Business News at 05:30 pm on 13th February, 2024

Let’s begin…Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Qatar in an attempt to deepen India’s bilateral relations with the country. Before Qatar, PM Modi’s first stop is UAE. This is his seventh visit to UAE and second to Qatar since 2014. Ahead of his visit to UAE, PM Modi praised the Indian diaspora for their efforts to deepen India’s engagement with the world. He said he looked forward to joining the Indian community in the UAE at the Ahlan Modi event! In a post on X, he wrote, quote, This evening, I look forward to being among UAE’s Indian diaspora at the Ahlan Modi programme! Do join this memorable occasion, end quote.

Up next…Hindalco Industries, the Aditya Birla Group metals flagship, reported fiscal third quarter profit for the financial year 2023-24 at Rs 2,331 crore, up 71.1 per cent in comparison to Rs 1,363 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous year, surpassing estimates. The profit growth was driven by a robust performance across aluminium and copper business segments. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 52,808 crore, registering a marginal fall from Q3FY23 revenue of Rs 53,151 crore. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 6,322 crore, up 61 per cent on-year. According to a CNBC TV18 poll, Hindalco was expected to record Q3FY24 profit at Rs 776 crore and revenue for the quarter in review was estimated at Rs 19,128 crore.

Moving on, Siemens Ltd on Tuesday reported its fiscal third quarter profit at Rs 505.40 crore, up 9.2 per cent in comparison to Rs 462.70 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous year, surpassing estimates. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 4825.20 crore, up 20.2 per cent as against Rs 4015.10 crore during the third quarter of FY23. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 596 crore. According to a CNBC TV18 poll, Siemens was expected to report Q3FY24 profit at Rs 449 crore and revenue for the quarter was estimated at Rs 4680 crore. The company said that it has received new orders of Rs 5,971 crore, reporting a 10 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney, a division of RTX, has recently announced the establishment of its new India Digital Capability Center (IDCC) in Bengaluru, India. This initiative aims to spearhead innovation and drive digital and business transformation for Pratt & Whitney on a global scale. The IDCC will be strategically located alongside Pratt & Whitney’s existing engineering and supply chain operations Center of Excellence. This proximity is expected to foster seamless collaboration and knowledge exchange among various teams. Additionally, it will facilitate close partnerships with other RTX businesses in India, including Collins Aerospace and RTX Enterprise Services, enabling synergistic growth opportunities. Recruitment efforts for the IDCC have already commenced, with plans to scale up to over 300 employees by 2027.

Moving ahead, ICRA released its figures showing the domestic air passenger traffic in January. As per the data, January’s domestic air passenger traffic plunged approximately 5% in comparison to the figures observed in December 2023. The projected domestic air passenger traffic in January 2024 is approximately 131.1 lakh. ICRA also released the 10-month figure, from April 2023 to January 2024, during which the domestic air passenger traffic reached approximately 1,276.35 lakh, marking a 15% year-on-year increase from the same period in FY2023 (April-January 2023), when it was recorded at 1,110.31 lakh. This figure also represents a growth of about 5% compared to pre-Covid levels in the corresponding period of April-January 2020, which stood at 1,213.85 lakh.

In other news, Dismissing the recent media reports related to limitations at the Chennai Airport, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday clarified the airport is fully equipped to accommodate long-haul widebody international flights. Contrary to the reports, the Chennai Airport terminal complex has 13 aerobridges and 1 additional aerobridge is under construction, which will be operational by March 2024. The new aerobridge has been constructed to specifically cater to Code E aircraft, ensuring seamless boarding and disembarkation for passengers, the Minister of Civil Aviation mentioned in a statement, the ministry said. Of the existing 13 aerobridges, five are capable of accommodating Code E aircraft, which are typical airplanes like the Boeing 777/787 series and the A330.

Lastly, The benchmark equity indices ended Tuesday’s trading session in the positive territory. The NSE Nifty 50 gained 127.20 points or 0.59% to settle at 21,743.25, while the BSE Sensex jumped 482.70 points or 0.68% to 71,555.19. The broader indices ended in positive territory, with gain led by Smallcap and Midcap stocks. Bank Nifty index ended higher by 620.15 points or 1.38% to settle at 45,502.40. Financial Services and Banking stocks outperformed among the other sectoral indices while Metal stocks shed. During the day, the market capitalisation of Reliance Industries Ltd surged past the Rs 20 lakh crore mark on Tuesday. The firm made history as it became the first Indian company to reach Rs 20 lakh crore market capitalisation.