Stocks to Watch: ONGC, Apollo Hospitals, Biocon, NMDC, Vodafone Idea, Bata and more
ONGC | The state-run oil company reported December quarter that missed street expectations. Lower other income meant net profit not only declined 14 percent, but also missed estimates by nearly Rs 1,000 crore. Revenue for the quarter remained flat sequentially while operating profit or EBITDA increased by 8.5 percent. EBITDA margin was 20 basis points higher than estimates.Apollo Hospitals | Revenue growth for the December quarter stood at 17 percent year-on-year and was in-line with expectations. EBITDA margin narrowed to 11.9 percent from 16.1 percent last year and also missed estimates of 12.5 percent. On a sequential basis, the company’s net profit declined 24 percent. The company’s Digital Health and Pharmacy business saw net loss widen to Rs 99.7 crore from a loss of Rs 69.2 crore during the September quarter. The hospital chain said that it is on track to delivery gross merchandise value of Rs 1,600 crore in the current financial year for Apollo HealthCo. Retail + Diagnostics business revenue increased 62 percent but the division saw an EBIT loss compared to a profit in the September quarter.Biocon | Revenue for the quarter increased 35 percent year-on-year and was higher than estimates of Rs 2,677.1 crore. The quarter also includes around one month of integrating the Viatris biosimilar. However, the company reported a net loss of Rs 41.8 crore contrary to expectations of a net profit of Rs 194.7 crore. The net loss is due to an exceptional item of Rs 271 crore pertaining to acquisition costs. Biocon also saw a forex loss of Rs 44 crore compared to a forex gain of Rs 19 crore during the same period last year. Net R&D investments increased 144 percent year-on-year to Rs 337 crore. Additionally, the company has also signed a definitive agreement with Kotak Strategic Situations Fund for structured funding of up to Rs 1,200 crore.Vodafone Idea | Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 7,990 crore for the third quarter that ended December 31, 2022. In the September quarter, the company posted a net loss of Rs 7,595.5 crore. In the December quarter, total revenue stood at Rs 10,620.6 crore during the period under review, up 0.1 percent against Rs 10,614.6 crore in the September quarter. Operating profit or EBITDA increased 2 percent sequentially, while EBITDA margin expanded by 80 basis points.NMDC | December quarter results were largely in-line with estimates. Revenue of Rs 3,720 crore meant a decline of 37 percent compared to the same period last year. Total sales volume declined 3 percent to 9.58 MT. Average realisation per tonne also declined 35 percent from last year to Rs 3,821. Operating profit declined 56 percent as did the net profit. EBITDA margin narrowed to 30.7 percent from 44.5 percent last year. The company has also declared a first interim dividend of Rs 3.75 per share.Bata | The company’s quarterly revenue of Rs 900.2 crore missed a CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 961 crore. Operating profit, margin and net profit also missed expectations. The company said that the men’s dress category continued to lead growth, it crossed 2,000 total stores and overall sneaker sales more than doubled (up 142 percent) from last year. EBITDA margin, though below estimates, expanded by 300 basis points year-on-year.Bharat Dynamics | Thales and Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding for setting up manufacturing facilities in India for precision-strike 70mm laser-guided rockets (FZ275 LGR). Through the agreement, BDL will become a part of the FZ275 LGR global supply chain, providing the opportunity for export of Indian manufactured components to existing and future 70mm laser-guided rockets customers, a joint statement said on Tuesday.Aster DM Healthcare | December quarter margin and profit dips year-on-year. Revenue for the quarter increased 20.5 percent while operating profit increased 13 percent from last year. EBITDA margin declined 90 basis points. However, when compared to the September quarter, net profit nearly tripled while EBITDA margin expanded by over 300 basis points.Supriya Lifesciences | Revenue for the December quarter declined 10 percent year-on-year while operating profit declined over 60 percent. EBITDA margin fell to the lowest since listing while net profit declined 76 percent year-on-year.
