Business News at 05:30 pm on 1st December 2023

Let’s begin. Flair Writing shares listed at 65.46 per cent premium over IPO price on bourses. The share debuted at Rs 503 on the BSE and Rs 501 on the NSE, surpassing the issue price of Rs 304. The investors have made a profit of nearly Rs 199 per share as the scrip gave more than 65% return to investors on the listing. Shivani Nyati, Head of Wealth, Swastika Investmart, said quote, “The listing was even above expectations, given the strong fundamentals of the company and the positive investor sentiment surrounding the IPO. The company has a proven track record of growth and profitability. The IPO was oversubscribed 49.28 times, indicating strong investor interest,” unquote. Flair Writing IPO opened for subscription on November 22, 2023 till November 24.

Meanwhile, India’s manufacturing sector continued with its robust performance in November, mainly on the back of substantial easing in price pressures and strengthening demand from clients, a monthly survey said on Friday. The strong performance of the manufacturing sector is expected to continue in 2024 as well. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 56 last month from the eight-month low level of 55.5 recorded in October. A key feature of the latest results was a substantial easing of price pressures. Although average purchasing costs rose again, the rate of inflation eased to the lowest in the current 40-month sequence of increases and was negligible by historical standards.

Moving on. Jeffries saw 11% upside potential in India’s largest cement producer, UltraTech Cement’s stocks following their acquisition of Kesoram Industries and recommended a buy with an upside target of Rs 9,700. UltraTech Cements nodded to acquire Kesoram Industries’ cement assets in a share-swap deal for an enterprise valuation of Rs 7,600 crore, which is expected to be completed in 9-12 months, is subject to regulatory approvals. Jefferies in its report said, quote, “The acquisition is likely to further strengthen the Numero Uno position of UltraTech Cement in the Indian cement industry. The valuation appears tad on the higher side in the background of recent acquisition value of Sanghi Inds by Ambuja Cements / JPA assets by Dalmia or the phase 2/3 expansion unit capex of UltraTech,” unquote.

On to economy. India and the European Free Trade Association States, comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, recently completed the 20th round of negotiations for a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement. The discussions, which spanned ten days from November 20-30, were conducted via videoconference in Geneva. L. Satya Srinivas, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, led the Indian delegation, while Ambassador Markus Schlagenhof, Delegate of the Federal Council for Trade Agreements and head of the World Trade Division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, represented the EFTA, also acting as its spokesperson. The negotiations delved into various aspects, including trade in goods and services, rules of origin, trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, and trade and sustainable development etc.

Over to industry. The JSW Energy board in a regulatory filing announced that the company has appointed Sharad Mahendra as a Whole-time Director (Joint Managing Director & CEO– Designate) with effect from December 1, 2023. Prashant Jain will continue to serve in his current position till January 31, 2024, to support an orderly transition. Accordingly, Mahendra shall be the Joint Managing Director & CEO and a key managerial person of the Company with effect from February 1, 2024. Mahendra brings with him 33 years of rich experience in organizational strategy, driving business growth, execution, sales and marketing, and people development across steel, power, chemicals as well as automobile sectors.

Next up, the auto industry. Tata Motors continued its impressive spree in the passenger vehicle space by registering a monthly sales figure of 46,068 units in the domestic market. In the process, the Pune-based automaker managed to maintain a stagnant volume YoY. During the same period last year, Tata registered a monthly volume of 46,037 units. The company recorded an overall domestic auto sales of 72,647 units in November 2023, as compared to 73,467 units in November last year. This resulted in a marginal YoY decline of 1%. Exports for passenger vehicles dropped to only 75 units last month from 388 units in November 2022. This translated into a massive 81% YoY decline.

Lastly, let’s see how the share market performed today. Benchmark indices ended higher for the fourth consecutive session on December 1 with Nifty around 20,250. Biggest gainers on the Nifty included NTPC, ITC, L&T, Britannia Industries and Axis Bank, while losers were Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Life, Wipro, M&M and Bajaj Auto. Except Auto, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with Capital Goods, FMCG, Metal, Power and Realty up 1 per cent each. BSE Midcap index added 1 per cent, while smallcap index up 0.4 per cent.