Stocks Watch List: Vedanta, LIC Housing Finance, Reliance Industries, Signature Global, SJVN

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are expected to begin trading flat on Monday, March 4, 2024. However, increasing GST tax collections in February and positive global cues may lend some strength. As of 7:20 am, the Gift Nifty futures were nearly unchanged at 22,500 levels, which suggests a tepid open.

Vedanta: Vedanta Resources, the parent company of Mumbai-based mining giant Vedanta Limited, has announced its intentions to reduce its debt by up to $3 billion over the next three years. This information was disclosed by a senior official at an analyst meeting. The company has no plans to renew its loans in the coming years. "Our priority is deleveraging. We plan to reduce Vedanta Resources’ debt by $3 billion in the next three years. The pre-growth capex cash flow of Vedanta Ltd is projected to be USD 3.5-4 billion for the fiscal year 2025, which is adequate for secured debt maturities of USD 1.5 billion", said Navin Agarwal, Vice Chairman of Vedanta Ltd and a member of the Promoter Group at an analysts’ meeting, reported PTI.

LIC Housing Finance: The company plans to raise funds for eco-friendly housing projects by issuing green bonds in the upcoming fiscal year. “In the upcoming year, we will explore green financing and utilize the funds for financing green housing projects," said Tribhuwan Adhikari, Managing Director and CEO of LIC Housing Finance, reported PTI. The company has planned a board meeting on March 7th to talk about their borrowing strategy for the fiscal year 2024-2025. LICHFL is optimistic about reaching a net profit of Rs 5,000 crore by the end of the current financial year due to strong loan demand and expansion in non-core business. Adhikari added this information.

Reliance Industries: The company, led by Mukesh Ambani, is planning to explore pumped storage projects (PSP) for hydroelectric power, with a strong emphasis on clean energy, as per two insiders. Reliance New Energy, a subsidiary of the company, is actively seeking appropriate locations for these ventures, according to the sources. "RIL is in the process of identifying potential PSP sites and intends to participate significantly in bidding for these projects," said one of the two individuals.

Signature Global: Signature Global, a real estate firm, announced on Sunday that it has sold more than 1,000 apartments in its luxury housing project located in Sector 37D of Gurugram. This has generated over Rs 3,600 crore in revenue for the company. The success of this project is attributed to the strong demand for residential properties, especially in the luxury segment. In a regulatory filing, the company revealed that it had achieved sales exceeding Rs 3,600 crores even before the official launch of its latest premium residential development project, 'DE LUXE-DXP'.

SJVN: On Sunday, the state-owned power production company made an announcement that its subsidiary, SJVN Green Energy, has won a 200 MW solar project from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam. The project will be developed on a build-own-and-operate basis and is expected to cost Rs 1,100 crore. According to a company statement, SJVN secured the 200 MW capacity through tariff-based competitive bidding for the development of solar projects in the 1,125 MW Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) Solar Park located at Khavda, Gujarat.

Godrej Properties: A real estate developer has recently finalized the agreements to build a township project in North Bengaluru. The project will cover 62-acres and is going to work on a profit-sharing basis. The developer anticipates that this project will provide 5.6 million square feet of saleable area, with an estimated booking value of Rs 5,000 crore. The company plans to initiate the first phase of development on this land in the forthcoming fiscal year.

Coal India: Officials from Coal India have expressed confidence in achieving their target of producing 780 million tonnes of coal for the fiscal year 2023-24. This is noteworthy because recent media reports suggested that the company may fall short of its target by 10 million tonnes. During a stakeholders meeting aimed at informing mining equipment manufacturers about the growing demand for their products, company representatives clarified that previous statements about potentially missing the target had been misinterpreted. In fact, the company has set an ambitious target of producing 838 million tonnes of coal for the following year, which is a 7.5 percent increase compared to the 2023-24 target.

Lupin: Lupin Digital Health (LDH) is a platform that specializes in digital therapeutics for cardiac rehabilitation. The company aims to increase its customer base by ten times in the coming year by expanding its reach to new cities and partnering with additional hospitals, according to Sidharth Srinivasan, CEO of Lupin Digital Health, in an interview with Mint. In the interview, Srinivasan emphasized that the platform has successfully completed its trial phase and demonstrated that digital therapeutics can significantly improve patient outcomes, even for those with serious cardiac conditions, in the Indian context. The company has already onboarded around 5,000 paying patients within nine months, with over 2,000 patients still in the trial period.

Britannia Industries: Varun Berry, who holds the position of Vice-Chairman and Managing Director at Britannia Industries, has stated that the company is exploring the possibility of entering into joint ventures to expand its product line into high-margin categories such as chocolates, fresh dairy, and salty snacks. Britannia Industries is well-known for its popular biscuit brands, Marie Gold and Good Day. The company has engaged the services of Bain & Co., a global consulting firm, to develop a data-driven strategy that will enable it to enter the market more aggressively.

Tata Motors, Tata Steel: Tata Motors has recently introduced a new generation of commercial vehicles that run on green fuels. The lineup includes Prima tractors, tippers, and the Ultra EV bus, which uses Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and battery electric technologies. These vehicles were unveiled during the Tata Group’s Founder’s Day celebrations in Jamshedpur, and N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, presided over the event. They were handed over to Tata Steel’s delivery partners for transporting steel products and raw materials.