Business News at 05:30 pm on 22nd May, 2024

Let’s begin…Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited posted a decline of 25.6 per cent year-on-year in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter of FY24. The company reported a net profit of Rs 489.62 crore against Rs 658.02 crore reported in the same quarter of corresponding year. However, the state-owned power generation equipment manufacturer experienced a marginal increase of 0.4 per cent in its revenue from operation as the company’s revenue from operations stood at Rs 8260.25 crore in Q4 FY24 against Rs 8226.99 crore recorded in the same quarter of FY23. BHEL’s EBITDA fell by 30.6 per cent to Rs 727.9 crore in Q4 FY24 against Rs 1049 crore in the same quarter of previous year.

Next up, SpiceJet will seek a refund of Rs 450 crore out of the Rs 730 crore it has previously paid to former promoter Kalanithi Maran and his firm, KAL Airways, following the Delhi High Court’s order on May 17. On May 17, the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of SpiceJet and its promoter, Ajay Singh, in the long-standing share transfer case against Kalanithi Maran and his firm, KAL Airways. This ruling overturns a previous decision by a single-judge bench, positioning SpiceJet to claim a substantial refund based on legal advice. SpiceJet has paid a total of Rs 730 crore, comprising Rs 580 crore in principal along with an additional Rs 150 crore towards interest to Maran and KAL Airways.

Moving on, One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Paytm on Wednesday recorded a net loss of Rs 549.60 crore during the fourth quarter of FY24, posting a 3.2X jump from Q4FY23 when it had posted a loss of Rs 168.40 crore. The company posted revenue from operations at Rs 2267.10 crore, down 2.9 per cent on-year as against Rs 2334.50 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal year. The company said in a filing, quote, Our Q4 FY 2024 results were impacted by temporary disruption on account of UPI transition, etc. and permanent disruption because of the PPBL embargo. Our contribution margin was 57 per cent including UPI incentives, and 51 per cent excluding UPI incentives, end quote.

In other news, The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has reversed its decision to charge a fee for private and commercial vehicles entering the arrival area of Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after a backlash from taxi operators and passengers. According to BIAL officials, the arrival lane charges for all vehicles have been revoked and are currently under review by the concerned authorities. The reversal came after the Karnataka Cab Drivers Association, led by Narayanaswamy, protested the new entry fees. BIAL had imposed a Rs 150 fee for commercial vehicles like Ola and Uber for up to 7 minutes, with a Rs 300 charge for stays beyond 7 minutes. Private vehicles would be charged Rs 150 for stays between 7 and 14 minutes.

Up next, Invite-only networking and fundraising platform for startups Scope, which launched its $45 million venture capital fund in December last year, is now looking to set up an angel fund for early-stage startups in the country. In an interaction with FE Aspire, Scope’s Founder and CEO Appalla Saikiran said the new fund modelled on the concept of Village Global – an early-stage venture firm with a network of 400 founders globally such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, etc., – will likely come up by October this year. The new angel fund with a corpus of around $15 million will invest in startups across sectors, akin to syndicate funds involving a group of investors that pool capital to invest into deals.

In another development, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong issued a public apology on Wednesday (May 22) following a tragic incident where severe turbulence on a flight from London to Singapore resulted in one passenger’s death and injuries to over 70 others. In a heartfelt video message, Phong expressed deep regret for the traumatic experience endured by everyone on board flight SQ321. “He said, quote, On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased. We are very sorry for the traumatic experience that everyone on board SQ321 went through, end quote.

Lastly, The benchmark equity indices ended Wednesday’s trading session in the positive territory. The NSE Nifty 50 gained 68.74 points or 0.31% to settle at 22,597.80, while the BSE Sensex jumped 267.75 points or 0.75% to 74,221.06.The broader indices ended in positive territory, with gain led by Large-cap and Mid-cap stocks. Bank Nifty index ended lower by 266.25 points or 0.55% to settle at 47,781.95. Realty and FMCG stocks outperformed among the other sectoral indices while Metal and Financial Services stocks shed. Shares of Hindustan Zinc, primarily owned by Vedanta, rose another 7% during the day, marking gains for the sixth consecutive day.