocks to Focus: Vedanta, Tata Power, Raymond, Gland Pharma, PFC, Cummins India

Stocks to Watch on Wednesday, August 7th: Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 are expected to open higher despite mixed global signals. As of 6:31 AM, GIFT Nifty futures were up 84 points, trading at 24,140.5, indicating a positive start for the Indian stock markets. Asian markets began the day lower, with Japan's Nikkei down 2.18 percent and Australia's ASX200 falling 0.38 percent. However, Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend, gaining 0.80 percent. Traders in Asia are also eagerly anticipating Chinese trade data for July 2024.

Vedanta: The company's consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, increased by 36.5% to Rs 3,606 crore compared to Rs 2,640 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations rose by 5.6% to Rs 35,239 crore. EBITDA increased by 47% year over year to Rs 10,275 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 34%, up from 24% last year. Executive Director Arun Misra highlighted a 47% improvement in EBITDA and a 54% increase in PAT due to improved margins and cost reduction.

Tata Power: The company recorded a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,188.63 crore in Q1FY25, marking a 4% year-over-year increase from Rs 1,140.97 crore. This also reflects a 13% sequential increase from Rs 1,045.59 crore in Q4FY24. Revenue saw a 13.6% rise to Rs 17,293.62 crore from Rs 15,213.29 crore in the previous year. Additionally, EBITDA surged by 11% to Rs 3,350 crore from Rs 3,005 crore. CEO Praveer Sinha emphasized the 19th consecutive quarter of all-time high PAT growth, alongside a clean and green installed capacity of 6.1 GW and another 5.3 GW under execution.

Raymond: The company's consolidated net profit from continuing operations increased by 26.7% to Rs 57.04 crore for Q1FY25 from Rs 45.02 crore last year. Revenue from continuing operations also rose to Rs 937.65 crore from Rs 473.37 crore. The company completed the demerger of its lifestyle business into Raymond Lifestyle Ltd, and its listing is expected in Q2. Chairman Gautam Hari Singhania highlighted the expansion in real estate and the promising performance of the aerospace business following the acquisition of MPPL.

PB Fintech: The parent company of PolicyBazaar, Paisabazaar, and PB Partners reported a net profit of Rs 60 crore for Q1FY25, a significant improvement from a loss of Rs 12 crore in the same period last year. Revenue increased to Rs 1,010 crore, marking a 52% rise from Rs 666 crore last year, largely due to a 62% growth in online business premiums, especially a 78% surge in health and life insurance segments. The total insurance premium for the quarter was Rs 4,871 crore, with renewals and trial ARR at Rs 559 crore, up from Rs 418 crore last year.

Infosys: The Indian government is standing firm on its substantial tax demand for Infosys, the country’s second-largest IT services firm, and is not considering any relaxation. Infosys asked for a ten-day extension to respond to the Rs 32,000 crore tax demand, which is related to services from overseas branches between July 2017 and the fiscal year 2022. This amount is equivalent to 85% of its revenue for the quarter ended on June 30. Infosys stated that the demand for the fiscal year 2018, amounting to Rs 38.98 billion, has been settled.

Gland Pharma: The company's net profit for Q1FY25 decreased by 25.9% year-over-year to Rs 143.8 crore, while its revenue increased by 16% to Rs 1,401.7 crore. The EBITDA also decreased by 10% to Rs 264.4 crore. Despite challenges from the European holiday season and maintenance shutdowns, the company plans to expand through acquisitions and new product launches.

Bosch: The company's net profit for Q1 FY25 increased by 13.8% year over year to Rs 465.4 crore, with revenue rising by 3.8% to Rs 4,316.8 crore. EBITDA also saw an 11.1% increase to Rs 519.7 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 12%. Sales in the automotive segment grew by 4.1%, power solutions by 2.3%, mobility aftermarket by 8.1%, and beyond mobility by 5.8%, driven by consumer demand and market growth.

Lupin: The company recorded a 77.2% year-over-year increase in net profit, reaching Rs 801.3 crore for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. Revenue also saw a 16.3% rise, reaching Rs 5,600.3 crore. EBITDA increased by 22.9% to Rs 1,240.9 crore. Lupin has plans for consistent growth with significant investments in research and development and capital expenditure, despite a slight decline in share price after the results were announced.

Reliance Industries: Reliance Jio has announced that it will be discontinuing its popular Rs 395 and Rs 1,559 prepaid plans. These plans were known for offering unlimited 5G data and extended validity. The discontinuation will be effective from July 3, 2024, following a substantial tariff increase. The Rs 395 plan provided 84 days of validity, while the Rs 1,559 plan offered 336 days, both with unlimited 5G data. As part of the tariff increase, the base plan's price will see a 22% rise from Rs 155 to Rs 189. Additionally, there will be similar price hikes across various plan categories. For example, the 1 GB per day plan will increase from Rs 209 to Rs 249, and the 2 GB per day plan will rise from Rs 299 to Rs 349.

Power Finance Corporation: The company's consolidated net profit for Q1FY25 increased by 20% to reach Rs 7,182.06 crore, up from Rs 5,982.14 crore in the previous year. Total income also saw a boost, rising to Rs 24,736.68 crore from Rs 21,017.81 crore. Additionally, the board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 3.25 per equity share. The record date for eligibility is August 30, 2024, and the payment will be made by September 5, 2024.

IIFL Finance: The company reported a loss of Rs 23 crore for Q1FY25, down from a profit of Rs 151 crore last year. Revenue was flat at Rs 1,012 crore, affected by RBI’s ban on gold loans, resulting in a 35% reduction in its gold loan book to Rs 6,265 crore. To ensure financial stability, the company raised Rs 1,271.83 crore through an equity rights issue.

Gujarat Gas: The company reported a 53% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 330 crore for Q1FY25, up from Rs 215 crore last year. Revenue rose 18% to Rs 4,615 crore from Rs 3,924 crore, driven by robust volume growth. The company added over 37,400 new domestic customers and 200,000 standard cubic meters per day (scmd) volume from new industrial customers.

Canara Bank: The government has appointed Rohit Das as the RBI nominee director on Canara Bank’s board, replacing R. Kesavan with immediate effect. Das, who has 26 years of experience, has worked in various central office departments in Mumbai, including Risk, External Investments and Operations, and Supervision. He held the position of senior supervisory manager for Kotak Group and IDFC Group.

PI Industries: The company's net profit rose by 17.2% YoY to Rs 448.8 crore for Q1FY25, with revenue increasing by 8.3% to Rs 2,068.9 crore. EBITDA experienced a surge of 24.7% to Rs 583.2 crore, and the EBITDA margin stood at 28.2%.

Cummins India: The company's standalone net profit for Q1FY25 saw a 33% year-over-year increase, reaching Rs 419.8 crore, while revenue grew by 4.3% to Rs 2,304.2 crore. EBITDA also experienced a significant surge, rising by 37.2% to Rs 467.4 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 20.3%. Additionally, the board approved the appointment of Shveta Arya as an additional director and managing director designate, effective from August 8, 2024, and as the whole-time managing director from September 1, 2024.

Hindalco: The CBI is probing allegations of green clearance violations for coal mining in Odisha from 2000 to 2013, naming Hindalco Industries and then-MoEF Director T Chandini among the accused. Hindalco allegedly mined 3.045 million tonnes of excess coal, and Chandini allegedly misused her position to aid the company, with further environmental clearance granted in violation of prohibitions in critically polluted areas.

State Bank of India: The government has approved the appointment of Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as Chairman of SBI for a three-year term, effective August 28. Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh has been appointed as Managing Director. Currently, Setty is a Managing Director, and Singh is a Deputy Managing Director at SBI.

Tata Consumer Products: Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund’s Equity Arbitrage Fund purchased 183,768 equity shares of the company, representing 0.02% of the paid-up equity, at an average price of Rs 373.54 per share.

Suzlon Energy: The company is set to acquire a 76% stake in Renom Energy Services from the Sanjay Ghodawat Group in two or more tranches. The first tranche will involve acquiring a 51% stake for Rs 400 crore, and the second tranche will involve acquiring an additional 25% stake within 18 months for Rs 260 crore.

Fortis Healthcare: The company's consolidated Q1 net profit increased by 40.4% year over year to Rs 173.98 crore, compared to Rs 123.95 crore in the same period last year. Revenue also rose by 12.1% to Rs 1,858.9 crore, compared to Rs 1,657.4 crore in the same period last year.

Linde India: The company's consolidated net profit for Q1 increased by 13.8% year-over-year to Rs 113.7 crore, compared to Rs 99.88 crore in the same period last year. However, revenue declined by 9.4% to Rs 653.2 crore from Rs 721 crore in the year-ago period.

Bata India: The company's consolidated net profit for Q1 increased by 62.8% year-over-year to Rs 174 crore, compared to Rs 106.9 crore in the same period last year. Revenue decreased by 1.4% to Rs 944.6 crore, compared to Rs 958.1 crore in the corresponding period last year. Additionally, the company reported exceptional gains of Rs 133.95 crore in the quarter.