Business News at 05:30 pm on 7th August, 2024

“Shares of Tata Power Company, the electricity distribution arm of the Tata group, declined on Wednesday’s trading session, August 7. The stock was down around 2%, following the company’s modest 4% year-on-year growth in net profit for the June 2024 quarter. The shares had opened positively at Rs 444 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1.6% higher than the previous session’s close. However, minutes into the trade, the shares began to slide. By 1:22 pm, the stock was trading at Rs 427.95 apiece on the NSE, down 2% from the last closing price. On the BSE, the decline was sharper, with Tata Power trading 2% lower at Rs 428 per share. Both CLSA and Jefferies have issued an ‘underperform’ rating for Tata Power.
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Up next, Manufacturers of pre-engineered building (PEB) are expected to record a revenue growth of 10-12 per cent during this as well as next fiscal, stated a report by CRISIL Ratings. This, it added, will be backed by strong demand because of industrial capital expenditure (capex) and government spending on infrastructure development. The revenue growth of PEB players is constrained by optimal capacity utilisation, and hence the industry is witnessing capacity addition. Despite the capex, the report stated, the credit profiles of PEB players are expected to remain stable due to limited reliance on debt funding. CRISIL Ratings analysed five large PEB players that command more than 80 per cent of the organised industry in order to reach the findings.
Furthermore, Home affordability has remained stable in H1 2024 (January to June 2024) as interest rates have stayed steady since the end of 2023. According to Knight Frank India’s Affordability Index, Ahmedabad is the most affordable housing market among the top eight cities, with a ratio of 21%, followed by Pune and Kolkata at 24% each. Mumbai was the only city that remained marginally higher than the threshold at 51%. Knight Frank India’s Affordability Index, which tracks the EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment) to income ratio for an average household, witnessed steady improvement from 2010 to 2021 across the eight leading cities of India, especially during the pandemic when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut policy repo rate (REPO) to decadal lows
Moving up, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company has achieved a significant milestone of crossing Rs 3 lakh crore in Assets under Management. The company’s AUM as of July 31, 2024, stood at Rs 3.14 lakh crore, according to an official release from the life insurer. Notably, across all its business segments, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company has also provided life insurance cover to 9.84 crore lives as on June 2024 across all its business segments, this has grown by approx. 59% from 6.19 crore lives in June 2022. The total in-force sum assured stood at Rs. 35.10 lakh crore on June 30, 2024. Claims are the moment of truth for the Company and all claims are handled with utmost sensitivity and speed.
Elsewhere, Fortis Healthcare reported its fiscal first quarter earnings with profit at Rs 173.98 crore, up 40.4 per cent in comparison to Rs 123.95 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY24. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 1858.90 crore, up 12.2 per cent as against Rs 1657.41 crore recorded during the same period of previous financial year. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 342.5 crore, up 25.7 per cent on-year. Fortis Healthcare’s net debt as of 30th June 2024 stood at Rs 308 crore with a net debt to EBITDA of 0.22x as compared to the 0.35x as on 30th June 2023 (basis Q1 annualized EBITDA). Net debt to equity was at 0.04x versus 0.05x as on 30th June 2023.
Additionally, Pharma major Lupin has reported its financial performance for the quarter ending June 30, 2024. The drugmaker reported a 77 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 801 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2024, aided by robust sales across markets. The Mumbai-based drug maker had reported a net profit of Rs 452 crore in the April-June quarter of the last fiscal year. The total revenue from operations rose to Rs 5,600 crore for the first quarter, as against Rs 4,814 crore in the June quarter of FY24, Lupin said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday evening. The company said its sales in North America stood at Rs 2,041 crore, up 28 per cent from Rs 1,590 crore in the first quarter of last fiscal.
Lastly, The benchmark equity indices closed the trading session on a higher note on August 07. The BSE Sensex rose 896 points or 1.14% to finish the day’s trading at 79,489. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 323 points or 1.35% higher at 24,315.25. The Bank Nifty closed the day 0.95% or 473 points higher at 50,221.25. Similarly, the Nifty Midcap 100 closed 1,416 points or 2.55% higher at 56,931.40.