Dr Reddy’s Laboratories shares fall over 10% after weak Q1 results

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

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The share price of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories fell more than 10 percent on Tuesday after the company reported weak earnings for the quarter ended June 2021.

The pharma major posted a net profit of Rs 570.8 crore in Q1FY22, registering a fall of 1.5 percent from Rs 579.3 crore, YoY.

Revenue from operations during the quarter grew 11.4 percent to Rs 4,919.4 crore from Rs 4,417.6 crore, YoY.

The performance at the operating level was also weak with the EBITDA decreasing 12.3 percent to Rs 1,018.8 crore from Rs 1,162.2 crore and EBITDA margin narrowing by 560 bps to 20.7 percent from 26.3 percent, on a year-on-year basis.

Read here: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Q1 results: Profit falls 1.5% to Rs 570.8 crore, revenue up 11.4% YoY

Dr Reddy’s said that it received a subpoena from American market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for production of documents concerning Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) geographies.

The matter may result in government enforcement actions against the company in the US and foreign jurisdictions and could lead to civil and criminal sanctions under relevant laws, the company added.

The probability of such actions and outcomes is not reasonably ascertainable currently, it said.

At 2:05 pm, the stock was trading 10.57 percent lower at Rs 4,837.40 apiece on the BSE.

Catch all the latest updates from the stock market here.

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

Govt scraps basic customs duty on masur dal to bring down retail prices

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

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The government on Monday reduced the basic customs duty on imports of masur dal to zero and halved the agriculture infrastructure development cess on the lentil to 10 percent, with an aim to augment domestic supplies as well as provide “relief to consumers” from high prices. With the reduction in basic customs duty and the cess, the effective import duty on masur dal will come down to 10 percent from 30 percent.

The reduced basic customs duty and cess will come into effect from Tuesday. Notifications in this regard were tabled in both houses of Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“To give relief to consumers, Government has reduced Customs Duty on Masur Dal from 30 per cent to 10 percent. (Basic Customs Duty reduced from 10 percent to ‘Nil’ and Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent). This will bring down the retail price of Masur Dal,” the finance ministry said in a tweet.

According to the notifications, the basic customs duty has been reduced from 10 percent to nil on lentils (masur dal) originated in or exported from countries other than the US.

Also, the basic customs duty has been reduced to 20 percent from 30 percent on lentils originating in or exported from the US. Further, the Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC) on lentils has been reduced from the present rate of 20 percent to 10 percent.

The retail price (model) of masur dal has increased by 21 percent to Rs 85 per kg now from Rs 70 per kg on April 1, this year, as per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry. On Monday, the maximum selling price was as high as Rs 129 a kg at Dharwad while the minimum selling price was Rs 71 in Warangal and Rajkot.

As per the agriculture ministry data, India’s domestic production of lentil, a rabi crop, increased to nearly 1.3 million tonne in 2020-21 crop year (July-June) from 1.1 million tonne in the previous year. India’s total pulses production during 2020-21 crop year stood at 25.58 million tonne, which is higher by 3.64 million tonne than the last five years’ average production of 21.93 million tonne.

Although India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, it imports them to meet the shortfall in the domestic market. In June, the government had imposed a stock limit on all pulses, except moong, held by whole-sellers, retailers, importers, and millers till October-end to prevent hoarding and check price rise.

However, recently, the government exempted importers of pulses from the stock limit. It also relaxed the stock limit for millers and whole-sellers. Now the stock limit is applicable only on tur, urad, moong and masoor dals till October 31. India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) Vice Chairman Bimal Kothari said the government should not have reduced the import duty as prices of lentils are not going to soften.

“It will not benefit any Indian stakeholders except the Canadian farmers, Canadian exporters, Australian farmers, Australian exporters and the multinational companies,” he said. According to him, the price of lentils may merely reduce by Rs 1-2 and not by Rs 13-14.

“Upon this notification of the government, the Canadian and Australian exporters have already increased the price by USD 75-80 per tonne. This policy is definitely not in the interest of the Indian consumer, the Indian farmer, Indian pulse trade and not even the government,” Kothari said. The association said the government should roll back the decision.

The government had introduced the AIDC on certain items, including petrol, diesel, gold and some imported agricultural products, this fiscal in a bid to boost agriculture infrastructure.

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COVID-19 vaccination for children likely from August, says Health Minister

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

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Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said the government is likely to start vaccinating children against COVID-19 from August. The remarks came at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting held in the national capital.

The Minister added that India is soon going to be the largest vaccine-producing country as more companies will get production licences, ANI reported. Currently, India is administering three vaccines – Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Serum Insitute of India’s Covishield, and Russia’s Sputnik V.

A total of 45.7 crore doses have been supplied to the states and Union territories from January to date and an additional 6.03 crore doses are expected to be supplied by July 31. This will amount to a total of 51.73 crore doses supplied from January to July 31, it added. “It should be appreciated that India has crossed the landmark of 440 million (44.19 crores) doses administered, which is the largest number achieved in the world and has been done at quite a brisk pace too. Out of these, 9.6 crores are cases where both the doses have been administered,” the statement said.

A total of 11.97 crore Covid vaccine doses were administered in June. For July (as of July 26), a total of 10.62 crore doses have been administered. It is the endeavour of the government to provide vaccination to the eligible citizens in the shortest possible time according to the availability of the vaccines, the statement said.

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With inputs from PTI

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

Pegasus spyware: Veteran journalists N Ram, Sashi Kumar move SC; seek independent probe into govt snooping allegations

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

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Veteran journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar have moved the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe by its sitting or retired judge into the reports of alleged snooping by government agencies on eminent citizens, politicians and scribes by using Israeli spyware Pegasus. The petition, likely to come up for hearing within the next few days, sought to investigate if the illegal hacking into the phones using the Pegasus spyware represented an attempt by agencies and organisations to muzzle and chill the exercise of free speech and expression of dissent in India.

It also sought a direction to the Centre to disclose if the government or any of its agencies obtained a license for Pegasus spyware and used it, either directly or indirectly, to conduct surveillance in any manner. The petitioners claimed that investigation involving several leading publications around the world has revealed that more than 142 Indians, including journalists, lawyers, government ministers, opposition politicians, constitutional functionaries and civil society activists, have been identified as potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus software.

It claimed that the forensic analysis of several mobile phones belonging to persons targeted for surveillance by the Security Lab of Amnesty International has confirmed Pegasus-induced security breaches. The targeted surveillance using military-grade spyware is an unacceptable violation of the right to privacy which has been held to be a fundamental right under Articles 14 (equality before the law), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) by the Supreme Court, it added.

It said the targeted hacking of phones belonging to journalists, doctors, lawyers, civil society activists, government ministers and opposition politicians seriously compromises the effective exercise of the fundamental right to free speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It has an obvious chilling effect on expression by threatening invasion into the most core and private aspects of a person’s life, it claimed.

It claimed that the hack occasioned by the Pegasus spyware constituted a criminal offence punishable under interalia Section 66 (computer-related offences), 66B (punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device), 66E (punishment for violation of privacy) and 66F (punishment for cyberterrorism) of the IT Act, punishable with imprisonment and/or fine. The attack prima facie constitutes an act of cyber-terrorism that has several grave political and security ramifications, especially considering that the devices of government ministers, senior political figures and constitutional functionaries which may contain sensitive information have been targeted, it added.

Earlier, a petition was filed by a lawyer before the apex court seeking a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the snooping row.

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Morepen Laboratories Q1FY22: Profit jumps 57% to Rs 30.47 cr

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

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Drug firm Morepen Laboratories on Tuesday reported a 57 percent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 30.47 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, helped by higher revenue. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 19.37 crore for the corresponding period in the previous financial year.

Its net revenue stood at Rs 388.31 crore in the quarter under consideration, up 50 percent against Rs 258.97 crore a year ago, Morepen Laboratories said in a regulatory filing. The company has tied up with The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, for the expansion of production of Sputnik V vaccine in an exclusive facility in Himachal Pradesh.

“The first six batches are being shipped to the Gamaleya Center, Moscow, for quality approval. We are all set to start the commercial production within 4-6 weeks subject to product approvals and regulatory permissions,” the company said.

Shares of Morepen Laboratories were trading 4.80 percent higher at Rs 69.90 apiece on BSE.

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Job seeker lists ‘googling’ as skill on CV, gets an interview

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

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Many job seekers resort to different sorts of gimmicks to draw attention and in line with the same, a person recently listed ‘googling’ as one of his skills on the resume. The resume not only went viral but also got him an interview.

A Twitter user by the name of Cat McGee tweeted that she has received a CV in which an applicant listed ‘Googling’ as one of his skills. She added that the candidate has been called for an interview.

“Got a CV today and the guy literally listed one of his skills as ‘googling’. We’re interviewing him,” the software developer, who works for Coursedog, an internet company working in the field of higher education, wrote on the microblogging site.

The viral tweet has got over 1,84,400 likes and has been retweeted more than 13,300 times while the quote has been tweeted 2,585 times.

A user asked McGee if she is actually going to interview the applicant or this was just a social media gimmick. She responded by saying the candidate has a great CV and the interview will go on as planned if he agrees to appear.

Is it true that you’re interviewing him or is it just the sake of posting it on twitter

— Likith ↺ (@ilikith) July 23, 2021

One Twitter user said, “the ability to find and verify the right information is a skill” while another said learning how to use Google well is an underrated skill.

Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega, a professor at FLACSO México also tweeted, “Googling IS a skill – knowing how to use Google Scholar is key.”

It is. The ability to find and verify the right information is a skill. https://t.co/GZFPFpfEYo

— Liam Houghton (@LiamHoughton128) July 26, 2021

Saying it again – learning to how to use Google well is an underrated skill. https://t.co/VYorNSK6NB

— Shivani Shah (@wordsbyshivani) July 27, 2021

Googling IS a skill – knowing how to use Google Scholar is key. https://t.co/GCQB6jkx9r

— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) July 24, 2021

The tweet also fetched some hilarious reactions with people quote-tweeting using memes and hilarious GIFs. A few users said that they will also be adding ‘googling’ as a skill on their CVs.

One of the users said the term ‘internet research’ will sound professional and could be of use to people who, after reading this tweet, would like to edit their CVs/resumes.

Cat McGee responded that it depends on the situation and the job requirement. “Googling is more clear and shows some personality, especially if you can do it in a humorous way,” she added.

For those of you who want to add this to your CV/resume but sound a bit more professional, you can call it “internet research.” You’re welcome

— Dwayne Smith (@FutureDrSmith1) July 24, 2021

Googling is an informal term that refers to looking for information with the help of the search engine Google. Owing to its massive popularity and dominance in the search engine domain, Google was adapted as an intransitive verb and Googling became popular.

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Axis Bank shares drop after Q1 profit misses estimates

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

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Axis Bank share price declined over 3 percent intraday in trade on Tuesday as it missed the street’s expectations on net profit in June quarter results. The country’s fourth-largest private sector lender by market value had reported its quarterly results on Monday after market hours.

Axis Bank posted a 94.23 percent year-on-year surge in net profit to Rs 2,160.15 crore for the quarter ended June 30. A CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted the bank’s net profit at Rs 2,575.1 crore.

Total income rose 2.94 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 19,591.63 crore, according to a regulatory filing.

On a sequential basis, net profit fell 19.31 percent and net income slipped 2.83 percent.

Axis Bank shares fell as much as 3.30 percent to Rs 731.20 in intraday trade.

Axis Bank’s net interest income (NII) rose 11 percent YoY to Rs 7,760.3 crore. Its gross and net non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of total loans came in at 3.85 percent and 1.20 percent respectively at the end of June 30. At the end of March, they had come in at 3.70 percent and 1.05 percent respectively.

Consequently, there were net slippages in NPAs (before write-offs) for the quarter of Rs 3,976 crore as compared to Rs 1,822 crore in Q4FY21 and net slippages of Rs 1,610 crore in Q1FY21. Net slippages in NPAs (before write-offs) for Retail and SME loans stood at Rs 3,741 crore and Rs 84 crore respectively.

On Axis Bank’s Q1 performance, domestic brokerage HDFC Securities pointed that the bank’s journey towards normalised credit costs and steady-state profitability has yet again been derailed and interrupted by deterioration in asset quality.

“Although the headline asset quality trends are consistent with those of other lenders (lower collections and higher slippages), incremental slippages disappointed with the mix largely driven by the retail portfolio,” it added.

While the lender held healthy surplus Covid provisions and maintained a comfortable PCR, its performance on asset quality has been inconsistent, said HDFC Securities, which maintains a ‘buy’ on the stock with a SOTP price of Rs 825.

HDFC Securities said it expects Axis Bank’s credit costs to normalise in the second half of FY22. The brokerage said it sees the lender reverting to steady-state profitability by FY23.

Higher slippages led to the increase in the lender’s GNPA ratio, however, its contingent buffer looks adequate, according to LKP.

“The future outlook of asset quality is at manageable level as the strong standard asset coverage is likely to absorb delinquencies or restructuring,” said the brokerage, which recommends a ‘buy’ on the stock with a positive outlook in view of the lender’s adequate Covid buffer, strong capital position and lower restructuring pool.

At 1:30 pm, the stock traded down 2.68 percent at Rs 735.90 apiece on BSE, underperforming the 30-scrip benchmark index S&P BSE Sensex, which was down 0.49 percent at 52,594.99.

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

Paytm launches ‘Namaskara Bengaluru’ mini-app enabling users to avail multiple services

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

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Digital financial services platform Paytm announced the launch of its first city-specific mini-app ‘Namaskara Bengaluru’ on Tuesday. The app will be a one-stop destination to discover Bengaluru’s popular restaurants, shops, events and news that will enable users to avail best offers and discounts from the listed merchants.

Users can visit the Mini-App Store on their Paytm App and click on ‘Namaskara Bengaluru’ to gain access to the deals and scroll through all of Paytm partner apps.

“Bengaluru is an important city for Paytm. We hope that with the launch of the city-specific mini-app “Namaskara Bengaluru, we will bring convenience for our users by helping them discover the best deals and offers from nearby stores and also get access to local services,” said the company spokesperson.

The mini-app store will enable the users to book doctor’s appointments, ride cabs, order products for home delivery, purchase travel & entertainment tickets, and also book slots for COVID vaccinations.

Through the company’s partners, users can order food from Bengaluru’s famous restaurants like Shareif Bhai, Empire Hotel, EatFit, and Nandhana Palace or order anything they want from Mysore Pak, sandalwood oil to coffee, toys, and so much more.

Additionally, the health and wellness store within the Mini-App Store will give users one-click access to a large selection of health supplements, essential vitamins, immunity boosters & ayurvedic medicines through top health tech platforms including 1mg, Netmeds, Apollo 24×7, DocsApp/Medibuddy, Zyla, Mfine, and Credihealth among others.

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Prospects for cement industry in FY22 look bright, says Kumar Mangalam Birla

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

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The Indian cement industry has been on a volume growth path led by several government initiatives and has a “bright” prospect for this financial year, said UltraTech Cement Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. The government’s spending on infrastructure projects and affordable housing schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) with enhanced budgetary allocations will be the primary drivers of growth for the cement industry, said the latest annual report of the Aditya Birla group firm.

“Cement demand is closely linked to the housing and infrastructure sector. The industry has been on a volume growth path, motivated by the government’s Housing for All by 2022′ mission and large infrastructure projects in the pipeline,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla in his address to shareholders.

Birla further noted that “going forward, prospects for the industry in FY22 look bright.” Over the pandemic impacted FY21, Birla said though the cement industry witnessed de-growth of 10-12 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the second half (H2FY21) it began to show signs of early recovery.

“Lockdown-led demand disruption was the highest in Q1FY21 on account of suspension of production, stalled construction activities and mass exodus of labour. The total lockdown period from late March to end-April 2020, was a huge challenge for all manufacturing industries,” Birla said.

But with the central and state governments taking measured steps towards the opening up of the economy, some encouraging trends were seen from the latter part of May 2020, driven largely by a better-than-expected pick-up in cement consumption in the rural markets.

“Amidst the pandemic, cement consumption witnessed strong growth in the rural, semi-urban and retail markets. In rural India, better labour availability, increase in construction of rural infrastructure and low-cost housing drove cement demand,” he added. Demand is also getting influenced by the resumption of construction work related to institutional infrastructure projects such as road and metro rail networks, Birla added.

According to the Cement Manufacturing Association (CMA), the total installed capacity in the Indian cement sector is approximately 545 million tonne per annum. It accounts for nearly 7 percent of the global installed capacity. The Indian cement sector is the second-largest cement industry in the world, according to CMA.

While talking about UltraTech, Birla said the board has approved a fresh CAPEX of Rs 5,477 crore towards increasing the capacity by 12.8 MTPA with a mix of brownfield and greenfield expansions. “The additional capacity will be created in the fast-growing markets of the east, central, and northern regions of the country. This expansion is in addition to your company’s 6.7 MTPA capacity expansion currently underway in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal,” he said.

Commercial production from these capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner during FY22 and FY23, Birla added. UltraTech, with a consolidated capacity of 116.8 million tonne per annum (MTPA) of grey cement, is the leading player in the segment.

The Aditya Birla group firm has 22 integrated manufacturing units, 27 grinding units, one clinkerisation unit and 7 bulk packaging terminals. In FY21, UltraTech net revenue was up 5.41 percent to Rs 44,726 crore.

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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