Equity benchmarks are poised to open higher on Wednesday as the Street awaits the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy outcome. SGX Nifty futures were quoted around 70 points higher at 17,800 at 7:30 am.
The RBI is widely expected to hike rates by 25 basis points after the CPI imprint gradually fell below 6% in November and December. Some experts believe that after raising interest rates today, the central bank may stop the cycle of raising interest rates.
Globally, the US stock benchmark closed 2% higher overnight after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said inflation had begun to ease but still had a long way to go. He also warned that rates could continue to rise if economic data doesn’t cooperate.
Rate sensitives: Rate-sensitive stocks such as banks, non-bank financial companies, real estate or real estate companies and autos may see some action following the RBI rate hike outcome.
Bharti Airtel: The company reported a 91.5% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,588 crore for the October-December quarter of 2022-23. Total revenue for the December quarter (Q3FY23) was up almost 20% year-on-year at Rs 35,804 crore, “supported by strong and consistent performance delivery across the portfolio.
Hero Moto: Hero MotoCorp reported a 2.41% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 721.24 crore in the third quarter of 2022-23 on weak demand, especially in rural areas. Its total revenue grew by 2.05% to Rs 8,300.3 crore in the third quarter (YoY). The company said a cost-cutting (savings) programme and several initiatives in the coming quarters would help improve profitability.
Ambuja Cements: Ambuja Cements’ stand-alone profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 (Q3FY23) rose 46% to Rs 368.99 crore from Rs 252.81 crore in Q3FY2222. Sales were up 7% over the same period. The company’s operating income rose 10% to Rs 4,128.5 crore from Rs 3,739.9 crore a year ago.
Adani Green: Due to higher revenue, Adani Green Energy’s consolidated net profit more than doubled to Rs 103 crore in the December quarter. The company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 49 crore in the same period last year. Total revenue rose to Rs 2,258 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal year from Rs 1,471 crore a year earlier.
ONGC: Oil and Natural Gas Ltd (ONGC) is in talks with global oil majors to infuse state-of-the-art technology into its aggressive exploration in India’s deep waters. ONGC held discussions with US oil and gas major ExxonMobil, Norwegian energy multinational Equinor, US oil services group Baker Hughes and French research organisation Institut Francais du Petrole on various issues, including technology and deep water.
Banks: Global rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s said on Tuesday that Indian banks’ exposure to Adani group companies is insignificant and poses no significant risk to its credit profile. But a statement from Moody’s warned that risks to banks could increase if Adani Group becomes more reliant on loans.
Vodafone Idea: On Tuesday, Vodafone Idea issued 16,130 million shares to the central government, giving it a 33.4% stake in the company. With this, the government has also become the largest shareholder of the telecom company. Operational and management control of the company will remain with the existing promoters.
NDTV: The company said on Tuesday that its third-quarter profit more than halved due to weak advertising demand. The broadcaster’s consolidated net profit fell to Rs 12.9 crore in the third quarter from Rs 27.6 crore a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter fell 9.4% year-on-year to Rs 105.4 crore.
Deepak Nitrite: The company’s net profit slipped 13.8% to Rs 209.1 crore from Rs 242.5 crore a year ago. Revenue rose 15.6% year-on-year to Rs 1,991.1 crore. The operating margin fell to 15.8%, compared with 20.4% in the previous year.
Rail Vikas Nigam: Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for the North Western Railway project worth Rs 694.8 crore. The company is waiting for the letter of award.
PC Jeweller: A consortium of four banks, IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Bank of India and Karur Vysya Bank, has issued a loan recall notice to the company. Legal proceedings between the State Bank of India (the lead bank) and the company are continuing, and the next hearing date has been set for February 28, 2023.
Sobha: The company reported a 48% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit to Rs 31.8 crore in the December quarter, hit by poor operating results. However, revenue for the quarter rose 40% year-on-year to Rs 868.2 crore, with quarterly sales reaching an all-time high of 1.48 million sq ft.
BSE: The stock exchange reported that profit for the December quarter fell 15.7% year-on-year to Rs 51.64 crore. Revenue for the quarter rose by 5.77% to Rs 204 crore as compared to the same period last year. Operating margin fell 1,079 basis points year-over-year to 19.13% in the quarter. The Board has approved the divestment of a 2.5% stake in Central Depository Services (India) through an Offer for Sale (OFS).
Thermax: The company reported a 59% year-on-year rise in profit to Rs 126.2 crore in the quarter ending FY23, driven by solid performance across all three business units (energy, environment and chemicals). Revenue for the quarter rose 27% year-on-year to Rs 2,049 crore, while margins expanded by 86 basis points year-on-year.
