Tag: q3 earnings

Mankind Pharma wants to export niche products

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

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Mankind Pharma is looking to enter the export market of niche products though the main focus will continue to be the domestic market as it is unsure how long the current pace of export growth will continue, the Indian pharmaceutical company’s Vice Chairman Rajeev Juneja said on February 12.

“As far as export is concerned, it is a one-off. We don’t know till when we will have this golden run. Mankind has always been a more-than 90% domestic company. So, our focus is always towards the domestic side,” Juneja told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive conversation.

June’s remarks come days after the company reported its results for the October to December 2023 quarter in which its export revenue grew 118% year-on-year to ₹207 crore, aided by certain one-off opportunities in the US.

In addition to the US, the company also exports to many countries including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Chile, and Kenya among others.

Also Read: Mankind Pharma promoters launch ₹1,330 crore block deal to meet minimum shareholding norms

The export revenue growth has been rising for the past many quarters. In fact, for the nine months ending December 2023, the growth was 154% at ₹546 crore from the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Reflecting on the export outlook, Juneja said Mankind Pharma is very clear that it wants to enter the export market with niche products — any product that is complex, difficult to make, and has entry barriers. “Only then do we want to go for exports, otherwise not; we are doing great on the domestic side,” he said.

Domestic business, on the other hand, witnessed a strong growth of 20% YoY during the third quarter of the fiscal primarily driven by outperformance in chronic therapies (1.5x to IPM), recovery in anti-infectives (13.8% YoY vs 9.5% in IPM), and further bolstered by strong growth in modern trade and hospital sales, according to the firm’s statement.

The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 39% YoY to ₹611 crore with a margin of 23.4%, which is up 240 basis points annually for the quarter under review. Juneje expects the margin to sustain between the 24-26% range.

Watch the accompanying video for the full interview

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

This analyst has raised target price on Hero Motocorp shares after Q3 results but…

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

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Hero Motocorp shares traded lower in early trade on February 12 despite the two-wheeler maker reporting a 50% increase in its net profit for the quarter ended December 2023, which came on the back of robust sales across geographies.

Global brokerage CLSA has raised its target price of the Hero Moto stock following the third quarter result and has an outperform call on it. A few others, however, have maintained their target price which is below the last closing price of ₹4,908.50 on February 9.

CLSA has increased the target price to ₹5,246, implying nearly 7% upside from the last closing price. This is because the brokerage expects the two-wheeler maker to gain market share in the 125cc+ segment with launches.

It noted that Hero Moto’s gross margin expanded sequentially and that the company’s management has guided for double-digit growth for the industry. It also acknowledged that the firm’s EV business was loss-making.

Also Read: Hero MotoCorp declares dividend of ₹75 per share, special dividend of ₹25; net profit jumps 51%

The brokerage commentary comes as following the results, Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta stated, “In the coming fiscal, we will be launching new products in the mid and affordable segment as well. We believe we are well placed to accelerate growth and increase our market shares as we move forward.”

Brokerage firm Nomura has set a target of ₹5,356 for the auto stock with a neutral rating as it believes the firm is pursuing the right strategy to lift growth and market share. It is also of the view that execution of 125cc, EVs and Harley are key monitorable for re-rating. Noting that margins were in line with its expectations, it said they were supported by commodities, leap savings and price hikes.

Nomura also highlighted that the company’s management expects FY25 industry revenue growth of more than 10% and the firm itself to grow faster.

However, Goldman Sachs has given the stock a sell call with a target price of ₹3,730. This means it expects the share price to decline nearly 25% from the last closing price even as it acknowledges the market share picking up in ICE + EV.

It noted that the ICE 2W portfolio, which is presently at 16% EBITDA margin, is enabling 125 to 150 basis points of annualised EV business investment.

Morgan Stanley has given Hero Moto an underweight rating with a target price of ₹3,638. “The disruption risk in the core segment and elevated valuations keep us underweight,” it said.

The brokerage added that the firm’s management appears to be executing well on its strategy and that market share gains in the premium segment will be key to track.

Hero Motocorp shares were trading more than 3% lower at ₹4,760 on BSE at 10 am.

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

Apollo Hospitals targets ₹500 crore in diagnostics revenue in FY24

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

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Apollo Hospitals is eyeing diagnostics revenue of ₹500 crore for the current financial year (FY24). The company’s Managing Director, Suneeta Reddy, believes there is huge potential for growth in the diagnostics business, and Apollo is all set to capitalise on its network to become the number three player in the diagnostics space soon.

Reddy noted that the diagnostics revenue grew at 19% to ₹111 crore for the third quarter of FY24. The segment’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin is already at around 10% and with the company’s recent investments in speciality diagnostics, there is scope for further improvement.

Apollo Health and Lifestyle (AHLL), which includes the clinics and diagnostics business of the company, has a revenue of ₹1,011 crore for the first nine months of the financial year (FY24).

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise‘s revenue for the third quarter of FY24 was up 14% year-on-year (YoY) at ₹4,850.6 crore from ₹4,263.6 crore. Profit rose 60% YoY to ₹254 crore from ₹162 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin improved to 12.7% from 12% in the same quarter last year.

Read Here | Apollo Hospitals eyes expansion with ₹3,000 crore investment over 3 years

Reddy also hinted at potential investments in Apollo Health Co, indicating that the company is open to exploring opportunities and will present a comprehensive plan to the board and investors at the appropriate juncture.

Apollo HealthCo, the company’s digital healthcare and omni-channel pharmacy platform, reported a revenue of ₹2,049.3 crore in Q3FY24 compared to ₹1,757.8 crore last year. The segment’s EBIT loss narrowed to ₹10 crore from ₹74.2 crore in the previous year.

The market capitalisation of Apollo Hospitals is ₹88,850 crore and it competes with industry peers Max Healthcare Institute, and Fortis Healthcare.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals have gained more than 43% in the past year.

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

As Zomato ‘raises the bar’, analysts raise target price on stock and expect over 40% upside

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

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After Zomato reported a third straight quarter of profit and also raised its revenue guidance on February 8, multiple brokerages have raised their target price on the food delivery firm’s stock.

Global brokerage Bernstein has set a target price of ₹180 with an outperform call on the firm. Pointing to the year-on-year revenue guidance move from 40% to 50%, the brokerage said the food tech company has “raised the bar again” with medium-term growth expectations.

It believes Zomato’s October to December 2023 result reinforces the durability of the platform. Within segments, food delivery continued to positively surprise, up 27% year-on-year while Blinkit grew a robust 103% YoY and 28% sequentially led by category expansion, it noted.

Jefferies, meanwhile, has a buy call on the stock and has raised the target price to ₹205, implying it expects up to 43% upside from the February 8 closing price on BSE. It called the firm’s quick commerce performance exceptionally strong for the quarter. It highlighted smart margin gains in food delivery but feels growth here could have been better. The brokerage has raised FY24-26 adjusted EBITDA estimate by 4-10%.

Morgan Stanley has maintained its overweight call and target price of ₹150. It also highlighted the firm’s quarterly beat on operating profits and good cash generation. The consolidated adjusted revenues and EBITDA were also above projections, it said.

HSBC too has a buy call on the stock and has raised its target price from ₹150 to ₹163, noting that the food delivery as well as quick commerce businesses performed better than expected.

Going forward, it expects normalisation in food delivery growth while it said quick commerce continues to perform both in terms of growth and profitability.

The brokerage commentary comes after the company reported its earnings for the December 2023 quarter in which its profit came it at ₹138 crore, as against a loss of ₹347 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue grew 69% year-on-year to ₹3,288 crore, compared to ₹1948 crore in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

Zomato’s gross order value is back up to 25% and the management expects it to continue growing over 20% YoY.

The company also said that it is on track to meet its guidance of adjusted breakeven for Blinkit on or before the June quarter of FY25. Blinkit’s Gross Order Value doubled from last year, rising 103% to ₹3,542 crore.

Zomato shares ended more than a percent higher at ₹144 on BSE on February 8.

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

Birla Corp trims FY24 volume guidance on tepid demand in some markets

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

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Birla Corporation, flagship company of the MP Birla Group, has trimmed its volume guidance for the current financial year (FY24) to 13% from 15% due to tepid market conditions.

Though the demand from infrastructure and commercial segments continues to be strong, the housing sector, especially rural housing is subdued in some of the markets, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Aditya Saraogi, told CNBC-TV18.

The Kolkata-based company, however, retained its guidance for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) at ₹850 per tonne for FY24 despite some pressure on realisations.

The EBITDA per tonne for the third quarter was around ₹903 per tonne and for the first nine months of FY24 (9MFY24) it was ₹749 per tonne. This means the company will have to earn an EBITDA of ₹1,050-1,100 per tonne in the fourth quarter (Q4FY24).

Saraogi believes the EBITDA per tonne target is achievable as the new cement plant at Mukutban in Maharashtra is increasingly contributing to the profitability, with costs declining and volumes ramping up.

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The improvement in EBITDA is also a result of cost saving programme that the company has initiated, which has been in the range of ₹16-17 per tonne. “We expect another incremental ₹20-30 per tonne in the next quarter,” he said.

The Mukutban plant is eligible for fiscal incentives for 20 years, which Saraogi expects to begin accruing from the fourth quarter this year (Q4FY24).

The Kolkata-based company reported consolidated net profit of ₹109 crore in the third quarter of the year (Q3FY24) versus net loss of ₹50 crore in the same quarter last year. Consolidated revenue grew nearly 15% year-on-year (YOY)  to ₹2,312 crore from ₹2,016 crore.

Birla Corporation has a net debt of ₹3,470 crore as of December and expects to close below ₹3,400 crore in Q4FY24 keeping the net debt to EBITDA ratio below a sustainable 3x level.

The market capitalisation of Birla Corporation is ₹11,687 crore.

For more, watch the accompanying video

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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

Shree Cement shares rally as Q3 profit more than doubles and margin expands to 25%

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

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Shree Cement shares surged in early trade on February 1, a day after the firm reported its earnings for the October to December 2023 quarter, in which its standalone profit jumped 165% to ₹734 crore, beating the CNBC-TV18 poll projection of ₹607 crore.

Shree Cement shares traded 5.89% lower from the previous close at ₹30,218.65 on BSE at 9:46 am.

Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley lauded the volumes, which it said were likely led by market share gains in the eastern region. However, it maintained its equal-weight call on the company and set a target price of ₹28,500, which is slightly lower than ₹28,538.95.

Morgan Stanley noted that the strong volume growth outlook continues with a rising share of premium products. And that, better volumes coupled with a good show on opex drove good earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) beat.

The brokerage comments come as Shree Cement’s total sale volume increased 11% YoY in the December 2023 ended quarter to 8.89 million tonnes from 8.03 million tonnes in the same quarter last year.

Following the Q3 results, SCL Managing Director Neeraj Akhoury said the company was executing a comprehensive performance improvement plan, and we are experiencing a positive impact.

“Strong volume growth along with building premium products through accelerated channel expansion and softening of fuel prices has helped us to deliver a robust improvement… We are fully prepared to complete our various projects to reach beyond 80 million tonnes of cement production capacity by the year 2028,” he said.

EBITDA for the quarter surged 74% YoY to ₹1,234 crore from ₹708 crore in the year-ago period, while margin expanded by 780 basis points to 25.2% from 17.4% in Q3FY23.

The cement maker’s net revenue from operations for the quarter has risen 20% YoY to ₹4,901 crore, compared with ₹4,069 crore in the same quarter last year.

Recently, the company commenced commercial production from its integrated cement plant at village Gothra in Nawalgarh Tehsil of Rajasthan having a clinker capacity of 11500 tonnes per day (3.8 MT per annum) and cement capacity at 3.5 MT per annum with effect from January 22, 2024.

The work on 18 MT capacity expansion projects already announced is running as per schedule.

Additionally, the company has decided to add one more cement mill of 3 MT per annum capacity at its upcoming plant at Ras in Rajasthan. On completion, its total India cement capacity will be around 75 MT.

Track latest stock market updates on CNBCTV18.com’s blog

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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

Maruti Suzuki among top Nifty 50 gainers after Q3 results

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

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India’s largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India saw its margin expand to 11.7% in the October to December 2023 quarter on the back of lower costs. Despite a sluggish industry growth outlook, brokerages see stronger margin tailwinds for the carmaker in the near term.

While brokerages have not revised their rating or target price on the auto stock, they see up to 23% upside in it from the closing price of January 31.

London-headquartered HSBC has a buy call on the Maruti Suzuki shares and set the target price at ₹12,500. The company performed well in a seasonally weak quarter, the brokerage said, adding that its margin should further improve with better operating leverage and fewer discounts.

“We believe 6-7% growth is possible for the company with margin expansion,” it said, adding that the industry growth is likely to remain sluggish in FY25.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, has an overweight stance on the company with a target price of ₹11,228 on the stock. It believes the firm is best placed to benefit from first-time buyer (FTB) recovery. It, however, pointed out the Hatch Plus Micro SUV segment is still running below FY19 levels.

Also, the brokerage said Q3 margin print points to upside risks to FY25 consensus margin estimates.

Nomura, on the other hand, has a neutral call on Maruti with a target price of ₹11,649. The brokerage lauded his steady performance. Even as it expects stronger margin tailwinds to sustain in the near term, it says the firm’s market share may face some risk in FY25-26.

The brokerage views come a day after the company reported its third-quarter results, in which its net profit came in at ₹3,130 crore, which is higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll projection of ₹3,050 crore.

Revenue for the quarter grew by 15% from last year to ₹33,309 crore, which was marginally lower than the CNBC-TV18 poll expectations of ₹33,744 crore. EBITDA or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew by 38% from last year to ₹3,909 crore. The number was slightly lower than the ₹3,980 crore figure of the CNBC-TV18 poll.

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

Ambuja Cements Q3 results: Profit jumps nearly 40%, margin expands to 19% but misses estimate

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

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Cement maker Ambuja Cements’ net profit rose 39.2% year-on-year to ₹513.7 crore but missed CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, according to the quarterly earnings report released by the firm on January 31.

The Adani Group firm’s revenue for the third quarter of the financial year rose 7.5% to ₹4,439.5 crore compared to ₹4,128 crore in the same period a year ago. The analysts polled by CNBC-TV18 had pegged revenue at ₹4,399 crore.

Ambuja Cements’ margin also expanded by 400 basis points year-on-year to 19.2% from 15.2% earlier. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), meanwhile, has risen 33% YoY to ₹850 crore for the December 2023 ended quarter. The firm also highlighted that the third quarter’s EBITDA margin is the highest in the last 10 quarters.

In the Q3 results statement, the firm pointed out that in December 2023, Ambuja Cements completed the acquisition of Sanghi Industries having a 6.1 MTPA capacity. This month, Ambuja’s subsidiary ACC completed the acquisition of the balance 55% stake in Asian Concretes and Cements Private Ltd (ACCPL) having 2.8 MTPA capacity.

“These acquisitions reinforce the Adani Group’s market leadership and take its cement capacity to 77.4 MTPA, a jump of 15% from last year. Integration of these acquired companies is going on well,” the firm said in its statement.

Also Read: Sanghi Industries’ operating profit per tonne will match Ambuja’s in two years, says Karan Adani

Ambuja Cements explains that sustained cost reduction and efficiency improvements, volume expansion, and group synergies have contributed to profitability improvement.

The statement comes as the company recorded sales volume growth of 3% driven by ground network improvement, focus on micro markets, addition in the ground sales team, improved physical infrastructure, targeted marketing campaigns with technical support services, high acceptance of premium products (22% of trade sales volume) and accelerated branding and promotion activities.

It also noted that power and fuel costs have reduced by ₹349/t of cement. Other expenses, it said, were maintained or were marginally higher due to the phasing of the planned shutdown, advertisement and promotion expenses.

Following the results, Ambuja Cements shares at 1:53 pm were trading at ₹559, which is 2.02% lower than their previous close on BSE.

Also Read: Ultratech Cement Q3 result: Profit up over 1.5 times to ₹1,775 cr, revenue at ₹16,740 cr in line with estimate

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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

ACC Q3 Results: Stock jumps 11% after strong beat on volumes, margin

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

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ACC shares rallied 11% on January 25 after the cement maker reported solid financial results for the October to December 2023 quarter. The company’s profit jumped to ₹527.5 crore for the third quarter of the fiscal from ₹110.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Its revenue rose 8.4% year-on-year to ₹4,918.3 crore, compared to ₹4,536.9 crore in the December ended quarter of the previous fiscal. This came against the backdrop of 17% year-on-year growth in cement and clinker sales volumes.

The EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation increased manifold to ₹903.2 crore from ₹378.5 crore in the year ago period.

ACC Cement’s margin expanded to 18.4% for the third quarter of the fiscal as against 8.3% in the same period last year.

ACC’s power and fuel costs dropped 10%, leading to a 1.5% slip in total expenses. “Opportunity buy of low-cost petcoke will help to further optimise fuel costs in the coming quarters,” the company said in a statement.

Price hikes and sustained infrastructure demand helped larger rival UltraTech Cement post third-quarter profit and revenue above estimates last week.

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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

Birlasoft CEO says deal pipeline better than ever, aim to grow above industry average

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

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Angan Guha, the Managing Director and CEO of Pune-based global IT services provider Birlasoft, aspires to grow the company faster than the industry average in the medium term. In a conversation with CNBC-TV18, he said while the deal wins may have been softer recently due to decision-making delays, the overall pipeline is stronger than ever.

Guha emphasised the importance of consistent quarter-on-quarter execution to drive growth, stating, “We want to get to a billion dollars, but the macroeconomic situation has not improved. It is pretty much the same. So we don’t have a timeframe in mind.”

Over the past nine months, Birlasoft has secured approximately $633 million worth of total contract value (TCV) deals, marking a 10% increase compared to the previous year.

Birlasoft’s revenue for the third quarter (Q3FY24) rose 1.9% sequentially to $161.3 million from $158.3 million. Constant currency revenue grew 1.8% QoQ and 7.9% year-on-year (YoY). Profit was up 11% at ₹161 crore from ₹145. crore in the previous quarter. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin was at 16%, marginally higher than 15.8% in the second quarter.

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The company is focused on maintaining its margins within a narrow band while continuing to invest in key areas of its business. Guha, however, refrained from providing any margin guidance.

The performance of the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) segment during the third quarter was affected by furloughs, he noted,  However, he anticipates a rebound in the upcoming quarter.

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Birlasoft has a market capitalisation of ₹22,608 crore. The stock has gained 177% over the past year.

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