Key benchmark indices edged higher on first trading day of the week after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced Open Market Operations to ease the strain on liquidity in the banking system and as investors welcomed Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's economic vision for India in a speech delivered on Sunday, 19 January 2014. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, garnered 141.43 points or 0.67%, off 16.32 points from the day's high and up 203.92 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, once again turned positive from negative in late trade. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose more than 1%, outperforming the Sensex.
Indian stocks snapped 2-day losing streak today, 20 January 2014. The Sensex had lost 225.87 points or 1.06% in two trading sessions to settle at 21,063.62 on Friday, 17 January 2014, from a recent high of 21,289.49 on 15 January 2014. The Sensex has risen 34.37 points or 0.16% in this month so far (till 20 January 2014). From a 52-week low of 17,448.71 on 28 August 2013, the Sensex has risen 3,756.34 points or 21.52%. From a record high of 21,483.74 hit on 9 December 2013, the Sensex is off 278.69 points or 1.29%.
Coming back to today's trade, index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower as the company's net profit remained flat in Q3 December 2013 due to fall in gross refining margins (GRM). UltraTech Cement shrugged off the company's weak Q3 result. Wipro hit 52-week high on strong Q3 result. HCL Technologies scaled record high. Infosys extended recent gains triggered by the company raising its revenue growth guidance for the year ending 31 March 2014.
Investors cheered Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's economic vision for India in his speech on Sunday, 19 January 2014, wherein he said that if the BJP comes to power after Lok Sabha elections, his emphasis will be on urbanisation, infrastructure and inflation control and said his wish list also includes setting up 100 new smart cities and introduction of bullet trains to all four corners of the country.
The Sensex reversed initial gains on weak Asian stocks. The Sensex hit one-week low. The 50-unit CNX Nifty hit its lowest level in almost a week. Key benchmark indices regained positive terrain and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. The Sensex trimmed gains after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The Sensex further trimmed intraday gains in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices retained positive zone in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex extended gains in late trade.
The S&P BSE Sensex garnered 141.43 points or 0.67% to 21,205.05, its highest closing level since 16 January 2014. The index jumped 157.75 points at the day's high of 21,221.37 in late trade. The index declined 62.49 points at the day's low of 21,001.13 in early trade, its lowest level since 13 January 2014.
Also Read
The CNX Nifty garnered 42.30 points or 0.68% to settle at 6,303.95, its highest closing level since 16 January 2014. The index hit a high of 6,307.45 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 6,243.35 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 14 January 2014.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1818 crore, lower than Rs 3133.56 crore on Friday, 17 January 2014.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, once again turned positive from negative in late trade. On BSE, 1,407 shares rose and 1,238 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged. Earlier, the market breadth had turned negative from positive in mid-afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.79%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The S&P BSE IT index (up 2.83%), the S&P BSE Teck index (up 2.5%), the S&P BSE FMCG index (up 1.08%), the S&P BSE Bankex index (up 0.75%), the S&P BSE Auto index (up 0.72%) and the S&P BSE Realty index (up 0.7%) outperformed the Sensex.
The S&P BSE Power index (up 0.54%), the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index (up 0.33%), the S&P BSE Healthcare index (up 0.28%), the S&P BSE Metal index (up 0.24%), the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.12%), the BSE PSU (down 0.01%) and the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (down 0.96%) underperformed the Sensex.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 17 stocks rose and rest fell.
Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher, with the stock recovering from Friday's post-result slide. The stock was up 1.59% at Rs 330. The stock hit a high of Rs 330.50 and low of Rs 320. The company's net profit rose 16.25% to Rs 2385.34 crore on 13.4% increase in total income to Rs 9117.91 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The company announced the results during market hours on Friday, 17 January 2014.
Asian Paints fell 0.34%. The company after market hours reported 1.75% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 329.35 crore on 13.03% rise in total income to Rs 3481.99 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. Asian Paints said that results for Q3 December 2013 include unaudited consolidated financials of Sleek International in which the company acquired 51% stake on 8 August 2013. In view of this, the results for Q3 December 2013 are not comparable with the corresponding previous periods, Asian Paints said.
"The decorative paints business in India did well considering the challenging and uncertain macro environment. Raw material prices were marginally higher in the third quarter. Industrial paints segment continued to be impacted by sluggish manufacturing environment in the economy, with no major capes activity. Automotive coatings growth was affected due to the subdued demand in the automotive sector. International Business registered good growth. Middle East and Asia have done well even though some countries continued to be affected by political events and macro economic uncertainty," said K.B.S. Anand, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower as the company's net profit remained flat in Q3 December 2013 due to fall in gross refining margins (GRM). The stock lost 1.96%. The stock was the biggest loser from the Sensex pack. The company's net profit rose 0.2% to Rs 5511 crore on 10.5% growth in revenue to Rs 106383 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The Q3 result was announced after market hours on Friday, 17 January 2014.
RIL's profit before depreciation, interest and taxation (PBDIT) declined 1.8% to Rs 9927 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. RIL's non-operational income jumped 32.47% to Rs 2305 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
RIL's gross refining margin (GRM) declined to $7.6/barrel in Q3 December 2013, from $7.7/barrel in Q2 September 2013 and $9.6/barrel in Q3 December 2012.
RIL said its refining business maintained stable earnings on Q-o-Q basis in Q3 December 2013 despite lower volumes and decline in regional benchmark complex margins. RIL's margins were positively impacted by widening crude differentials, strength in middle-distillates and naphtha product cracks, which was offset by weak gasoline cracks
RIL said that the net addition to fixed assets for the nine month ended 31 December 2013 was Rs 27645 crore including exchange rate difference capitalization. Capital expenditure was principally on account of ongoing expansions projects in the petrochemicals and refining business at Jamnagar, Dahej, Silvassa and Hazira.
RIL said its retail unit Reliance Retail continued its growth momentum in Q3 December 2013 despite challenging macroeconomic environment. Reliance Retail's revenue jumped 38.32% to Rs 3927 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
Commenting on the company's Q3 performance, Mukesh D. Ambani, CMD, RIL said: "Reliance's robust refining configuration enabled it to deliver stable refining profits in Q3 December 2013, against the backdrop of declining regional benchmark margins. Even as we invest to further strengthen our energy businesses, this quarter demonstrates the outstanding quality of our refining and petrochemical business resources and their ability to deliver creditable performance in a period marked by cyclicality and uncertainties. We are happy to announce the commissioning of our new polyester facility in Silvassa, the first amongst a series of projects that underpin RIL's industry-leading competitive position. Our retail business continues on its rapid growth trajectory with 38% revenue growth during the quarter".
RIL's outstanding debt as on 31 December 2013 was Rs 81330 crore compared to Rs 72427 crore as on 31 March 2013. RIL had cash and cash equivalents of Rs 88705 crore as on 31 December 2013. These were in bank deposits, mutual funds, CDs and Government securities/bonds. RIL is debt free on a net basis as at 31 December 2013.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas notified the Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2014 for all domestically produced gas, including conventional, shale, coal bed methane (CBM). These guidelines will be applicable from 1 April 2014.
Power generation stocks were mostly higher. Reliance Infrastructure (up 0.55%), Reliance Power (up 1.04%), Adani Power (up 1.31%), JSW Energy (up 1%) edged higher.
Tata Power Company (down 1.08%), CESC (down 0.24%) declined.
The Maharashtra state government will cut electricity tariffs by 15% to 20%, television channels reported today, 20 January 2014. The state cabinet had accepted the recommendation of a panel of ministers to cut tariff, the TV channels said. The move follows the decision by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, earlier this month to subsidise power tariffs for lower usage customers.
NTPC rose marginally by 0.04% after the company said before market hours that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 16 January 2014, has accorded the investment approval for 2x800 megawatts Darlipali Super Thermal Power Project, to be implemented in the State of Odisha at an appraised current estimate cost of Rs 12532.44 crore subject to environmental clearance of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF).
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reversed initial losses triggered by the company's announced production cut this month. The stock was up 0.83%. The company on Saturday, 18 January 2014, said that the company, as part of aligning its production with sales requirements, would be observing no production days at the company's automotive plants for 1 to 3 days during the remaining period of January 2014. Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers, a wholly owned subsidiary would also be observing no production days at the plant at Chakan for up to 3 days during the remaining period of January 2014, M&M said.
M&M said that the management does not envisage any adverse impact on availability of vehicles in the market due to adequacy of vehicle stocks to serve the market requirements.
M&M is planning to invest 1 trillion won in its South Korean unit, South Korean President Park Geun Hye said in India on Saturday, 18 January 2014.
Force Motors lost 6.35% after the company reported net loss of Rs 8.36 crore in Q3 December 2013, as compared to net profit of Rs 8.12 crore in Q3 December 2012. Force Motors' total income from operations (net) rose 9.89% to Rs 479.47 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The Q3 result was announced on Saturday, 18 January 2014.
Metal and mining stocks were mixed. Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.38%), Tata Steel (down 0.66%), National Aluminum Company (down 0.41%), Hindustan Copper (down 0.67%), JSW Steel (down 1.5%), and NMDC (down 0.89%) declined.
Sesa Sterlite (up 2.49%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.9%) and Sail (up 1.86%) gained.
Hindustan Zinc rose 4.13%. The company's net profit rose 7% to Rs 1723 crore on 9% growth in net sales to Rs 3410 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The company announced the results during market hours on Friday, 17 January 2014.
Hindustan Zinc said its top line growth during the quarter was driven by higher zinc sales volume and rupee depreciation, partially offset by lower silver and acid prices.
Hindustan Zinc's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 21% to Rs 1828 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The increase in EBITDA was driven by higher integrated sales volume and rupee depreciation, partially offset by lower silver price and higher costs in rupee terms.
With regard to its expansion projects, Hindustan Zinc said that the mine development is progressing well at all its underground projects. Kayad mine has become operational during the quarter. The company's project capex will be in line with its guidance of $250 million per year, Hindustan Zinc said in a statement.
Tata Sponge Iron gained 4.14% after net profit rose 18.1% to Rs 24.31 crore on 0.1% decline in total income to Rs 207.15 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 17 January 2014.
UltraTech Cement shrugged off the company's weak Q3 result. The stock rose 0.27%. The company's net profit fell 38.45% to Rs 369.76 crore on 1.85% decline in total income to Rs 4885.99 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The result was announced during trading hours today, 20 January 2014.
UltraTech Cement said that the combined domestic cement and clinker sales remained flat at 9.7 million tonnes in Q3 December 2013. Cement and wall care putty sales jumped 10.3% to 2.89 lakh tonnes in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
UltraTech Cement that the Q3 December 2013 result was impacted adversely by lower selling prices due to the subdued demand. However, on-going cost optimization measures have helped in containing costs despite the continuing increase in input and logistics cost, UltraTech Cement said.
With regard to future business outlook, UltraTech Cement said that the outlook continues to remain challenging. In the long term, demand growth for cement is likely to be around 8%. The key demand drivers will continue to be housing and infrastructure spends, UltraTech Cement said.
Wipro rose 3.78% to Rs 573.35 on strong Q3 result. The stock hit 52-week high of Rs 577.75 in intraday trade. Wipro after trading hours on Friday, 17 January 2014, said its consolidated net profit from continuing operations jumped 27% to Rs 2010 crore on 18% growth in revenue from continuing operations to Rs 11330 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. Excluding non-recurring expense, net profit from continuing operations jumped 28% to Rs 2030 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The results are as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
In dollar terms, IT services revenue were reported at $1.678.4 billion in Q3 December 2013, an increase of 2.9% over Q2 September 2013 and an increase of 6.4% over Q3 December 2012.
IT services revenues in rupee terms was at Rs 10330 crore in Q3 December 2013, an increase of 20% over Q3 December 2012.
IT services earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was Rs 2380 crore in Q3 December 2013, an increase of 33% over Q3 December 2012.
Wipro expects revenues from IT services business to be in the range of $1.712 billion to $1.745 billion in Q4 March 2014 including the revenues from Opus CMC. The Opus CMC acquisition (announced in December 2013) was completed in January 2014, upon completion of customary closing conditions. Opus CMC's revenue for calendar year 2013, prior to the closing of the acquisition, was approximately $ 43 million, Wipro said.
Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, commenting on the results said: "As the global economy is progressing towards stability, we see optimism amongst clients, especially in the West. Corporations are leveraging technology to reduce operational costs and investing resources in differentiating themselves in the marketplace".
T K Kurien, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Wipro, said: "Our focus on account management has yielded encouraging results. We continue to execute to our strategy for superior engagement with clients while investing in emerging technologies to drive towards a higher growth trajectory. During the quarter, our Global Infrastructure Services business grew strongly on revenues."
Suresh Senapaty, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Wipro, said: "Our strategy of 'standardization at the core' is yielding results. Our investments in automation and productivity tools have driven efficiencies and helped us expand margins of IT Services by 54 basis points to 23%."
TCS rose 5.3%, with the stock bouncing back from Friday's post-result slide. The company's consolidated net profit rose 15.1% to Rs 5333 crore on 1.5% increase in revenue to Rs 21294 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q2 September 2013. Operating profit grew 0.5% to Rs 6337 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q2 September 2013. Operating margin was reported at 29.8% in Q3 December 2013. TCS announced the third quarter results after trading hours on Thursday, 16 January 2014.
TCS said growth in Q3 December 2013 was driven by industries like Life Science & Healthcare, Manufacturing, Media, Travel & Hospitality and Telecom. The company's broad based presence across markets and services helped overcome seasonal weakness in some markets. Europe led growth, driven by the continuous investments being made in that market, while North America and UK also grew during the quarter, TCS said in a statement. Among growth markets, Latin America, APAC and MEA registered strong growth. India business suffered from volatility and declined sequentially, TCS said. Among service lines, Business Process Services, Enterprise Solutions, Global Consulting were the leaders.
HCL Technologies rose 4.53% to Rs 1,443.75, a record high for the stock. The company's consolidated net profit rose 5.7% to Rs 1496 crore on 2.8% increase in revenue to Rs 8184 crore in Q2 December 2013 over Q1 September 2013. The results are as per US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). The company announced Q3 results on Thursday, 16 January 2014.
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 1.6% to Rs 2126 crore in Q2 December 2013 over Q1 September 2013. EBITDA margin declined to 26% in Q2 December 2013, from 26.3% in Q1 September 2013.
HCL Technologies' consolidated net profit as per US GAAP rose 7.1% to $241.6 million on 4% growth in revenue at $1.3213 billion in Q2 December 2013 over Q1 September 2013. EBITDA rose 2.8% to $343.3 million in Q2 December 2013 over Q1 September 2013. EBITDA margin edged lower to 26% in Q2 December 2013, from 26.3% in Q1 September 2013.
Tech Mahindra gained 3.19%.
Infosys rose 0.85% to Rs 3,759.80, with the stock extending recent gains triggered by the company raising its revenue growth guidance for the year ending 31 March 2014. The stock hit record high of Rs 3,760 in intraday trade. At the time of announcement of Q3 December 2013 earnings, Infosys, on 10 January 2014, raised its revenue growth guidance in both rupee and dollar terms for the year ending 31 March 2014. The company expects consolidated revenue in rupee terms to grow 24.4% to 24.9% for the year ending 31 March 2014 (FY 2014). This guidance is based on rupee dollar conversion rate of 61.81 for the rest of the financial year. The company expects consolidated revenue in dollar terms to grow 11.5% to 12% in FY 2014.
Nucleus Software Exports rose by maximum permissible 20% upper limit at Rs 162.50 after consolidated net profit jumped 113.71% to Rs 23.28 crore on 9.37% growth in total income from operations (net) to Rs 89.96 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q2 September 2013. The company announced Q3 results during market hours today, 20 January 2014.
Nucleus Software Exports said that the company saw a total of three new customers being added to the count of over 150 customers across the globe in Q3 December 2013. The company said that 31 product module implementations successfully went live across geographies and it won 8 new product orders worldwide in the latest concluded quarter.
Commenting on the performance of the third quarter, Mr. Vishnu R. Dusad, CEO and Managing Director, Nucleus Software Exports, said, We are continuing to register a healthy growth in the current financial year. We are happy to share that our increasing penetration in new markets has given us a positive momentum. Additionally, with the objective of building capabilities for the future, we have been investing in new talent and nurturing the existing talent pool. Our focus on our people has been to ensure quality and achieving perfection while delivering world class products to our customers.
Nucleus Software Exports said that continued focus on building the right talent as a foundation of growth will remain one of its top priorities in the coming quarters. Focusing on integrated talent management for sustained higher performance, the company has recruited a healthy mix of graduate talent and experienced professionals in technology and business management areas.
Nucleus Software Exports said that the company has hired over 200 campus graduates and over 190 experienced professionals in the current financial year. In Q3 December 2013, the company hired a mix of over 100 campus graduate and experienced professionals. The organization has started investing in relationships and hiring from top B-Schools in India to strengthen the strategic management and functional business management capabilities across its various teams. Nucleus Software has strengthened its commitment and investment in Talent and Leadership Development initiatives to build leadership capability for the future across all levels in the organization, the company said.
Nucleus Software Exports' cash and cash equivalents, including investments in debt schemes of mutual funds, fixed deposits with banks and tax free PSU bonds was Rs 299.45 crore as on 31 December 2013, as against Rs 249.44 crore on 31 December 2012.
Subex hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 9.26 after the company announced that it has won five new customer deals, worth $10 million, across key emerging markets. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 20 January 2014.
Subex said it participated and won these highly competitive bids against competition to provide its revenue assurance, fraud management and credit risk management solutions, few of them as managed services. Two of the wins are from APAC, two from North Africa and one from the Middle East.
Vinod Kumar, Chief Operating Officer said, "We have started the new year strongly. We have been on top of the pack winning highly competitive bids. These wins give us great impetus to remain focused on larger opportunities as we continue to make investments in key markets and expand our footprint. With renewed focus on our core products and with increased market momentum for our ROG Asset Assurance solution, we are fairly optimistic of growth in Subex 2.0."
Bank stocks rose in volatile trade. AXIS Bank rose 0.62% in volatile trade. AXIS Bank's net profit increased 19.06% to Rs 1604.11 crore on 9.94% increase in total income to Rs 9433.55 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The result was announced on 16 January 2014.
The bank's gross non-performing assets increased to Rs 3008.20 crore as on 31 December 2013, from Rs 2734.47 crore as on 30 September 2013 and Rs 2275.30 crore as on 31 December 2012. The ratio of net non-performing assets to net advances stood at 0.42% as on 31 December 2013, compared with 0.37% as on 30 September 2013 and 0.33% as on 31 December 2012. The ratio of gross non-performing assets (NPA) to gross advances stood at 1.25% as on 31 December 2013, compared with 1.19% as on 30 September 2013 and 1.10% as on 31 December 2012.
Provisions and contingencies fell 47.65% to Rs 202.49 crore in 31 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. Provisions and contingencies declined 70.54% on sequential basis
ICICI Bank rose 1.03%.
HDFC Bank was unchanged at Rs 668.30. The bank's net profit rose 25.1% to Rs 2325.70 crore on 17.75% growth in total income to Rs 12738.95 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The bank announced Q3 results during market hours on Friday, 17 January 2014.
HDFC Bank's net interest income (NII) rose 16.4% to Rs 4634.80 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The net interest margin or NIM declined to 4.2% in Q3 December 2013, from 4.3% in Q3 December 2012. HDFC Bank's's non-interest income rose 11.4% to Rs 2148.30 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
With asset quality remaining stable during the quarter, provisions and contingencies declined 4% to Rs 388.80 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012, HDFC Bank said.
Total deposits rose 22.9% YoY to Rs 349215 crore as on 31 December 2013. Adjusted for foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits raised during the quarter, the total deposits growth rate would have been 15.5% and CASA ratio would be 43.7%, HDFC Bank said.
Advances grew 22.9% YoY to Rs 296742 crore as of 31 December 2013. The domestic loan growth was contributed by both retail and wholesale segments, with retail loans growing by 13.6% and wholesale loans by 22.1%, resulting in a domestic loan mix between retail and wholesale of 54:46. Total advances in overseas branches as of 31 December 2013 were at 8% of the total advances as against 3.8% as of 31 December 2012, HDFC Bank said.
The bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at 31 December 2013 as per Basel III guidelines stood at 14.7%, as against a regulatory requirement of 9%. Of this, Tier-I CAR was 9.9%. These CAR ratios are based on net worth numbers which do not take into account the profits for nine months ended 31 December 2013. Had the same been included, the total CAR and Tier-I CAR would have been 16.2% and 11.5% respectively, HDFC Bank said.
State Bank of India advanced 1.41%.
Union Bank of India shed 0.45% as the stock turned ex-dividend today, 20 January 2014, for the interim dividend of Rs 2.70 per share for the year ending 31 March 2014.
Bank of Baroda declined 0.88% as the stock turned ex-dividend today, 20 January 2014, for interim dividend of Rs 11 per share for the year ending 31 March 2014. The state-run bank said during market hours that on 18 January 2014, the Allotment Committee of the bank has issued and allotted 81.58 lakh shares at issue price of Rs 674.12 per share, aggregating to Rs 549.99 crore to Government of India (President of India) on preferential basis.
South Indian Bank rose 3.95% after the central bank allowed foreign investors to buy shares in the private sector bank as the foreign shareholding in the bank has gone below the prescribed limit. The foreign share holding through foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/non-resident Indians (NRIs)/persons of Indian origin (PIOs)/foreign direct investment (FDI)/American depository receipt (ADR)/global depository receipts (GDRs) in South Indian Bank have gone below the prescribed threshold caution limit stipulated under the extant foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement.
Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of South Indian Bank are withdrawn with immediate effect, it said. Equity shares of South Indian Bank can now be purchased through primary market and stock exchanges, RBI said.
Currently, FIIs are allowed to invest upto 49% of the paid-up capital of South Indian Bank under the portfolio investment scheme (PIS).
Dewan Housing Finance Corporation rose 4.6% after net profit rose 51.69% to Rs 138.39 crore on 54.78% increase in total income to Rs 1301.36 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The result was announced during trading hours today, 20 January 2014. Dewan
Aurobindo Pharma jumped 6.48% after the company on Saturday, 18 January 2014 announced the signing of a binding offer to acquire commercial operations in seven Western European countries from Actavis plc. Closing of the transaction is conditional on certain antitrust approvals and completion of employee consultation processes, Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement.
Aurobindo said it expects to acquire personnel, commercial infrastructure, products, marketing authorizations and dossier license rights in seven European countries. Actavis and Aurobindo will be entering into a long term commercial and supply arrangement in order to support the ongoing growth plans of these businesses. The acquisition expands Aurobindo's front-end operations into five segments (generics, prescription products, over-the-counter products, hospital products and generics tenders) with approximately 1,200 products and an additional pipeline of over 200 products, Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement.
Aurobindo Pharma said that the Management estimates the net sales for the acquired businesses would be around euro 320 million in 2013 with a growth rate of over 10% year-on-year. Although these businesses are currently loss-making, Aurobindo said it expects them to return to profitability in combination with its vertically integrated platform and existing commercial infrastructure. The acquisition will make Aurobindo one of the leading Indian pharmaceutical companies in Europe, it added. Since 2006 Aurobindo has been steadily expanding its European footprint through an increasing presence in UK, Spain and Germany. The acquisition will enable Aurobindo to achieve critical mass in Western Europe with a top 10 position in several key markets, Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement.
Commenting on the transaction, Mr V Muralidharan, SVP of European Operations for Aurobindo said, "The acquisition of these European businesses is a value enhancing and forward-looking initiative for Aurobindo. We have been clear about our intention to focus on growth initiatives in Europe and international markets, which together are expected to be key drivers for future growth. This transaction will complement our strategy of pursuing organic growth along with value-creating acquisitions within our served markets and adding complimentary growth platforms to provide scale and revenue diversity".
Mr Arvind Vasudeva, CEO of Aurobindo's Formulations Business further stated that, "We have carefully reviewed the Actavis European operations and concluded that with our cost competitiveness and group structure, we could significantly capitalize Actavis's strong market position in these Western European countries and improve profitability, thereby accelerating our strategy of becoming a significant Gx player in Europe. Aurobindo takes a disciplined approach to acquisition with clearly defined strategic and financial criteria and is committed to maintaining a prudential capital and debt structure. We are also excited to welcome the new employees in seven countries to our growing global team and anticipate a seamless integration into Aurobindo. Actavis will continue to support the businesses as a supplier and licence provider. Aurobindo looks forward to the opportunities this transaction provides for us to work even more closely with Actavis, who are one of our existing strategic partners".
Mr Sigurdur Oli Olafsson, President of Actavis Pharma, said, "We believe that the value created by the commercial operations in these seven markets will be better maximized by Aurobindo, which will gain scale, additional products and enhanced competitive market share position as a result of this transaction. This transaction will permit Actavis to focus management time and resources to support accelerated investment in driving faster growth of other markets, including Central and Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia".
Actavis plc is a global, integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing generic, brand and biosimilar products. Actavis has global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and US administrative headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA.
Biocon rose 2.97% after the company said it will start selling a breast cancer drug developed jointly with US-based Mylan in the country from next month. The announcement was made on Saturday, 18 January 2014.
Biocon introduced 'CANMAb' (150 milligram (mg)/ 440 mg), a biosimilar trastuzumab for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in India. CANMAb, developed jointly by Biocon and Mylan under a global partnership, is the world's first biosimilar version of Herceptin and is being introduced for the benefit of patients in India, Biocon said in a statement.
CANMAb is being manufactured at Biocon's biologics facility in Bangalore and will be available to patients around the first week of February 2014. CANMAb will be available at about 25% discount to the current list price of the reference product in India, which is already significantly lower than its price in developed markets. In addition, CANMAb's 150 milligram (mg) formulation, priced at Rs 19,500 per vial, will allow extra savings to patients as they can buy smaller quantities as per their requirement, the company added.
The global sales for Herceptin stood at $6.4 billion in 2012, while in India it recorded sales of $21 million.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director, Biocon, said, "Biocon intends to make a significant difference in the treatment paradigm for HER2-positive breast cancer in India by enhancing access to more affordable treatment with CANMAb (biosimilar trastuzumab), which offers the same level of safety and efficacy as the reference product. The launch of CANMAb in India is an important milestone for our biosimilars program and demonstrates our ability to deliver on our promise of affordable innovation with a high quality, world-class product."
Reliance Communications surged 5.91% after the company after trading hours on Friday, 17 January 2014, said Reliance Globalcom has appointed William (Bill) Barney as CEO of its three offshore businesses, comprising FLAG, Yipes and Vanco. Barney's appointment is effective immediately, and he will operate out of Hong Kong and Mumbai.
Barney has worked more than 15 years in Asia. He has worked as CEO of Pacnet for about 10 years. During his tenure at Pacnet, Barney led the company's successful acquisition of regional internet service provider Pacific Internet, which operationally merged with Asia Netcom and re-launched as Pacnet in January 2008.
Prior to Pacnet, Barney served as Asia Pacific President and CEO for MCI Worldcom (Verizon).
"We are delighted to have Bill join us to lead Reliance Globalcom into an accelerated phase of growth and development, leading to enhanced unlocking of value for the benefit of all our stakeholders. Bill's track record and ability in reshaping the technology business will be a true asset to Reliance Globalcom," said Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications.
Punit Garg will continue to lead the enterprise business of Reliance Communications in India, the company said in a statement.
Reliance MediaWorks jumped 18.75% after the company's board of directors at its meeting held today, 20 January 2014, considered the proposal made by Reliance Land and Reliance Capital (promoter group entities) to make a voluntary delisting offer to all the public shareholders of the company in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India delisting regulations. The board of directors has granted its approval to the proposed delisting offer and intends to seek the approval of shareholders of the company through postal ballot in terms of the SEBI Delisting Regulations, Reliance MediaWorks said.
Promoters own 73.3% stake in Reliance MediaWorks (as per the shareholding pattern as on 30 September 2013).
Bond prices rose after the Reserve Bank of India on Friday, 17 January 2014, said it has decided to conduct Open Market Operations by purchasing government securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 10000 crore on Wednesday, 22 January 2014, in a bid to ease the strain on liquidity in the banking system. The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper, 8.83% GS 2023, was hovering at 8.5168%, lower than its close of 8.6269% on Friday, 17 January 2014. Bond yield and bond prices are inversely related.
The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday, 17 January 2014, that the liquidity conditions are undergoing some stress in the recent period, primarily on account of the build-up of cash balances of the Government of India. In order to address the temporary liquidity deficit situation, the Reserve Bank of India has been infusing additional liquidity through 7/14/28 days term repo auctions in addition to the existing overnight repo under liquidity adjustment facility and standing liquidity facilities. The current assessment suggests that the strain on market liquidity is likely to remain enduring in view of the fiscal targets set for the year as well as projections for aggregate credit growth, warranting the need to provide liquidity of a more permanent nature. Accordingly, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct Open Market Operations by purchasing the following government securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 10000 crore on Wednesday, 22 January 2014, through multi-security auction using the multiple price method.
The Reserve Bank of India's Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 is scheduled on 28 January 2014. The RBI kept its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged after its last policy review in December and said at that time that it expected inflation to ease in the following months.
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday, 19 January 2014, came out with his vision for a new India ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, pledging to project the country as a brand worldwide if a BJP government was voted to power. The key elements of the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate's programme are urbanisation, infrastructure, education and healthcare, apart from cracking down on scourges such as inflation and black money. Modi said he wanted to reach out to every level of society to ensure that the benefits of economic change didn't just go to the advantaged. His wish list includes Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and All India Institutes of Medical Science in every state, 100 new smart cities and bullet trains to all four corners of the country. He said inflation - one of BJP's main election planks besides corruption and "mis-governance" by the UPA government - was the country's biggest predicament and said steps needed to be taken to contain it. The answer lay in farm data that was much more current than it is now and a fund that could be used to protect the vulnerable. Modi also floated the idea of a price stabilisation fund to ensure that nobody went hungry.
He spoke of the need to focus on Brand India, referring to five Ts in this connection-tradition, talent, tourism, technology and trade. He also pledged a mix of social welfare schemes that would bring India on a par with developed economies, urging people to vote for him.
Other priorities in Modi's programme include development of infrastructure such as roads, ports and airports, reviving power plants that are shut, creating jobs, skill development, setting up agro infrastructure gas grids, deploying optical fibre networks, pushing the river interlinking project and establishing special courts to punish black marketing. In the 75-minute speech, Modi said the country has to treat urbanisation as an "opportunity", not as a "challenge", something India hasn't done. A BJP government under him will build 100 new cities to be developed as smart cities, twin cities and satellite cities, he said. "If the railways is modernised, we can give impetus to progress. By the time the country celebrates the diamond jubilee of independence (2022), we should have bullet trains going in four directions. The world will start seeing us with a new vision," he said.
Modi also touched on senior BJP leader LK Advani's pet theme of getting black money stashed overseas back to the country, saying that a task force will be set up to ensure that this is achieved. Modi also spoke of the need to uphold what he regarded as India's traditions, likening it to a rainbow with seven shades family values, agriculture and rural India, empowerment of women, environment, youth, democracy and knowledge.
European stocks edged lower on Monday, 20 January 2014, after China's economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter as gains in factory output and investment spending eased. Key benchmark indices in France and Germany were off 0.05% to 0.27%. In UK, the FTSE 100 rose 0.01%.
Global credit rating agency Moody's Investor Service on Friday, 17 January 2014, lifted Ireland's debt ratings to Baa3/P-3 from Ba1/NP, back to investment-grade status, and added a positive outlook. There were two reasons listed: growth potential of the Irish economy, which is expected to help bring government debt ratios down from a recent peak, and the government's exit from its international bailout, which will help improve solvency and restore market access.
Asian stocks edged lower on Monday, 20 January 2014, after China's economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter as gains in factory output and investment spending eased. Key benchmark indices in China, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong were off 0.59% to 0.88%. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan were up 0.3% to 0.48%.
China's economy expanded 7.7% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. That compares 7.8% growth in the previous three months. Industrial production rose 9.7% in December from a year earlier, data showed, down from a 10% gain in November. Retail sales last month rose 13.6% from a year earlier, slowing from 13.7% in November. Fixed-asset investment in China excluding rural households increased 19.6% in the January-to-December period from a year earlier, when it expanded 20.6%.
The US stock market remains closed today, 20 January 2014, for a holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
US stocks settled mostly lower on Friday as disappointing results from Intel Corp. and General Electric Co. weighed on sentiment.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day monetary policy meeting on 28 and 29 January 2014. By a 9-to-1 vote, the Fed on 18 December 2013 decided to trim its asset-purchase program by $10 billion to $75 billion per month starting in January 2014.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News