Category: Companies

Market at all-time highs: Takeaways from India Inc’s Q3 performance so far

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Markets are at all-time highs and with two months of the third quarter behind us, CNBC-TV18’s Prashant Nair decided to put together the latest commentary and data points coming from the top corporates across eight sectors. The exercise avoids high-frequency macro data and sticks with corporate data points.

To start with, the country top car maker – Maruti – is now back at 100 percent capacity utilization versus 77 percent in the last quarter. The management told CNBC-TV18 that retail sales are up 70 percent in November and that they grew faster than wholesale numbers.

On to tractors, which is indicative of rural demand. Sales in November grew 55 percent for Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and 31 percent for Escorts.

What about trucks and commercial vehicles? CNBC-TV18 reported yesterday that shortage of trucks is leading to increase in freight rates across many sectors like fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), food, infrastructure etc. The Ashok Leyland management has said that truck segment demand is coming back due to movement in sectors like cement and steel.

In aviation, the market leader Interglobe Aviation (IndiGo) has now reached 70 percent of its pre-COVID capacity with 1,000 daily commercial flights. IndiGo had guided for 60-70 percent pre-COVID capacity by Q3.

Real estate stocks have been on a tear. DLF claims to have sold out its newly launched plotted development in Gurgaon with the company recording pre sales of Rs 300 crore.

Old economy space cement has been tepid stock performance wise but the Shree Cements management told CNBC-TV18 that demand across India is very strong with stronger demand in rural India.

No such problems for steel companies which continue hikes into December. Cumulatively, since the bottom in June/July, hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in India have moved up Rs 12,000-13,0000/tonne.

News reports suggest that festive demand for premium products was ahead of expectations. Also, while this data is two months old, smartphone sales in Q2 have recovered to pre-COVID levels, up 180 percent on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis.

The momentum in management commentary has been quite positive with two months of the quarter behind us but with price to earnings multiples for Nifty at new highs, the question and the trick is to figure out what is priced in.

Watch the video for more

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bharti Airtel buys 4.9% stake in Bharti Infratel

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Bharti Airtel has purchased a 4.9 percent stake in Bharti Infratel, the group’s tower infrastructure arm, sources said.

The purchase was carried out via block deals and are within norms for creeping acquisition — which limit promoter purchases at 5 percent of equity in a year.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that Providence, Edge Point and FIIs likely sold 14.7 crore shares at Rs 216-224 per share. They added that Vodafone Idea and PE firm KKR, which also hold stake in the company, were not among the sellers.

Bharti Infratel shares were up above 3 percent in trade today while Bharti Airtel was up 0.5 percent.

Bharti Airtel was unavailable for comment.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

This start-up may have tapped into the market for Aatmanirbhar safety tech

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

A Coimbatore-based start-up may have tapped into what it says is a fledgling market for “safety lifestyle”, in these post-pandemic times. Its offering is a pocket-sized UV sanitizer, which it claims is selling like hotcakes.

In a nutshell, that’s the story of MY, and the company’s flagship product, UV One, which it says is India’s first-ever Aatmanirbhar UV sanitizer.

“As Indians living in the pandemic, we have slowly begun realizing that using PPE kits as protective gear is merely an interventional measure, and these measures do not prevent a breakout,” says Kavin Kumar Kandasamy, founder and CEO of MY.

“The fight against COVID should be looked at as a lifestyle issue, and not as the fight against a pandemic,” he added.

Pandemic or the need to bring about a lifestyle change aside, Kavin admits that one of the motivating factors to design and manufacture anti-COVID lifestyle products was Prime Minister Modi’s call to be self-reliant in manufacturing, and thus non-reliant on imports.

“We should be able to make such products, and shouldn’t rely on the likes of Xiaomi,” he says.

That’s how MY designed and soft-launched its wholly made-in-India UV sanitizer, UV One; a table-top UV sanitizer christened UV Safe; and its range of anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-pollution masks.

The company is targeting sales of 3.5 lakh UV One sanitizers by the end of FY21, with orders of 14,000 secured in the first week of November itself.

“We were already in talks with corporate enterprises and have closed nearly 45 deals,” says Kavin, who adds that a well-known hotel chain has placed a bulk order for UV One sanitizers to keep cars safe. At the same time, a renowned food delivery giant has also placed a similar order.

No wonder then the company’s product pipeline is choc-a-block too. “We will be producing anti-viral overalls, which will lend themselves to a stylish design to replace PPE suits worn by non-medical personnel while traveling on flights, and a pocket GPS that will allow real-time tracking to stay updated on someone’s movements in the interest of healthcare and safety,” Kavin adds.

Important to note, however, is that MY isn’t the only manufacturer of pocket sanitizers. Delhi-based Daily Objects’ pocket-sized UV sanitizer is priced at about Rs 2,799, MY’s UV One sanitizer is priced at Rs 1,999 and is manufactured in Coimbatore and Bengaluru.

In the days since launch, Chinese companies like Halonix have priced their UV sanitizers at about Rs 1,499.

However, with sales up and away, MY hopes to raise funds in the next six months and has already been approached by three prospective investors.

“We are trying to amplify business first before we decide to talk numbers with these possible investors,” says Kavin.

For now, the company is playing to its strengths — Aatmanirbhar manufacturing and pricing.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

NDTV shares: Sebi bars two promoters, other individuals, entities for insider trading activities

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Regulator Sebi has barred NDTV promoters, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, from the securities market for two years and also directed them to disgorge illegal gains of more than Rs 16.97 crore for indulging in insider trading more than 12 years ago.

Besides, the watchdog has barred seven individuals and entities for insider trading in the shares of the company for a period varying from one to two years.

Also, some of them have been asked to disgorge illegal gains made from trading in the shares when they were in possession of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI).

The directions follow a probe conducted by the markets regulator between September 2006 and June 2008 wherein various violations of insider trading regulations were found. The amount has to be paid jointly or severally by them along with 6 percent interest from April 17, 2008 till the date of actual payment.

All the entities have violated Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations, Sebi said in three separate orders passed late on Friday. Sebi noted that Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy together made a gain of Rs 16.97 crore while indulging in insider trading in the shares of New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) while in possession of UPSI relating to the proposed reorganization of the company.

Prannoy Roy was the chairman and whole time director and Radhika Roy was the managing director during period under investigation and were part of the decision making chain that had led to crystallization of the UPSI. Discussions pertaining to reorganisation of the company started on September 7, 2007 and the disclosure was made on April 16, 2008.

Hence, September 7, 2007 to April 16, 2008 was UPSI period. Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy sold shares on April 17, 2008, when the trading window for them was closed and made a profit of Rs 16,97,38,335.

They violated PIT norms and also acted in contravention of NDTV’s code of conduct for prevention of insider trading which prohibited them from trading at least till 24 hours after the information was disclosed to the stock exchanges.

Roy’s have been restrained from accessing the securities market for two years and directed to disgorge illegal gains along with 6 per cent interest per annum.

Vikramaditya Chandra, who was the group CEO and executive director during the relevant period, made a profit of Rs 6.67 lakh; Ishwari Prasad Bajpai, who was senior advisor-editorial and projects, made illegal gain of Rs 8.82 lakh; while director finance and group CFO Saurav Banerjee incurred a loss of Rs 47,000 while trading in NDTV’s scrip during the UPSI period.

The shares which were sold during the UPSI period were acquired by them pursuant to allotment under ESOPs.

Sebi has thus directed disgorgement of respective illegal gains along with 6 per cent interest per annum and barred Chandra, Bajpai and Banerjee from accessing securities market for one year. Also, Sanjay Dutt’s wife Prenita Dutt and entities connected to him — Quantum Securities Pvt Ltd, SAL Real Estate Pvt Ltd and Taj Capital Partners Pvt Ltd — had made a wrongful gain of Rs 2.2 crore through insider trading while in possession of UPSI.

Sanjay Dutt was an on-call and in house advisor/team member of NDTV group the scope of his work included responsibility and accountability for the corporate finance and strategic planning function of the firm. During the period of investigation, the firm had filed six price sensitive information to exchanges.

He was in possession of or has had access to price sensitive informations and had communicated the same to his wife, Prenita Dutt, and entities connected to him — Quantum Securities, SAL Real Estate and Taj Capital Partners — which, in turn, traded in the shares of NDTV during the UPSI period and made illegal gains of Rs 2.2 crore.

Therefore, Sebi has directed disgorgement of the illegal gains which is to be paid by them jointly or severally along with 6 per cent interest and also barred all the entities including Sanjay Dutt from accessing securities market for two years.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Around 83% of Indian workforce nervous to go back to office without COVID-19 vaccine: Survey

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

New Delhi: Around 83 per cent of employees in India are still nervous about going back to the office as there is no vaccine, according to a survey by IT company Atlassian.

From an organisational perspective, 88 percent of Indian employees believed their company was already well prepared for returning to the office, while 78 per cent of the workforce in India were annoyed that it took a pandemic to allow them to work from home, the survey found.

The survey, conducted in October, found that around 86 percent of employees in India thought the members of their team feel closer to each other now and 75 percent thought their team worked better together compared to pre-COVID-19.

“The research findings point to how the ‘new normal’ will shape work, relationships and collaboration in the future. These are the voices of real people facing real complexities,” Dinesh Ajmera, site lead and head of engineering (Bengaluru) at Atlassian, said in a statement.

Now is the opportunity to use the insights the company has been presented with to adapt for the better, guided by the experiences of employees around the world, he added.

The company said it used a mixed-method approach, combining 19 in-depth remote interviews through Zoom with various workers in India, a two-week global diary study of six participants and a 15-minute quantitative survey of almost 1,400 knowledge workers across tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India.

“People are sharing more personal experiences with their team. The majority of Indian employees (89 percent) reported a feeling of unity and cohesion in their team. Another insightful revelation was that 1 in 2 (50 percent) of managers said their job security was much better now than before COVID-19,” the survey report said.

It added that the pandemic has triggered a shift in managerial roles, and managers are feeling more integral to workflows and productivity than ever.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Carlyle Group in advanced stages to acquire Granules India for around $1 billion, say sources

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Granules India, which has been on the block for a while may have found a buyer in large private equity firm Carlyle Group, which has been active on pharma investments, three independent sources with direct knowledge of the acquisition told CNBC-TV18.

They suggested that Carlyle is in advanced stages to acquire Granules India for around $1 billion. Carlyle is expected to buy promoter shares which will trigger an open offer to acquire additional stake from others. Carlyle recently acquired Sequent Scientific and bought a minority stake in Piramal Pharma.

Granules India has been exploring options to sell stake due to favourable valuations and succession issues. The company is into active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and contract research and manufacturing (CRAMS).

Granules India did not comment on CNBC-TV18’s query on the deal development. PE firm Carlyle declined to comment.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Goa govt issues Rs 156-cr demand notice to JSW Steel

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Goa government has issued a demand notice to JSW Steel Ltd, handling coal at Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), to pay Rs 156.34 crore in the form of Goa Rural Improvement and Welfare Cess, within a fortnight, for transportation of coal. In a demand notice issued on November 9, 2020, a copy of which was released on Monday, the Assistant Director of Transport has asked JSW Steel to pay Rs 156.34 crore to the state within 15 days.

When contacted, JSW Steel declined to comment. The notice said that the company representative may face punishment with imprisonment of two years or fine of Rs 25,000 if the cess is not paid.

The government has said that the company was served a show-cause notice on September 4, 2020, for non-payment of cess under Goa Rural Improvement and Welfare Act, 2000 for transportation of coal done through Mormugao Port Trust to the plant site. The company representative was asked to remain present before the Transport Department on September 16, 2020.

The notice mentions that the company in their reply on October 13, 2020, said that due to the COVID-19 outbreak minimum staff reported on duty. The company had said that it will report back to the state government as soon as COVID-related restrictions are lifted by the government, but they failed to do so.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tata Group, BigBasket deal in final stage; Alibaba may exit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The deal between Tata Group and one of India’s largest e-grocers, Bigbasket, is in the last lap, CNBC-TV18 learns from sources. The Tata Group is set to acquire a majority stake in the e-grocer and the deal could be closed by the end of the month, sources said.

BigBasket is among the largest e-grocers in the country, with nearly 3 lakh orders per day, according to data by Forrester. BigBasket’s valuation as on March 2020 was $1.23 billion, and according to company research platform Tofler, the company clocked FY19 revenues of Rs 5,200 crore and a loss of around Rs 920 crore.

Industry watchers see the move as part of the Tata Group’s strategy to build a super app. The Tata Group’s internal M&A team is working on the deal, sources said.

Tata Group is likely to buy out Alibaba’s entire 29.1 percent stake, as well as the stakes of some other investors. The other major investors, according to data by Traxcn are Abraaj Group (16.3 percent), Ascent Capital (8.6 percent), Helion Venture Partners (7 percent), Bessemer Venture Partners (6.2 percent), Mirae Asset Naver Asia (5 percent), International Finance Corporation (4.1 percent), Sands Capital (4 percent), and CDC Group (3.5 percent).

BigBasket, Tata Group, Alibaba did not respond to queries from CNBC-TV18.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow