Buzzing Stocks: Reliance, M&M Financial, IDFC First Bank, UltraTech Cement and others in news

Reliance Industries: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance has recorded 29.7 percent on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 19,878 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, with EBITDA rising 30.2 percent YoY to Rs 44,867 crore and margin expanding 390 bps to 17.5 percent. Gross revenue during the quarter increased by 1.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,55,996 crore, supported by continuing growth momentum in consumer businesses. Jio Platforms revenue jumped 10.6 percent YoY, led by a 7.5 percent increase in subscriber base and a higher ARPU, while Reliance Retail Ventures reported 18.8 percent on-year growth in topline, driven by food and grocery segments. [Disclosure: MoneyControl is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary].

M&M Financial Services: The financial services company recorded a profit of Rs 235 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, falling sharply by 47.5 percent YoY due to an increase in impairment on financial instruments. Revenue from operations grew by 24.1 percent year over last year to Rs 3,212 crore during the same period, aided by growth in the asset book. Net interest income at Rs 1,674 crore increased by 9 percent YoY. Net interest margin for the quarter at 6.5 percent was impacted by higher borrowing rates coupled with a change in portfolio mix in favour of better credit quality for customers. Disbursements during Q2 rose by 13 percent YoY to Rs 13,315 crore.

IDFC First Bank: The lender has registered a massive 35 percent on-year growth in profit at Rs 751 crore for the July–September period of FY24, driven by strong growth in core operating income that grew by 35 percent. Net interest income for the quarter at Rs 3,950 crore increased by 32 percent over a year-ago period, with net interest margin expanding 49 bps YoY to 6.32 percent in Q2 FY24. Asset quality improved with the gross NPA falling 6 bps QoQ to 2.11 percent and the net NPA declining 2 bps to 0.68 percent for the quarter.

Inox Wind: The wind energy company has narrowed its net loss to Rs 29.23 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, up from Rs 129.31 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations increased sharply by 246 percent YoY to Rs 370.6 crore in Q2 FY24.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation: The state-owned oil marketing company has recorded standalone profit at Rs 8,501.2 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, against a loss of Rs 304.2 crore in the same period last year, partly supported by lower input costs. Revenue from operations during the same period fell by 10.3 percent to Rs 1,02,986 crore.

UltraTech Cement: The cement major said the board of directors approved the 3rd phase of growth with an investment of Rs 13,000 crore towards increasing the capacity by another 21.9 mtpa with a mix of brown field and greenfield projects. Commercial production from these new capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner from FY26 onwards and will catapult the company’s cement capacity to 187 mtpa globally.

Bharti Airtel: The telecommunication service provider has partnered with Microsoft to offer Indian organisations calling services over Microsoft Teams through an integration with Airtel IQ. The Department of Telecommunications in Mumbai has imposed a penalty of Rs 1,63,000 for an alleged violation of subscriber verification norms.

SBI Cards and Payment Services: The credit card issuing company has registered a 15 percent on-year growth in profit at Rs 603 crore for the July–September period of FY24. Revenue from operations during the quarter increased by 24 percent YoY to Rs 4,087.4 crore, driven by interest income and fees and commission income.

Blue Dart Express: The logistics company has reported a 22 percent on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 73.06 crore for the quarter ended September FY24. Revenue from operations during the same period fell by 0.06 percent YoY to Rs 1,324.5 crore.

NTPC: The country’s largest power generation company has recorded standalone profit of Rs 3,885 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, rising 16.6 percent over a year-ago period driven by a fall in tax and fuel costs. Revenue from operations dropped 0.3 percent to Rs 40,875 crore in Q2 FY24, against Rs 41,015 crore in the same period last year.

City Union Bank: The private sector lender, said the profit increased by 1.8 percent year over year to Rs 281 crore for the quarter ended September FY24 as improved recovery and reduced slippages supported the profitability despite the challenges faced. Net interest income fell by 5.3 percent YoY to Rs 538 crore during the quarter, with deposits rising 6 percent and advances increasing 3 percent. Asset quality improved, with gross NPA falling 25 basis points QoQ to 4.66 percent and net NPA declining 17 basis points QoQ to 2.34 percent in Q2 FY24.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories: The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has completed a routine cGMP (good manufacturing practice) inspection at the company’s formulations manufacturing facility (FTO-3) in Bachupally, Hyderabad. The inspection was conducted on October 19 and 27, 2023. The USFDA has issued a Form 483 with 10 observations.

Central Depository Services: CDSL has clocked a 35.4 percent on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 109 crore for the July–September period of FY24, backed by a healthy topline and EBITDA. Consolidated revenue from operations grew by 39.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 207.3 crore for the quarter.

AU Small Finance Bank: The bank has registered a 17 percent on-year growth in profit at Rs 402 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, despite elevated provisions. Pre-provisioning operating profit increased by 30 percent YoY to Rs 648 crore, and net interest income grew by 15 percent to Rs 1,249 crore during the quarter. Asset quality weakened with the gross non-performing asset rising 15 basis points QoQ to 1.91 percent and the net NPA increasing 5 basis points QoQ to 0.60 percent for the quarter.

IRB Infrastructure Developers: The construction engineering company has recorded 12.2 percent on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 95.7 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, supported partly by a healthy topline and other income. Revenue from operations increased by 30 percent year over year to Rs 1,745 crore for the quarter. In addition, associate company IRB Infrastructure Trust has received a letter of award from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the project of tolling, operation, maintenance, and transfer of the four-lane Lalitpur-Sagar-Lakhnadon section of NH-44 in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Trust will pay an upfront concession fee of Rs 4,428 crore to NHAI for a revenue-linked concession period of 20 years.

Union Bank of India: The public sector lender has recorded a massive 90 percent on-year growth in net profit at Rs 3,511 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, led by a significant fall in provisions. Net interest income grew by 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 9,126 crore for the quarter, with a net interest margin expansion of 3 bps at 3.18 percent. Asset quality improved during the quarter, with the gross NPA falling 96 bps sequentially to 6.38 percent and the net NPA declining 28 bps to 1.3 percent.

Kalpataru Projects International: The Directorate General of GST Intelligence has completed a search at certain premises of the company in Gujarat. The company submitted the necessary information sought by the authority, but no order has been passed by the authority.

Panacea Biotec: The biotechnology company said its subsidiary, through the strategic partner Apotex Inc., has launched Paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension (Albumin-bound), a generic version of Abraxane, in the Canadian market. Paclitaxel protein-bound particles are used for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Bharat Electronics: The state-owned aerospace and defence electronics company has reported profit at Rs 812.3 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, rising sharply by 33 percent over a year-ago period, driven by higher other income and EBITDA margin. Revenue from operations grew by 1.2 percent year over year to Rs 3,993.3 crore during the quarter.

Gujarat Gas: The state-run gas distribution company Gujarat Gas has announced a Rs 2.3 per standard cubic metre (scm) increase in industrial gas prices to Rs 45.6 per scm, with effect from November 1, 2023, reports CNBC-TV18.

Pfizer: The pharma company has reported a 52.1 percent on-year decline in profit at Rs 149 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, due to a high base in the year-ago period and a lower topline. Revenue from operations declined 9.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 575.2 crore during the quarter.

TCNS Clothing: The women’s fashion and lifestyle company recorded a net loss of Rs 136.crore for the July–September period, widening from the loss of Rs 36.98 crore in the previous quarter. In the year-ago period, it had a profit of Rs 7.6 crore. Revenue from operations fell sharply by 35.6 percent year over year to Rs 225.7 crore in Q2 FY24.

Jindal Drilling and Industries: Rig Virtue I have commenced operations under the charter hire contract awarded by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to the company at an effective day rate (EDR) of $77,963.78. The contract is awarded to the company for three years.

Speciality Restaurants: The company has received a demand notice in relation to payment of shortfall tax from the Office of the Commissioner, Kolkata South CGST & CX Commissionerate. The said demand notice alleged a tax demand of approximately Rs 3.75 crore.

Mukand: The specialty steel long products company has signed a power delivery agreement for a 43.75 MW AC group captive solar project with Tata Power Renewable Energy. The installation of the said project will generate 99.82 MUs annually.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank: The lender has registered a 4.6 percent on-year growth in profit at Rs 274 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, with a fall in provisions and higher other income but lower pre-provision operating profit. Net interest income for the quarter at Rs 533 crore increased by 4.7 percent over a year-ago period. Asset quality weakened during the quarter, with gross NPA rising 14 bps QoQ to 1.70 percent and net NPA increasing 33 bps QoQ to 0.99 percent.

Intellect Design Arena: The financial technology company recorded a profit of Rs 70 crore for the July–September period of FY24, growing sharply by 54 percent over the corresponding period last fiscal year, driven by healthy EBITDA. Revenue from operations during the quarter increased by 17 percent to Rs 619 crore YoY, with double-digit growth in the platform, licence, and AMC segments.

Goodluck India: The company has recorded a massive 70.4 percent on-year growth in profit at Rs 34.7 crore for the July–September period of FY24, driven by robust EBITDA performance. Revenue from operations grew by 13.7 percent YoY to Rs 886 crore for the quarter.

Mahanagar Gas: The gas distribution company has reported a massive 106.4 percent year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 338.5 crore for the July–September period of FY24, driven by the lower cost of natural gas and traded items. Revenue from operations increased by 0.66 percent to Rs 1,729 crore during the same period.

Route Mobile: The cloud communication platform service provider has registered 21.6 percent on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 88.4 crore for the quarter ended September FY24. Revenue from operations at Rs 1,014.6 crore for Q2 FY24 increased by 20 percent over the corresponding period last fiscal.

Captain Pipes: The company said the board members have appointed Jaydeep K. Pansuriya as Chief Financial Officer of the company with effect from November 1. However, Chandrakant J. Gadhiya has resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the company, with effect from October 27.