Category: News

Godrej Consumer Products wrapped up its December 2024 quarter with numbers that painted a mixed picture. Net profit took a hit, sliding 14.28% year-on-year to ₹498 crore, down from ₹581 crore the previous year. While total revenue inched up 3% to ₹3,749 crore, it wasn’t enough to offset the challenges brewing in its key segments. Home Care posted a modest 4% growth, and Personal Care revenues rose by just 2%, both trailing behind expectations. The regional story had its own twists. Indonesia shone with a 9% YoY revenue growth to ₹508 crore, while Africa, the USA, and the Middle East faltered, with revenue dipping 8% YoY to ₹771 crore. Latin America was the dark horse, delivering a whopping 165% surge to ₹262 crore, showcasing its potential as a growth engine. Margins, however, bore the brunt of the raw material surge. Rising palm oil prices put a squeeze on the EBITDA margin, which dropped to 22.6%—a sharp fall from last year’s 29%. Personal wash volumes didn’t help either, slipping mid-to-high single digits, although price hikes partially cushioned the blow. Sudhir Sitapati, the company’s MD and CEO, was candid about the headwinds. Urban consumption has hit a rough patch, and soaring palm oil costs—up over 40%—are biting into profitability. Yet, he pointed out gains in market share for premium insecticides and a focus on trimming wasted costs as signs of resilience. With an interim dividend of ₹5 per share and an eye on long-term sustainable growth, GCPL is playing a balancing act between navigating current pressures and setting the stage for recovery.

Pidilite Industries had a bright start to the trading session on Thursday, with its share price jumping nearly 9% to hit an intraday high of ₹2,992.70 on the BSE. This surge came on the heels of the company’s strong Q3FY25 results announced the previous day. By 10:20 AM, the stock was trading 8.5% higher at ₹2,988, reflecting investor optimism. For the December quarter, Pidilite reported a 9% YoY rise in consolidated net sales to ₹3,357 crore, excluding contributions from Pidilite USA and Pulvitec Brazil. Profit after tax (PAT) stood at ₹557 crore, also up 9% YoY, while EBITDA before non-operating income rose 8% to ₹798 crore. On a standalone basis, net sales climbed to ₹3,085 crore, with PAT increasing by 2% to ₹535 crore and EBITDA growing 6% to ₹749 crore. Brokerages weighed in positively on the results. Nuvama Wealth Management retained its “Buy” rating, commending the company’s 9.7% overall volume growth. The Consumer & Bazaar (C&B) segment saw a solid 7.3% growth, while the B2B segment soared with a 21.7% volume increase, driven by industrial and project verticals. Nuvama also noted a 145-basis-point YoY improvement in gross margin, though EBITDA margins stayed flat.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) delivered a standout performance in Q3FY25, with consolidated net profit surging more than threefold to ₹2,543.65 crore from ₹712.84 crore a year earlier. This marked a significant rebound from the ₹142.67 crore profit posted in the previous quarter. While gross refining margins (GRMs)—a key profitability metric for refiners—fell to $6.01 per barrel from $8.49 per barrel a year ago, the company’s downstream fuel retailing earnings skyrocketed. The freeze on fuel prices, initially a pre-election move, turned into a strategic cushion for refiners as global crude oil prices declined. Operational highlights include processing 6.47 million tonnes of crude oil during the quarter, up from 5.34 million tonnes a year ago, and achieving a record quarterly sales volume of 12.87 MMT, an 8.2% growth year-on-year. Total sales for the April-December period hit an all-time high of 37.12 MMT, registering a 7.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023. HPCL’s statement attributed the strong results to robust operational efficiencies in both refining and marketing, alongside improved margins. Despite the dip in GRMs, the company has demonstrated resilience, leveraging operational scale and marketing strength to drive profitability. As HPCL navigates a mix of regulatory constraints and market dynamics, its strong sales growth and operational efficiency signal a well-positioned trajectory in India’s competitive energy landscape

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is gearing up for a bold fundraising move, aiming to secure ₹5,000 crore through a qualified institutions placement (QIP) in multiple tranches. The Navratna PSU announced its board’s green light for the plan on January 23, with a condition: the President of India’s stake—managed via the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy—mustn’t dip by more than 7% post-issue. Financially, IREDA’s momentum looks solid. The company’s Q3FY25 net profit jumped 27% YoY to ₹425.38 crore, while revenue surged 35.6% to ₹1,698.45 crore. Its net interest income (NII) also soared, climbing 39% to ₹622.3 crore.  IREDA sanctioned ₹31,087 crore worth of loans in the quarter—a 129% leap from last year—and disbursed ₹17,236 crore, up 41% YoY. Its loan book has now ballooned to ₹69,000 crore, marking a 36% YoY growth. Investors, however, have had a mixed year with the stock. From a low of ₹121 in March to a peak of ₹310 in July, IREDA shares have seen wild swings. Currently, the stock trades 35% below its high but still holds a 66% gain from its low.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) shares took a sharp 4% dive on Thursday, hitting an 8-month low of ₹2,254. Investors reacted strongly to the FMCG giant’s cautious outlook on the consumption goods market, even as the company reported modest sales growth of 2% YoY for Q3FY25. Despite a revenue increase to ₹15,195 crore from ₹14,928 crore in the same quarter last year, underlying volume growth (UVG) disappointed across key segments like Beauty and Wellbeing, Personal Care, and Foods, with only Home Care holding steady. While net profit surged 19% YoY to ₹3,001 crore, thanks to gains from the Pureit divestment, profit excluding exceptional items stagnated at ₹2,540 crore. Adding to concerns, EBITDA margins narrowed slightly to 23.5%, down by 20 basis points. The results underline HUL’s ongoing struggles with urban demand sluggishness and weak consumer sentiment. Even with slight pricing improvements and strategic moves like the Minimalist acquisition, analysts remain skeptical of HUL’s ability to reignite growth in the short term. For now, the stock’s movement hinges on tangible signs of recovery in consumer demand and operational efficiency gains.

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) closed the third quarter of FY25 with a sparkling performance, posting a 73% leap in consolidated net profit at ₹562 crore, up from ₹325 crore in the same period last year. The magic formula? A hefty tax reversal of ₹66 crore and slashed fuel costs—down to zero from ₹281 crore a year ago. Revenue from operations surged 28% year-on-year to ₹5,830.3 crore, while total income touched ₹6,000.39 crore, riding high on robust project wins and operational efficiencies. AESL’s CEO, Kandarp Patel, hailed the quarter as a testament to the company’s growth streak, emphasizing its expanding market share and dominance as India’s largest private transmission player. Among the headline wins was the Rajasthan Phase III Part-I HVDC project—a mammoth ₹25,000 crore venture that stands as the largest in AESL’s history. Together with the Khavda Phase IV project, these additions have catapulted the company’s under-construction pipeline to an eye-popping ₹54,761 crore, a significant jump from ₹17,000 crore earlier this fiscal year. Operationally, the transmission segment remains a star performer, boasting a 92% EBITDA margin and adding 225 circuit kilometers this quarter, raising the total to 25,778 CKM. Meanwhile, the Mumbai distribution business added more consumers, now reaching 3.17 million, thanks to reliable and affordable power. The capex for the first nine months of FY25 stands at ₹7,475 crore, underscoring AESL’s ambitious growth plans.

In the world of European rates, the action is heating up. Traders are making bold options bets on the European Central Bank delivering at least a half-point rate cut by mid-2025. Three-month Euribor options expiring in June are in focus. According to Bloomberg data, volumes reached nearly 600,000 contracts on Wednesday, with open positions surging 75% to hit almost 2 million contracts. The stakes are massive. One standout wager could yield a €11 million payout—25 times the initial outlay—if the ECB slashes its deposit rate by 125 basis points across the next four policy meetings. This would require at least one half-point cut, a scenario that, not long ago, seemed more like a forecast than a gamble. ECB policymakers, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, hinted at their intention to keep trimming rates as inflation edges toward the 2% mark. Markets are already pricing in a quarter-point cut at the upcoming January 30 meeting, with three more reductions anticipated by June. That’s not all—swaps suggest the ECB could deliver a total of four cuts by year-end. With markets evenly split on whether the Fed will cut rates once or twice in 2025, the outlook remains murky. ING strategists, however, see room for greater Fed easing, a dynamic that could pressure the ECB to go even further.

In the world of European rates, the action is heating up. Traders are making bold options bets on the European Central Bank delivering at least a half-point rate cut by mid-2025. Three-month Euribor options expiring in June are in focus. According to Bloomberg data, volumes reached nearly 600,000 contracts on Wednesday, with open positions surging 75% to hit almost 2 million contracts. The stakes are massive. One standout wager could yield a €11 million payout—25 times the initial outlay—if the ECB slashes its deposit rate by 125 basis points across the next four policy meetings. This would require at least one half-point cut, a scenario that, not long ago, seemed more like a forecast than a gamble. ECB policymakers, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, hinted at their intention to keep trimming rates as inflation edges toward the 2% mark. Markets are already pricing in a quarter-point cut at the upcoming January 30 meeting, with three more reductions anticipated by June. That’s not all—swaps suggest the ECB could deliver a total of four cuts by year-end. With markets evenly split on whether the Fed will cut rates once or twice in 2025, the outlook remains murky. ING strategists, however, see room for greater Fed easing, a dynamic that could pressure the ECB to go even further.

Strides Pharma Science lit up the charts on Thursday, with its share price surging over 9% after the company announced that OneSource Specialty Pharma Ltd. received final listing and trading approval. The stock climbed to ₹637.25 on the BSE, a jump of 9.55%, as investors cheered the development. Starting January 24, OneSource will make its debut on both the NSE and BSE, marking a significant milestone in Strides Pharma’s restructuring journey. The spotlight is on Strides’ decision to demerge its Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) business into OneSource, a move approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in 2024. This demerger, part of a broader strategy to unlock value, included separating the oral soft gelatin business and rebranding the CDMO unit as OneSource. Shareholders of Strides benefitted from the arrangement, receiving one equity share in OneSource for every two held in Strides, with the record date for this allocation set at December 6, 2024. By the end of the process, Strides shareholders collectively owned 44% of OneSource. The broader picture for Strides Pharma has been mixed. Over the past month, the stock has dropped more than 10%, and it’s down 16% over three months. Yet, the long-term story remains strong. The stock has delivered stellar returns of 100% over the past year and nearly 290% over two years, cementing its status as a multibagger.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest domestic institutional investor, has increased its stake in the public sector railway stock Container Corporation of India (CONCOR). Between September 2024 and January 21, 2025, LIC’s shareholding rose by 2.028%, bringing its stake from 7.78% to 9.809%. This translates to an increase from 4.74 crore shares to 5.97 crore shares, with nearly 40 lakh shares acquired in January alone. LIC made these purchases via open market transactions, signaling its confidence in CONCOR’s long-term prospects despite the stock’s recent struggles. As of its last close at ₹755.45 per share on the BSE, LIC’s stake in the company is valued at approximately ₹4,515 crore. The stock, however, has had a rough ride, declining 15% over the past year. It’s also down 3% in the past month, 12% over the last three months, and a steep 26% in the past six months. CONCOR has announced that its board will meet on January 30, 2025, to discuss the December quarter results and consider declaring a third interim dividend for FY25. This upcoming announcement could be a potential catalyst for the stock’s performance in the near term. LIC’s increased stake amid the downturn highlights its faith in the company’s resilience, perhaps anticipating a turnaround fueled by earnings, dividends, or strategic developments in the railway sector.