Stocks to Watch: LIC, RIL, Cipla, HCL Tech, Hero MotoCorp, Biocon
Here are the top 10 stocks that could be in focus in trade:
LIC: State-run Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) recorded a 14-fold year-on-year jump in net profit at Rs 9,543.7 crore for the first quarter of FY24, even though the country's largest insurer has been witnessing a shrink in its market share in terms of new business premium. The super-normal growth in net profit is primarily attributed to a base effect and a change in accounting entry, involving a transfer of funds from non-participating policies to shareholders'' account as a part of accretion on the available solvency margin, according to a regulatory filing.
Reliance Industries: The shares of the demerged Jio Financial Services (JFSL) have been credited to the Demat account of eligible shareholders of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The following development took place days ahead of the listing of JFSL. It said that the shareholders of RIL have been rewarded with one share of the JFSL for every share of RIL they owned as of the record date of 20 July.
Hero MotoCorp: Hero Moto Corp reported a profit of 32% at Rs 825 crore in Q1 of FY24. In the corresponding period of the previous year, Hero Moto Corp had reported Rs 624.5 crore in Q1FY23, it said in a stock regulatory filing. On a YoY basis, the company's revenue from operations for the quarter stood at Rs 8,767 crore vs Rs 8,393 crore reported in Q1FY23 and the total income reported a 6% rise at Rs 8,989 crore in Q1 of FY24 against Rs 8,446 crore reported in Q1FY23. The firm said it sold 13.53 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters in Q1FY24.
Cipla: Yusuf Khwaja Hamied, chairman of Cipla, called all reports of stake sales by the promoters “speculative." “I would like to inform you as the chairman of Cipla, that all the news that you are hearing is speculative and all the clarifications for this have been made to the stock exchange... And whatever information given to the stock exchange is in the public domain and is public knowledge," said the chairman during the 87th Annual General Meeting.
HCL Tech: On August 10, HCLTech announced a substantial $2.1-billion agreement with Verizon Business, aimed at delivering managed network services to its global enterprise clientele. This significant deal arrives as a boost for the third-largest IT services company in the country, following a lackluster performance in the April-June quarter. HCLTech's deal wins for Q1FY24 totaled $1.56 billion, marking a noteworthy decline from the company's order book that exceeded $2 billion in the preceding seven quarters.
Shree Renuka/EID Parry/Balrampur Chini: The government set the minimum monthly sales quota for sugar mills at 90% of their allocated quota to prevent mills from selling either more or significantly less than what they are allocated each month. The move is aimed at keeping sugar prices in check ahead of the festival season. Ex-mill sugar prices across India have risen 6.5% since mid-March and about 4% in the last year. But prices have been stable for a week now, hovering at Rs 3,510-3,700 a quintal in the key cane-growing states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, spot trade sources said.
Biocon: Biocon reported a decline of 30 percent in net profit at Rs 101 crore, compared to Rs 144 crore in the corresponding period last year. The pharma major's revenue from operations in the first quarter of the current fiscal stood at Rs 3,422.6 crore, registering a rise of 60%, compared to Rs 2,140 crore in the year-ago period. At the operating level, the company's EBITDA jumped 79% to Rs 714.4 crore in the June quarter compared to Rs 399 crore in the same quarter last year. EBITDA margin stood at 20.9% in the reporting quarter, compared to 18.7% in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
Apollo Tyres: Apollo Tyres said its consolidated net profit jumped two-fold to Rs 397 crore for the June quarter against Rs 177 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit, boosted by lower rubber costs and robust domestic auto sales across markets. Revenue from operations for the quarter increased 5% to close at Rs 6,245 crore in the June quarter, as against Rs 5,942 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.
Samvardhana Motherson: Auto components maker Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (SAMIL) said its consolidated net profit jumped over four-fold to Rs 601 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2023. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 141 crore for the April-June quarter of last fiscal. Total revenue from operations rose to Rs 22,462 crore in the June quarter as against Rs 17,654 crore in the year-ago period, SAMIL said in a regulatory filing.
Pidilite Industries: Pidilite Industries, the adhesives manufacturer, reported strong growth of 31.5% in its net profit for the quarter ended June 2023 at Rs 473.7 crore from Rs 357.5 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s consolidated revenue in Q1FY24 rose 5.6% to Rs 3,275.1 crore from Rs 3,101.1 crore YoY. On a standalone basis, net sales at Rs 2,952 crore grew by 6% over the same quarter last year. The underlying volume growth of the company was 8%.
