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The Baseline
05 Jun 2023
By Abdullah Shah

Investors usually prefer companies with a high return on capital employed (ROCE) of over 20%, as they are able to efficiently use their capital to generate revenue. In this edition of Chart of the Week, we examine companies that have outperformed their sectors in terms of ROCE in FY23. These companies are from sectors with high ROCE that outperformed the Nifty 50. 

The software and services sector outperformed the Nifty 50’s ROCE by the highest margin in FY23 - by 20.7 percentage points. Companies with the highest ROCE in this sector are Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Elxsi and Easy Trip Planners, standing at 57.6%, 41.7% and 49.9% respectively. 

TCS’ high ROCE partly came from the sharp rise in its current liabilities, which rose at a three-year CAGR of 17.2%. This rise in current liabilities reduces the capital employed (total assets minus current liabilities), and in turn, boosts returns on capital. According to reports, 27% of TCS' business is currently funded by suppliers/short-term creditors.

Tata Elxsi’s ROCE increased due to robust growth in revenue (27.3% YoY) from software development & services and system integration & support services for FY23. These helped operating profit rise by 25.5% in FY23.

The FMCG sector has outperformed the Nifty 50’s ROCE by 13 percentage points in FY23. Companies with the highest annual ROCE in the sector are Nestle, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare and Colgate-Palmolive, achieving 57.8%, 97.3% and 79.3% respectively in FY23. 

To sustain and improve its already high ROCE, Nestle plans to spend a major portion of its Rs. 1,200 crore capex to reduce pressure on over-utilized plants and increase food and chocolates production over 2023. Colgate-Palmolive’s annual ROCE surpassed the sector by 47.5 percentage points in FY23. Despite outperforming the sector, the company's ROCE has been falling for the past two years. 

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector has also outperformed Nifty 50’s ROCE by 11.3 percentage points on the back of strong ROCE posted by ITC, VST Industries and Bombay Super Hybrid Seeds. Their annual ROCE stands at 35.8%, 35.7% and 35.6% respectively. 

The Textile, Apparel, and Accessories sector has showcased an impressive performance, surpassing the Nifty 50 by 10.2 percentage points in terms of ROCE. It  was driven by strong ROCE from Page Industries, PDS and Titan, reaching 53.3%, 35.4% and 34.5% respectively in FY23. Despite a high ROCE, Page Industries posted a muted quarter in Q4FY23 due to increased inventory levels during the inflationary period. Its Q4 net profit fell by 58.9% YoY and revenue fell by 12.8%. 

Jhunjhunwala’s top bet, Titan, outperformed its sector by 5.6 percentage points in Annual ROCE. For FY 24-25, the company plans to set up 40+ new stores in the jewelry division and increase its international presence to 25 stores by 2024. It has observed a 157% rise in capital employed (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) over the past five years. For FY23, growth in sales of jewelry and watches helped increase the EBIT margin and ultimately ROCE.

The diversified consumer service sector outperformed the Nifty 50’s ROCE by 6.8 percentage points in FY23. IRCTC, a miniratna PSU, surpassed its sector by 24.3 percentage points. Its EBIT increased in FY23 on the back of robust growth in the catering, rail neer and state teertha segments. By the end of FY23, IRCTC plans to set up rail neer plants in Bhubaneshwar, Vijayawada and Kota, which will increase the production capacity by 3 lakh litres, reaching a total capacity of 19.8 lakh litres.

Despite being capital-intensive industries, metals & mining and chemicals & petrochemicals have managed to outperform the Nifty 50 by 6.4 percentage points and three percentage points, respectively. In the metals & mining sector, Hindustan Zinc was the highest outperformer, while Fine Organic Industries excelled in terms of ROCE in the chemicals & petrochemicals sector.

Finally, CG Power & Industrial Solutions stands out as the top-performing company in the General Industries sector, boasting the highest ROCE among its peers. The company has planned to further increase the production capacity of motors at its Ahmednagar and Goa plants with an investment of Rs 230 crore, and transformers at its Bhopal and Malanpur plants with an investment of Rs 126 crore in FY24.  

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The Baseline
02 Jun 2023
Five Interesting Stocks Today
  1. AU Small Finance Bank: Thisbanking stock has outperformed the Nifty Private Bank index by 14.3% in the past month, and rose 16.4%, according to Trendlyne’sTechnicals. Currently, the stock is trading at an all-time high. In Q4FY23, the bank’s deposits grew by 32% YoY to Rs 69,365 crore. Advances also improved by 26% YoY to Rs 59,158 crore, led by the commercial banking division.

    The Net Interest Margin (NIM) of the bank is one of the highest among its peers at 6.1%. However, the margins are expected to decrease due to rising cost of funds and limited scope to raise interest rates. Its bottom line was also aided by lower provisioning.

    The gross NPA remains steady at 0.7%, backed by high-rated customers. The bank is also investing in newer product lines like credit cards and video banking. The company shows up in ascreener for consistently high-return stocks in the Nifty 500 for five years.

In its future outlook, AU Small Finance Bank’s management said that it plans o focus on building the asset book and maintaining asset quality. The bank’s CEO, Sanjay Agarwal, expects the asset book to grow 29-30% in FY24, aided by branch expansion and market share gains. Margin compression and elevated cost ratios are expected to put pressure on the return on assets number. 

ICICI Securities suggests that the bank’s high ROA and investments toward franchise build-up will help grow the asset base.Its higher provision coverage ratio of 75% has resulted in lower provisioning, and a focus on retail customers will help in maintaining asset quality.

  1. Craftsman Automation: Thisauto part and equipment manufacturer has seen its stock price rise by 12.6% in the past week, while the broader benchmarkNifty Auto increased by 2.6%. The stock is currently trading at a 52-week high, according toTrendlyne’s Technicals. The firm’s revenue grew by 20% and net profit by 37% YoY in Q4FY23. The revenue growth was driven by auto powertrain and AI products. During the quarter, the company maintained a stable EBITDA margin of 21.3%. The profit growth was in part due to lower taxes from the recent tax regime change.

    The firm is also in the final stages of validation to supply critical parts for a domestic SUV, starting in July 2023. The firm plans a capex of Rs 320 crore in FY24, against 309 crore in FY23. The capex would be spent on the refurbishment of outdated equipment and semi-automation in material handling. The firm also aims to reduce its debt by Rs 200 crore in FY24, bringing the net debt below Rs 1,100 crore. The stock shows up in ascreener for companies with high TTM EPS growth.

Craftsman Automation’s management has guided a revenue growth of 20% for FY24, aided by higher volumes from new customers and a ramp-up in powertrain orders from Stellantis, an automotive manufacturer based in the Netherlands. However, the projected growth for powertrains in FY24 is lower at 14%, whereas Aluminium and industrial products are expected to grow by 20% or more. Exports are expected to slow down owing to recessionary fears in European markets. In terms of domestic growth, the commercial and passenger vehicle segment is expected to drive the first half of FY24,  while the construction and farm machinery division will fuel growth in the second half.

According toMotilal Oswal, the firm’s track record of market leadership in the auto component industry is uncommon. The firm has managed to create niche products and demonstrated superior capital efficiency, resulting in higher growth numbers than the industry. The brokerage has maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the company.

  1. Kalpataru Power Transmission: This electric utility company’s promoters sold 96.3 lakh shares (nearly 6% stake) worth Rs 467.8 crore in a bulk deal on May 30. Parag Mofatraj Munot (promoter) and two promoter group entities, Kalpataru Constructions and Kalpataru Viniyog, sold their shares at around Rs 485 per share, which was lower than the stock’s opening of Rs 503.9 on Tuesday. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund picked up nearly 15 lakh shares worth Rs 72.5 crore on the same day. 

Since the promoter sale, the stock has risen 5.8% till Friday. It shows up in a screener for stocks with strong momentum. This uptrend seems to be driven by the firm’s robust order book and healthy business outlook. As of the end of FY23, its order book stood at Rs 45,918 crore, and its order inflow for FY23 grew by 39% YoY to Rs 25,241 crore. Leveraging its presence across diverse geographies and segments, the company is pursuing growth in verticals such as water, metro and airports in both domestic and international markets. The management points out that the merger with its subsidiary, JMC Projects, has enhanced Kalpataru Power’s abilities to bid on larger and more complex projects, leading to cost synergies. The company is focused on divesting its non-core investments to free up capital and reduce debt over the coming quarters. 

ICICI Securities believes that the company is well-placed to benefit from the government’s increased focus on infrastructure, given its strong order pipeline, geographical expansion, and strengthening balance sheet. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the consensus recommendation on the company from 13 analysts is ‘Buy’, with 10 rating it ‘Strong Buy’, two ‘Buy’ and one ‘Hold’. 

  1. Torrent Pharmaceuticals: This pharma company rose over 7% and touched an all-time high of Rs 1,884.9 on Wednesday after reporting strong Q4 results. The company posted a net profit of Rs 287 crore during the quarter, led by lower raw material expenses, compared to a net loss of Rs 118 crore in Q4FY22. The loss incurred in the previous year’s quarter was on account of a one-time impairment provision and costs from the discontinuation of its liquid business in the US. 

Despite posting a profit, it missed Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates by 12%. Torrent’s India revenue, which contributes 59% to total revenue, has increased by 22% YoY, led by growth in chronic therapies and new launches. For FY23, its revenue rose by 13% to Rs 9,620 crore, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of YoY revenue growth. 

Meanwhile, the company’s EBITDA margins have also improved by 286 bps to 29.2%, led by a favourable product mix and lower R&D expenses in the US. The management has guided for margins to improve by 60-100 bps every year due to price increases across markets. It is also targeting 2% volume growth in its base business.  

Following the release of the company’s results, ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Hold’ rating but revises the target price to Rs 1,645 from Rs 1,630. According to the brokerage, Torrent is expected to take a few more quarters to fully realise synergies from the Curatio portfolio. Torrent acquired Curatio Health Care for Rs 2,000 crore in September 2022 to enhance its presence in dermatology.  The analysts also expect higher interest costs and depreciation to affect Torrent’s profitability in the near term. 

  1. Page Industries: This other apparels & accessories stock plunged almost 9% and touched its 52-week low of Rs 34,952.6 on May 26 as its Q4FY23 net profit declined by 58.9% YoY to Rs 78.3 crore. Its revenue has also fallen by 12.8% YoY to Rs 969.1 crore, affected by low demand. This caused the company to feature in a screener of stocks with low Piotroski scores, which indicates weak financial performance. 

Revenue and net profit missed Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates by 15.2% and 42.9% respectively. It has also underperformed its industry in terms of net profit and revenue. Its EBITDA margin witnessed a drop of 10.1 percentage points on the back of increasing raw material, inventory, employee benefit and finance costs. 

According to VS Ganesh, Managing Director of the company, Page Industries saw a reduction in profitability due to higher inventory levels acquired during an inflationary period and lower than optimal capacity utilisation. However, the company has implemented a new inventory management system (auto replenishment strategy or ARS) to better manage its inventory.

Axis Securities maintains its ‘Hold’ rating on the stock with a downgraded target price of Rs 40,000 per share. This indicates a potential downside of 3%. The brokerage believes that the implementation of ARS will affect volume growth and margin expansion in the next two quarters. It expects the company’s profitability to improve only in H2FY24.  

Trendlyne's analysts identify stocks that are seeing interesting price movements, analyst calls, or new developments. These are not buy recommendations.

Market closes higher, ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Lemon Tree Hotels

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 18,534.10 (46.4, 0.3%), BSE Sensex closed at 62,547.11 (118.6, 0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 15,811.20 (50.9, 0.3%). Of the 1,978 stocks traded today, 1,214 were on the uptick, and 709 were down.

Indian indices maintain their gains and close in the green, with the Nifty 50 hovering above the key 18,500 mark. The volatility index, Nifty VIX , dropped below 12 at the close. Vedanta Group raises USD 450 million from two of its competitors Trafigura Group and Glencore International AG.

Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the green, following the benchmark index. Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal closed sharply higher than Thursday’s closing levels. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, metals & mining emerged as the top-performing sector of the day with a rise of over 1.48%.

Most European indices trade sharply higher amid positive global cues. US indices futures trade in the green indicating a positive start. Chinese government mulls to provide a relief package to support the real estate sector. Bank of Japan is drafting new policy to bring the economy out of deflation and achieve a 2% inflation target.

  • Hero MotoCorp sees a long buildup in its June 29 future series as its open interest rises 11.4% with a put-call ratio of 0.61.

  • Healthcare equipment & supplies, media, and realtysectors rise more than 4% in the past week.

  • ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Lemon Tree Hotels and raises the target price to Rs 137 from Rs 132. This implies an upside of 47.4%. The brokerage remains optimistic about the firm’s prospects, given its plans to increase its room count, open the Mumbai airport hotel, and focus on debt reduction. It expects the company’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 29.1% over FY23-25.

  • Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services touches its 52-week high of Rs 299.3 per share as its loan disbursement grows by 39% YoY to Rs 4,150 crore in May. The company features in a screener of stocks with high momentum scores.

  • MRF, Honeywell Automation India, Page Industries, 3M India and Shree Cements are trading above their second support or S2 levels.

  • GST revenue collections rise 12% YoY to Rs 1.57 lakh crore in May, surpassing the Rs 1.4 lakh crore mark for the 14th consecutive month.
  • CreditAccess Grameen's annual RoCE stands at 44.9%, outperforming the finance industry by 24 percentage points.

  • TVS Motor rises as its monthly two-wheeler wholesales in May increase by 11.2% YoY to 3,19,295 units, driven by robust growth in domestic sales. Electric vehicle wholesales also surge by 580.8% YoY to 17,953 units, while its international business suffers a significant decline. It appears in a screener of stocks with strong annual EPS growth.

  • Cyient and Craftsman Automation touch their all-time highs of Rs 1,524.7 and Rs 3,865.5 per share respectively. The former has risen 25.9% over the past month, while the latter gained 22.1%.

  • IIFL Finance rises over 7% in trade and ranks high on Trendlyne's checklist with a score of 69.6%. The stock is in the 'Buy' zone and also appears in a screener for stocks with a positive breakout at the third resistance level.

  • Jefferies upgrades its target price for Bajaj Finance to Rs 8,310 from the earlier Rs 7,280, as it expects loans to grow and funding costs to fall. The brokerage says Bajaj Finance is among their top picks in the financials space and gives a ‘Buy’ rating.

  • NHPC rises as it partners with Vidhyut Utpadan, a Nepal-based company, for developing a 480 MW Phukot Karnali hydroelectric project in Nepal.

  • abrdn (Mauritius Holdings) 2006, promoter of HDFC Life Insurance, sells its entire 1.7% stake in the company on Wednesday.

  • Chris Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy at Jefferies, makes changes to his Greed & Fear India Long-only Portfolio. He has initiated an investment in AU Small Finance Bank with a 3% weight and has trimmed his stake in CAMS.

  • RateGain Travel Technologies is rising despite Avataar Holdings offloading 55 lakh shares (5% stake) worth Rs 206 crore through an open market transaction. Post this, Avataar Holdings' stake has been reduced to 2.07% from 7.07%.

  • MOIL is rising as its manganese ore production in May grows 43% YoY to 1.53 lakh tonnes, while its sales surge by 72% YoY. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with improving cash flows from operations over the past two years.

  • Dixon Technologies (India), Astral and G R Infraprojects outperform the Nifty 50 index over the past month post their Q4FY23 results.

  • CLSA reports that auto sales in May have received support from the marriage season. The brokerage highlights that market leaders continue to lose their retail share on a YoY basis.
  • Paras Defence and Space Technologies rises over 7% as it signs an MoU with Israel's CONTROP Precision Technologies. The MoU establishes a joint venture for manufacturing, installation, logistics support, and more in the electro-optic field as part of the Make in India initiative. Paras will hold a 30% stake in the JV, with CONTROP owning the remaining 70%.

  • Eicher Motors' monthly sales of 350cc motorcycles grow by 28% YoY to 69,038 units in May 2023, while the international business experiences a significant decline. The total motorcycle sales increase by 22% YoY to 77,461 units. It appears in a screener for stocks with consistently growing revenue over the past four quarters.

  • Indian rupee appreciates 10 paise to 82.30 against the US dollar in early trade today.
  • AstraZeneca Pharma surges in trade today as it receives permission from the CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organization) to import, sell, and distribute Tremelimumab (Imjudo) concentrate. Tremelimumab is used in the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The stock appears on a screener for companies approaching their 52-week high.

  • PSU banks like Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank are rising in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty PSU Bank index are also trading in the green.

  • Hero MotoCorp's monthly two-wheeler sales grow by 6.7% YoY to 5,19,474 units in May 2023. Its domestic sales experience a robust growth of 9% to 5,08,309 units. It appears in a screener of stocks with increasing profit for the past three quarters.

  • Tata Motors’ total wholesales in May decline by 1.6% YoY to 74,973 units, with total domestic wholesales falling by 2% YoY to 73,448 units. Its commercial vehicle sales also decrease 12% YoY, while passenger vehicle wholesales rise 6% YoY. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with declining net cash flows.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (135.75, 7.61%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1,390.95, 4.80%) and Zomato Ltd. (71.15, 4.71%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Adani Total Gas Ltd. (674.40, -2.87%), Gujarat Gas Ltd. (475.00, -2.71%) and Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (459.25, -2.65%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

19 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Graphite India Ltd. (375.45, 11.89%), HEG Ltd. (1,303.40, 9.67%) and TV18 Broadcast Ltd. (39.65, 7.89%).

Top high volume loser on BSE was Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Ltd. (810.00, -0.54%).

Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd. (359.40, 4.93%) was trading at 13.0 times of weekly average. Cyient Ltd. (1,459.00, 6.34%) and FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (135.75, 7.61%) were trading with volumes 8.6 and 7.2 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

42 stocks hit their 52-week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - 3M India Ltd. (26,200.05, -0.34%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (4,967.30, 3.18%) and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (662.50, 0.58%).

19 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Graphite India Ltd. (375.45, 11.89%) and TV18 Broadcast Ltd. (39.65, 7.89%). 9 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Aegis Logistics Ltd. (333.70, -2.53%) and Angel One Ltd. (1,313.00, -2.04%).

Market closes lower, Axis Direct maintains ‘Buy’ rating on KNR Constructions

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 18,487.75 (-46.7, -0.3%) , BSE Sensex closed at 62,428.54 (-193.7, -0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 15,760.35 (-6.1, 0.0%). Of the 1,977 stocks traded today, 1,189 showed gains, and 727 showed losses.

Indian indices extended their losses and closed in the red, with the Nifty 50 hovering below the key 18,500 mark. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, dropped below 12 at the close. India’s GDP grew at 6.1% in Q4FY23, surpassing the estimated growth of 5.5%. The overall GDP growth in FY23 stood at 7.2%.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, despite the benchmark index closing lower. Nifty Realty and Nifty Healthcare closed sharply higher than Wednesday’s closing levels. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, forest materials emerged as the top-performing sector of the day with a rise of over 1.84%.

Most European indices trade in the green. Data released by the European Commission indicated Euro zone inflation for May at 6.1%, slightly lower than the estimated 6.3%. The inflation in April was at 7.0%. The markets rose, speculating only one 25 bps hike in FY24, instead of the initially expected two hikes.

  • Money flow index (MFI) indicates that stocks like Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Shoppers Stop, Dixon Technologies, eClerx Services and Torrent Pharmaceuticals are in the overbought zone.

  • Jefferies remains bearish on the IT sector as it is cautious about discretionary IT spending. The brokerage expects limited scope of margin expansion for IT companies in FY24.

  • Lupin is rising as its wholly-owned subsidiary, Novel Laboratories receives approval from the US FDA for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for diazepam rectal. The drug is a generic equivalent of Diastat AcuDial rectal delivery system from Bausch Health US. According to IQVIA, it has an estimated annual sales of $34 million in the US in FY23.

  • Containers & packaging stocks like EPL, Mold-Tek Packaging and Uflex are rising in trade. The container & packaging industry is also trading in the green.

  • Amara Raja Batteries rises by over 3% in trade and ranks high on Trendlyne's checklist with a score of 69.6%. It is in the 'Strong Buy' zone and also appears in a screener for stocks with high momentum scores.

  • NMDC's monthly iron ore production rises by 15.9% YoY to 3.71 mt in May. Its overall sales also increase by 36.6% YoY to 3.62 mt, driven by robust growth in sales at the Chattisgarh plant.

  • NCC is rising after announcing the acquisition of orders worth Rs 2,088 crore in May. The firm’s building division has secured orders worth Rs 1,668 crore and the water division received orders amounting to Rs 420 crore. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with book value per share improving over the past two years.

  • Eicher Motor's domestic sales volume increases by 15.8% YoY to 5826 units in May, driven by the heavy-duty (HD) segment. However, the export sales volume falls by 46.9% YoY to 250 units. Overall sales volume registers a growth of 11.6% YoY.

  • Maruti Suzuki's wholesales rise by 10.3% YoY to around 1.8 lakh units in May, led by sales growth in utility vehicles like Brezza, Ertiga and Fronx. Exports during the month decline 2.6% to 26,477 units YoY.
  • Mphasis is rising with the launch of its new business unit, Mphasis AI. The company expects this unit to boost engineering productivity and drive innovation through artificial intelligence.

  • Pidilite Industries, BEML, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, Sonata Software and Westlife Foodworld are trading above their third resistance or R3 levels.

  • Axis Direct maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on KNR Constructions and raises the target price to Rs 325 from Rs 310. This implies an upside of 29.7%. The brokerage is confident in the company's ability to capitalise on the increasing infrastructure capex by the Centre, given its focus on diversification, robust execution and healthy order inflow.

  • Mahindra & Mahindra is rising with total auto wholesales up 14% YoY to 61,415 units in May. Domestic passenger vehicle wholesales drive the growth with a 22% YoY increase, fueled by strong demand for utility vehicles. However, the firm’s total commercial vehicle and farm equipment wholesales decline by 16.7% YoY and 4% YoY respectively.

  • Bajaj Auto's total two-wheeler sales rise 23% YoY to 3.3 lakh units in May 2023. Its total domestic wholesales also increase 103% YoY but exports drop 23% YoY.

  • Laurus Labs is rising as it signs a definitive agreement toacquire an additional 7.2% stake in Immunoadoptive Cell Therapy Pvt Ltd (lmmunoACT), an advanced cell and gene therapy company, for a cash consideration of Rs 80 crore. Post the deal, Laurus Lab's stake in ImmunoACT will increase to 33.86%.

  • India's GDP growth rises to 6.1% in Q4FY23, led by robust growth in the services, agriculture, and construction sectors. The GDP for FY23 stands at 7.2%, surpassing the earlier estimate of 7%.

  • Hotels, restaurants & tourism, cement & construction and diversified consumer services sectors rise over 11% in the past month

  • Escorts Kubota is rising as its total monthly tractor wholesales in May increase by 8.9% YoY to 9,167 units, driven by a 13.5% YoY growth in domestic wholesales. However, its exports decline by 38.6% YoY. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with no debt.

  • Sona BLW Precision Forging falling as one of its promoters, Aureus Investment Pvt Ltd, sells a 3.2% stake worth Rs 957 crore through an open market transaction.

  • India’s manufacturing PMI touches a 31-month high of 58.7 in May, compared to 57.2 in April, on the back of strong demand and output.
  • RBL Bank rises by over 5% in trade and ranks high on Trendlyne's checklist with a score of 66.7%. The stock is in the 'Strong Buy' zone based on the number of days spent in the current P/E range. It appears in a screener for stocks with a positive breakout at the third resistance level.

  • Coal India is falling as the Centre initiates a stake sale of up to 3% (18.5 crore equity shares) in the company through the offer for sale (OFS) route. The floor price is set at Rs 225, which is a 7% discount from the closing price yesterday. The government aims to gain Rs 4,162 crore from this stake sale.

  • Indian rupee appreciates 25 paise to 82.47 from the previous close of 82.72 against the US dollar in early trade today.
  • RHI Magnesita, PNB Housing Finance, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and Dixon Technologies witness a significant surge in mutual fund holdings in the past month.

  • Mankind Pharma rises as its net profit increases by 50.1% YoY to Rs 285.4 crore in Q4FY23 on the back of lower raw material and finance expenses. Its revenue rises by 19.4% YoY, driven by robust growth in the chronic and consumer healthcare segments. Its EBITDA margin also improves by 400 bps. It appears in a screener of stocks with low debt.

  • HFCL is rising as its board decides to expand the current capacity of optical fiber manufacturing from 10 million fkm per year to 33.9 million fkm per year at its manufacturing facility in Telangana. The expansion will be completed by December 2024, with an estimated capex of Rs 470 crore.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Adani Transmission Ltd. (815.50, 5.00%), Adani Total Gas Ltd. (694.35, 4.55%) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (4,814.25, 4.16%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Coal India Ltd. (230.35, -4.52%), ABB India Ltd. (3,944.65, -4.39%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (1,930.05, -4.18%).

Volume Rockets

25 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included EPL Ltd. (199.80, 10.17%), Westlife Foodworld Ltd. (828.50, 7.45%) and Sobha Ltd. (558.25, 7.22%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Coal India Ltd. (230.35, -4.52%), Vedant Fashions Ltd. (1,265.05, -1.74%) and Ratnamani Metals & Tubes Ltd. (2,300.00, -0.56%).

Aether Industries Ltd. (905.00, 0.44%) was trading at 21.0 times of weekly average. Aarti Drugs Ltd. (454.65, 4.09%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd. (63.75, 3.74%) were trading with volumes 10.5 and 6.1 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

31 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - 3M India Ltd. (26,115.70, 3.83%), Bajaj Auto Ltd. (4,643.60, 1.67%) and Birla Corporation Ltd. (1,146.60, 2.27%).

22 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd. (65.15, 6.28%) and TV18 Broadcast Ltd. (36.75, 4.70%). 8 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. (430.70, -2.30%) and SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd. (1,207.75, -2.21%).

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The Baseline
31 May 2023
Despite GDP growth, Indian consumers slow their spending | Consumer stocks outperforming their sectors
By Deeksha Janiani

Does it feel like you are living in an economy with a growth rate of 7% - among the fastest in the world? The answer may depend on who you ask.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das would be among those saying, "Yes, totally." Speaking at the recent RBI meet, he noted, “Economic activity saw momentum in Q4, based on our high-frequency indicators. I will not be surprised if India's GDP growth is slightly more than 7%.”

On the other side is a top executive running a consumer-facing business in India. At a CNBC TV18 conference, Anuj Poddar, CEO at Bajaj Electricals, highlighted the challenge of achieving growth for the business, saying, “You don’t know how tough it is to get these growth numbers. For the past 4-6 quarters, we have seen a lack of correlation between GDP growth and actual demand.” 

One reason for this disconnect between the economic numbers and consumer behavior on the ground, according to Poddar, is demand weakness at the median income level.

If we look at the change in people's income between FY16 and FY21, middle-income groups and below have seen a fall. The fruits of India's GDP growth aren't being evenly distributed – the richest have seen the most gains, while the poorest are worse off than before. 

Starting from early 2022, it was the higher-income millennials who were driving discretionary spending. Retailers targeting premium consumers enjoyed the benefits. But that spending frenzy has now normalized– how many designer bags can a person buy, after all – and there's been an overall slowdown in private consumption.

 Analyst house Jefferies notes that consumer demand has been mixed across categories.

So what's going on? We take a closer look in this week’s Analyticks:

  • Is the party over? Retailers, restaurant chains, jewelry companies see demand slowing down in Q4, but hopes are alive
  • Screener: Consumer-oriented companies outperforming their sectors in Q4FY23

Discretionary space sees demand slowdown, but CEOs are hopeful 

According to the Retailers Association of India, retail sales experienced double-digit growth through most of 2022, and until February 2023. However, the growth rate fell to just 6% in March and April due to declines in the beauty and personal care, footwear, apparel, and jewelry segments.  

The decline in discretionary demand started in the second half of FY23 and became more pronounced from February onwards. High inflation was a major factor here, and was especially intense in the value segments, and in tier 2 and 3 cities. These demand-side challenges and higher costs hit the bottom-line growth of retailers and restaurants in Q4. Jewelry makers in comparison, did much better. 

Indian retailers: Revenue growth holds up but profit growth falters

Big and diversified retailers like Reliance Retail (part of Reliance Industries) and D-Mart posted healthy revenue growth in Q4, thanks to a low base in last year’s quarter and store expansions. The store count for these players rose by over 14% YoY in Q4FY23. 

For Reliance Retail, the store area in million sqft terms jumped by over 55% in Q4, indicating that growth in the top line was primarily thanks to aggressive expansions, while same-store sales growth contributed little. 

Among major categories, the grocery segment grew the fastest in Q4, while the fashion and lifestyle segment, which is discretionary by nature, saw softer YoY sales growth of 19%, despite the low base effect. 

Even with strong revenue growth, the net profit growth for big retailers was modest at best. D-mart's margins were impacted by lower contributions from the general merchandise and apparel segment.Meanwhile, Reliance Retail faced profit growth challenges due to higher expenses from rapid expansions. 

Some fashion retailers were badly hit. Aditya Birla Fashion posted a net loss in Q4 owing to lackluster sales growth, higher marketing spends, and the lack of rental rebates (given to retailers by mall owners during Covid). In contrast, Trent clocked a net profit growth of 40% in Q4.

Commenting on the demand trends, Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director at ABFRL, said, “If you recall our earlier conversations, I had said that the lower end of the market was more affected. Now, it looks like a more widespread slowdown.”

Footwear retailers faced a similar challenge of decent sales growth but weaker bottom-line growth. Higher operating costs due to store expansions, marketing expenses, and losses from the newly acquired brand FILA affected the profitability of Metro Brands

Looking ahead, premium footwear retailer Metro Brands predicts slow near-term sales growth. The management at ABFRL expects a pick-up in consumer sentiment only during the festive season in the second half of the year. 

Quick service restaurants: Same-store sales growth cracks, profitability dips

Jubilant Foodworks, a major player in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, posted muted revenue growth of 8% this Q4, entirely driven by store additions. The like-for-like growth, which represents growth in existing stores, was negative for Domino's. Devyani International also reported negative same-store sales growth for Pizza Hut. 

The profitability of QSR majors suffered deeply due to input cost pressures and negative operating leverage. Negative operating leverage occurs when a company fails to generate enough sales to cover its fixed costs. Quick service restaurants have continued to expand, resulting in higher costs, but sales have not kept up due to weak consumer demand. 

Gems and Jewellery: Some sparkle despite challenges

Titan Company saw strong revenue growth in Q4, aided by a low base effect and healthy buyer growth. The Tanishq brand stores clocked SSSG (same store sales growth) of 19%, supported by the rise in gold prices. However, the management noted a period of dull demand between March and mid-April. 

Kalyan Jewellers also saw decent top-line growth, helped by store additions in non-south markets. But its mainstay market of south India clocked only 4% revenue growth in Q4. 

Jewelry demand picked up during Akshay Tritiya, and remained steady during the wedding season. However, in an interview with Business Today, Ajoy Chawla, CEO of the Jewellery division at Titan, said, “The trend is good. But volatility in demand is high, maybe due to high gold and diamond prices and the reopening of various sectors like travel.”

Demand may take its own sweet time to recover

With retail inflation now declining, consumer-facing companies are anticipating a revival in spending. But the recovery will be a gradual one. Ritesh Tiwari, CFO at Hindustan Unilever, sums this up, “Consumers expect that inflation will be stubborn. This impacts their confidence in spending money, which is why volume growth will be gradual.”

Ashish Goenka, CFO at Jubilant Foodworks, echoes similar sentiments, saying, “This cyclical demand takes 2 to 3 quarters to come back. And I think it's anybody's guess at this moment as to when we will start seeing a full recovery”. 

Overall, the C-Suite expect a resurgence in demand in H2FY24 and rare hopeful that the current challenges are temporary. India's economic recovery, they believe, just needs some time to reach their consumers.


Screener: Consumer companies which outperformed their sectors in a difficult quarter

In this week’s edition, we take a look at consumer discretionary stocks that have performed well despite the sluggish demand trends we discussed above. This screener features stocks that have outperformed their respective sectors in terms of net profit and revenue growth in Q4, as well as price changes in the past quarter.

Major stocks in the screener are Titan, Tata Motors, Trent, Indian Hotels, Godrej Properties, Cera Sanitaryware, BLS International Services and Amber Enterprises

Indian Hotels achieved the highest revenue growth of 86.4% YoY for Q4FY23, outperforming the hotels and tourism sector by over 45 percentage points. The company’s revenue per available room of Rs 8,000 was 70% higher than the industry average.  It also outperformed the sector returns by nearly 5 percentage points in the same period.

Trent’s consolidated revenue for Q4FY23 jumped by over 60% YoY, outperforming the retail sector by 39 percentage points. This growth was backed by the stellar growth of the Zudio format. The company also outperformed its sector returns by over 15 percentage points in the past quarter.

Tata Motors’ revenue jumped 35% YoY in Q4FY23, surpassing the growth of the automobile sector by nearly 12 percentage points. It also exceeded the sector’s net profit growth, aided by a strong product mix and comparatively lower product prices. 

You can find some popular screenershere.

Signing off this week,

The Trendlyne Team

Market closes lower, Torrent Pharma is back in black in Q4 with profit of Rs 287 crore

Trendlyne Analysis

Indian markets slumped today. Nifty 50 closed at 18,534.40 (-99.5, -0.5%) , BSE Sensex closed at 62,622.24 (-346.9, -0.6%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 15,766.40 (-33.1, -0.2%). Of the 1,961 stocks traded today, 968 were in the positive territory and 934 were negative.

Indian indices extended their losses and closed in the red, with the Nifty 50 hovering above the key 18,500 mark. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose above 12 at the close. Indian sugar mills have shipped the entire quota of 6.1 million tonnes allowed for exports owing to higher prices. The quota is valid until September 2023, and the government may not increase the export limits due to the expected production shortage.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, despite the benchmark index closing lower. Nifty Energy and Nifty Metal also closed lower than Tuesday’s closing levels. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, telecom services was the top-performing sector of the day, as it rose over 2.2%.

Most European indices trade in the red, except for Switzerland’s SMI, which is trading higher. Data released by the French government indicated that inflation in May stood at 6%, slightly lower than the estimated 6.4%. Also, Italy’s data released today showed inflation at 8.1% in May, surpassing the estimated 7.5%. US indices futures are currently trading lower, indicating a negative start.

  • Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Birla Corp, The Ramco Cements, Dixon Technologies (India), CG Power and Industrial Solutions and IDFC are in the overbought zone.

  • A fire breaks out at Oil India's Numaligarh refinery’s hydrocracker unit (HCU) in vessel number VV-04 on May 29, 2023. No casualties have been reported, and damage assessment is still underway. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined by an external investigation committee.

  • Vedanta's parent company, Vedanta Resources, pays off maturing loans and bonds worth $400 million (approximately Rs 330.7 crore) that were due in May and June 2023, according to reports. The company's gross debt now stands at $6.4 billion.

  • Reports suggest that 2.2 crore shares (3.7% equity) of Sona BLW Precision Forgings, amounting to Rs 1,093 crore, change hands in a large trade.

  • Commercial services & supplies, forest materials and cement & construction sectors rise by more than 10% over the past month.

  • Torrent Pharmaceuticals rises with a net profit of Rs 287 crore in Q4FY23, compared to a net loss of Rs 118 crore in Q4FY22. The increase in profit is attributed to lower raw material expenses. Its revenue also rises by 14.3% YoY on the back of robust growth in the international market. It appears in a screener of stocks with improving book value per share for the last two years.

  • ICICI Direct downgrades its rating on eClerx Services to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ with a target price of Rs 1,800. This implies an upside of 12.3%. The brokerage believes the company’s prospects of achieving double-digit growth in FY24 will be challenging given its weak revenue growth in Q4FY23 and lower-than-expected margins.

  • Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Global Health touch their all-time highs of Rs 1,850 and Rs 612.5 per share, respectively. The former has grown 8.8% over the past month, while the latter rose 18.6% in the same period.

  • Lemon Tree Hotels falls despite posting a net profit of Rs 44 crore in Q4FY23, compared to a net loss of Rs 24.6 crore in Q4FY22. Its revenue also grows by 100.3% YoY, driven by strong growth in average room rates (ARR) and occupancy. It appears in a screener of stocks with decreasing promoter pledge.

  • Reports indicate that Ashwani Kumar has been appointed as the MD and CEO of UCO Bank by the Government. Kumar's term will last for three years, starting from June 1, following the completion of Soma Sankara Prasad's tenure.

  • Adani Ports & SEZ’s auditor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, raises concern over the company’s transactions with three firms claimed to be unrelated parties. As the company refused to undergo an independent external examination to prove that the three parties were unrelated, the auditor cannot ascertain full compliance with local laws. Deloitte claims it can only issue qualified opinions on these accounts.

  • Apollo Hospital rises as its net profit increases by 60.3% YoY to Rs 144.5 crore in Q4FY23 on the back of reduced raw material costs. Its revenue also improves by 20.7% YoY, driven by robust growth in healthcare services and digital health & pharmacy distribution. It appears in a screener of stocks with strong momentum.

  • KRBL falls more than 5% as its net profit declines by 42.6% QoQ to Rs 118 crore in Q4FY23. Revenue reduces by 16.7% QoQ due to a drop in revenue from the agriculture and energy segments. EBITDA margin contracts by 7 percentage points on the back of higher finance costs and a contract termination that resulted in selling the product at a lower realisation.

  • Triveni Engineering'sannual return on equity (RoE) stands at 67.2% in FY23, rises 54.6 percentage points over the past five years.

  • CLSA upgrades Tata Motors' rating to 'Buy' and sets a target price of Rs 624. The upgrade is based on the retail sales growth of JLR in April. The brokerage adds that the company's strong performance in the American and Chinese markets has helped it offset the decline in Europe.

  • Patanjali Foods is falling despite its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit rising 12.5% YoY to Rs 263.7 crore. Its revenue also increases 19.3% YoY on the back of growth in the food and FMCG segments. It appears in a screener for stocks with low debt.

  • Welspun Corp rises as its Q4FY23 revenue surges 102.4% YoY to Rs 4070.1 crore, driven by improved performance in the steel segment. EBITDA margin expands by 6.8 percentage points YoY. However, net profit remains flat at Rs 235.9 crore. The company appears in a screener of stocks with increasing revenue for the past three quarters.

  • Prestige Estates Projects is rising despite its Q4FY23 net profit dropping by 50.1% YoY to Rs 468.4 crore due to a high base last year. In Q4FY22, the company recorded a one-time exceptional gain of Rs 807.9 crore. Its revenue rises 9.6% YoY and EBITDA margin expands by 5.1 percentage points YoY. It shows up in a screener for stocks in the PE Buy zone with high durability scores and rising momentum scores.

  • SEBI proposes additional disclosures from foreign portfolio investors that have over 50% of assets under management (AUM) in one group and AUM of over Rs 25,000 crore in Indian equity. The regulator expressed concerns that the FPI route was being used by company promoters to bypass regulation and manipulate stock prices. This comes amid criticism over the lack of oversight over FPI ownership of Adani Group companies.
  • Graphite India is falling as its Q4FY23 net profit drops by 69.5% YoY to Rs 29 crore. Its revenue also declines by 10.4% YoY, driven by the graphite and carbon segment. It appears in a screener for stocks with low Piotroski scores.

  • Aegis Logistics remains flat despite its net profit rising by 48.7% YoY to Rs 140.9 crore in Q4FY23 on the back of falling inventory and employee expenses. Its revenue grows by 5% YoY, driven by robust growth in the liquid terminal division. Its EBITDA margin also improves by 460 bps YoY. It appears in a screener of stocks with low debt.

  • Reports suggest that 3.6 crore shares (1.7% equity) of HDFC Life Insurance Co change hands in the pre-open.

  • Metal & mining stocks like Vedanta, Jindal Steel & Power, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel and National Aluminium Co are falling in trade. All constituents of the broader sectoral index BSE Metal are also trading in the red.

  • Suzlon Energy rises as its Q4FY23 net profit improves to Rs 279.9 crore from a net loss of Rs 204.3 crore in Q4FY22, driven by lower inventory and raw material expenses. However, revenue dips by 31.4% YoY due to lower wind turbine generator revenue. It appears in a screener for stocks with improving net cash flow for two years.

  • Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone’s Q4FY23 net profit rises 5.1% YoY to Rs 1,158.9 crore, while its revenue surges by 40% YoY led by robust growth in the ports and SEZ business segment. Impairment of Rs 1,273.4 crore due to Myanmar asset sale impacts Q4 profitability. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with improving cash flows from operations over the past two years.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1,835.80, 7.13%), Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd. (3,878.75, 5.33%) and PI Industries Ltd. (3,616.80, 4.17%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Adani Total Gas Ltd. (664.15, -4.86%), Delhivery Ltd. (349.20, -4.51%) and Adani Transmission Ltd. (776.70, -3.43%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

78 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Suzlon Energy Ltd. (11.75, 10.33%), G R Infraprojects Ltd. (1,259.90, 8.81%) and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1,835.80, 7.13%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were KRBL Ltd. (364.70, -9.60%), Campus Activewear Ltd. (304.05, -8.32%) and Adani Total Gas Ltd. (664.15, -4.86%).

AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. (3,562.45, 6.54%) was trading at 27.7 times of weekly average. Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. (541.55, 1.59%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (2,014.35, 2.01%) were trading with volumes 24.6 and 18.4 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

37 stocks made 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - 3M India Ltd. (25,245.00, 1.72%), AIA Engineering Ltd. (3,064.70, 3.13%) and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (658.60, 1.21%).

15 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Eureka Forbes Ltd. (495.60, 9.39%) and G R Infraprojects Ltd. (1,259.90, 8.81%). 14 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including KRBL Ltd. (364.70, -9.60%) and Century Plyboards (India) Ltd. (555.00, -3.28%).

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The Baseline
30 May 2023
Five stocks with a 'Buy' consensus from analysts post results
By Suhas Reddy
  1. UNO Minda: KRChoksey upgrades its rating on this auto parts & equipment manufacturer to ‘Buy’ from ‘Accumulate’ with a target price of Rs 680, implying an upside of 21.5%. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the consensus recommendation on the stock is ‘Buy’ from 19 analysts, including 14 that are ‘Strong Buy’, three ‘Buy’ and two ‘Hold’.

    In Q4FY23, the company’s net profit increased by 26.5% YoY to Rs 182.7 crore, while revenue grew by 19.6%. Analyst Abhishek Agarwal is optimistic about the company's long-term growth prospects due to the easing of supply chain shortages and its focus on the electric vehicle (EV) segment. “The company is well set to see sustained revenue growth with a couple of CAPEX plans in line, and by catering to the expected demand from different original equipment manufacturers,” he adds. 

Agarwal expects the firm to benefit from the multi-fold growth expected in the EV segment, particularly in  two-wheelers and three-wheelers. The analyst sees the robust order book of Rs 1,000 crore in the company's EV vertical and the management’s plan to invest an additional Rs 500 crore over five years towards EV as key positives. He expects the firm’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 25% over FY23-25. 

  1. Route Mobile: HDFC Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this internet software & services company with a target price of Rs 1,735, implying an upside of 20.2%. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the consensus recommendation on the stock is ‘Buy’ from five analysts, which includes four that are ‘Strong Buy’ and one ‘Hold’. In Q4FY23, the company’s net profit surged by 122.4% YoY to Rs 101.6 crore and revenue jumped by 61.1% YoY. 

Analysts Amit Chandra and Vivek Sethia believe the company posted better than expected revenue growth and margin expansion in a seasonally weak quarter. They note that the decline in billable transactions and new product sales due to seasonality was offset by better realisations, market share gains and new client additions.

The analysts believe the launch of new products like Trusense (used for identity and fraud detection) will aid growth. They also expect the firm to see organic growth of 18% in FY24 “led by strong tailwinds in the domestic termination business and expansion of international operations.” Chandra and Sethia project a CAGR of 18% for revenue during FY23-25.

  1. PI Industries: Axis Direct keeps its ‘Buy’ rating on this agro-chemicals manufacturer with a target price of Rs 3,800, implying an upside of 9.4%. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the consensus recommendation on the stock is ‘Buy’ from 25 analysts, including 14 that are ‘Strong Buy’, five ‘Buy’, four ‘Hold’ and two ‘Strong Sell’. In Q4FY23, the company’s net profit rose 37.3% YoY to Rs 280.6 crore and revenue grew 12.2% YoY. 

Analysts Prathamesh Sawant and Shivani More maintain a positive outlook on the company’s prospects, even though it missed their revenue estimates by 10.8%. They attribute this shortfall to a slowdown in domestic growth due to industry-wide high inventory problems. However, they believe the company’s brand value in the custom synthesis manufacturing (CSM) segment remains strong, and the management has a bright outlook for it. 

The analysts also anticipate improved margins in the traditional portfolio in the coming quarters due to the “introduction of new value-added branded products and acquisitions in the pharmaceuticals space, which will add to inorganic growth in the medium to long term”. They estimate the firm’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 20.8% over FY23-25. 

  1. Motherson Sumi Wiring India: ICICI Direct keeps its ‘Buy’ call on this auto parts manufacturer with a target price of Rs 70, indicating an upside of 21.4%. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, it has a consensus recommendation of ‘Buy’ from 12 analysts, including eight that are ‘Strong Buy’, three ‘Buy’ and one ‘Strong Sell’. In Q4FY23, the company’s profit increased by almost 3x YoY to Rs 138.5 crore, while its revenue grew by 12.4% YoY. 

Analysts Shashank Kanodia and Raghvendra Goyal remain positive due to the company's impressive return ratio (RoCE 42.2%), the growing electrification of vehicles, and the potential for increased content per vehicle in the domestic auto market.

The analysts expect a net sales CAGR of 16.5% in FY24-25 on the back of OEM ramp-up, focus on premiumisation and a greater share in utility vehicles. They believe, “Motherson Sumi Wiring’s asset-light model with expandable capacity, along with operating leverage gains, will push margins.”

  1. Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS): Edelweiss maintains a ‘Buy’ call on this healthcare facilities provider with a target price of Rs 1,935. This indicates an upside of 20.6%. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the stock has a consensus recommendation of ‘Buy’ from six analysts, including five that are ‘Strong Buy’ and one ‘Hold’. In Q4FY23, the company reported a net profit growth of 15.6% YoY to Rs 93.3 crore and revenue growth of 52.6% YoY. According to analysts Thakur Ranvir Singh and Harsh Shah, “The YoY growth in revenue was driven by a rise in in-patient volume, out-patient volume and ARPOB.”

The analysts remain positive on KIMS due to its healthy expansion plan, improved occupancy, and higher operating margin, with a focus on operational efficiency. They expect an annual capex of Rs 700–800 crore over the next two-three years, with plans to add 1,600 beds during FY24-25. 

Singh and Shah remain cautious regarding lower occupancy due to the closure of the Karim Nagar facility and assume that the new facilities may have low occupancy during the first year of its operations.

Note: These recommendations are from various analysts and are not recommendations by Trendlyne.

(You can find all analyst picks here)

Market closes higher, 3M India's net profit rises 22.3% YoY to Rs 135.7 crore in Q4FY23

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 18,633.85 (35.2, 0.2%) , BSE Sensex closed at 62,969.13 (122.8, 0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 15,799.45 (27.1, 0.2%). Of the 1,952 stocks traded today, 882 were gainers and 1,016 were losers.

Indian indices rose during the afternoon session and closed in the green, with the Nifty 50 hovering above the key 18,600 mark. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, fell below 13 at the close. A report released by the RBI stated that the Indian economy has bounced back from the Covid pandemic, but the recovery is not yet complete. External factors like slowing global growth, geopolitical tensions and stress in the global financial system is offsetting the domestic growth.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, following the benchmark. Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Media closed higher than Monday’s closing levels. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, media was the top-performing sector of the day as it rose over 0.9%.

Most European indices trade in the red except for Germany’s DAX trading lower. US indices futures trade higher indicating a positive start. US indices are set to gain amid the debt ceiling agreement and artificial intelligence optimism for semiconductor manufacturers.

  • Siemens beats ABB India in YoY revenue growth, PE ratio, broker average rating and annual dividend yield in percentage. But it lags in one-year price change, annual RoE in percentage and FII & MF holdings.

  • AIA Engineering and Power Finance Corp reach their all-time highs of Rs 3,033.9 and Rs 181.6 per share. The former rose 9% over the past month while the latter gained 6.9% in the same period.

  • 3M India is rising as its net profit improves by 22.3% YoY to Rs 135.7 crore in Q4FY23. Revenue jumps 13% YoY backed by growth in the safety & industrial, transportation & electronics and healthcare segments. It shows up in a screener of stocks with good quarterly growth in recent results.

  • ISGEC Heavy Engineering touches a new 52-week high today as its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit rises 128.8% YoY to Rs 86.1 crore. Its revenue also increases 28.2% YoY on the back of growth in the refinery segment. It appears in a screener for stocks with strong annual EPS growth.

  • Saloni Wagh, Whole-Time Director at Supriya Lifescience, says the company’s revenue will grow by 20-25% in FY24 and margins will be around 28-30% going forward.

  • NOCIL falls as its net profit dips by 58.9% YoY to Rs 28.32 crore due to increased inventory expenses. Its revenue also decreases by 14.7% YoY on the back of a drop in net sales. It appears in a screener of stocks with high promoter pledges.

  • Roads & highways construction companies like IRB Infrastructure Developers, G R Infraprojects, PNC Infratech and Dilip Buildcon are rising in trade. The broader roads & construction industry is also trading in the green.

  • HDFC Asset Management rises by over 3.5% and ranks high on Trendlyne's checklist with a score of 60.9%. The stock is in the 'Strong Buy' zone based on the number of days spent in the current P/E range. It also appears in a screener for stocks with an MACD crossover above the signal line.

  • Goodyear India falls despite its net profit increasing 93.1% YoY to Rs 33.6 crore in Q4FY23 due to lower raw material consumption and a better sales mix. Its revenue rises by 8.9% YoY, driven by higher volumes and better price realization. It appears in a screener of stocks with zero promoter pledges.

  • Vedanta, Campus Activewear, ITI and NOCIL are trading below their third support or S3 levels.

  • Jefferies maintains its 'Buy' rating on Amber Enterprises with a target price of Rs 3,120. The brokerage believes that the domestic AC industry is poised for multi-year growth, driven by increasing consumer spending and favorable weather conditions.

  • ICICI Direct upgrades its rating on Balkrishna Industries to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and raises the target price to Rs 2,700 from Rs 2,170. This implies an upside of 19.8%. The brokerage cites the company’s sooner-than-expected margin recovery amid a healthy demand outlook and declining input costs for the upgrade. It expects the firm’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 31.5% over FY23-25.

  • Adani Transmission is falling as its net profit declines 18% QoQ to Rs 389.4 crore in Q4FY23 due to an increase in deferred tax. Its revenue also drops 5.5% QoQ, caused by reduced revenue in the generation, transmission, and distribution business. It appears in a screener of stocks with low Piotroski scores.

  • According to the RBI's annual report, India's real GDP is expected to grow by 6.5% in FY24, with risks evenly balanced. The report also highlights that India's growth momentum will likely sustain in FY24.

  • Campus Activewear is falling as its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit drops 0.09% YoY to Rs 22.9 crore due to an increase in inventory costs. Its revenue also decreases by 1.3% YoY. It appears in a screener for high-volume, top-loser stocks.

  • Vedanta is falling as its unit, Finsider International, pledges 4.4% of the company’s equity to Glencore International for a facility worth $250 million. Vedanta Resources will operate the facility. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with low Trendlyne durability scores.

  • Rail Vikas Nigam is falling as its Q4FY23 net profit declines 5% YoY to Rs 359.2 crore. Revenue also falls 11.2% YoY to Rs 5,719.8 crore. However, EBITDA margin expands 20 bps YoY to 6.5% on lower operational expenses.

  • Reports suggest that 65.6 lakh shares (1.35% equity) of Macrotech Developers, amounting to Rs 676.1 crore, change hands in a large trade.
  • Sobha surges over 5% as its Q4FY23 net profit expands 242.2% YoY to Rs 48.6 crore. Revenue rises 70.3% YoY on real estate and contractual & manufacturing growth. EBITDA margin contracts 140 bps YoY due to higher land and raw material costs. It features in a screener of stocks where brokers have upgraded their recommendations or target price in the past quarter.

  • NBCC (India) hits a new 52-week high as its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit rises 206.3% YoY to Rs 108.4 crore on lower raw material and finance costs. Its revenue also climbs 13.9% YoY. It features in a screenerfor stocks with consecutive revenue growth over the past 3 quarters.

  • IRCTC falls despite its Q4FY23 net profit rising 30.4% YoY to Rs 278.8 crore due to lower inventory costs. Its revenue also grows 40.1% YoY on the back of robust growth in catering, tourism and state teertha businesses. It appears in a screener of stocks with improving book value per share over the past two years.

  • Kalpataru Power Transmissions is falling as reports suggest that 1.1 crore shares (7.4% equity) of the company, amounting to Rs 546.6 crore, change hands in a large trade.
  • KNR Constructions is rising as its Q4FY23 net profit increases 5.8% YoY to Rs 147.3 crore, while its revenue grows 13% YoY. However, its EBITDA margin contracts by 5.5 percentage points YoY on the back of higher construction costs and spreading & assortment expenses. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with declining cash flows from operations over the past two years.

  • Eureka Forbes rises as its Q4FY23 net profit surges by 346% YoY to Rs 20.6 crore due to reduced net debt and inventory levels. Its revenue and EBITDA margin increases by 36.1% YoY and 510 bps YoY respectively. It appears in a screener of stocks with consecutive profit growth in the past two quarters.

  • Torrent Power is back in the black with a net profit of Rs 449.1 crore in Q4FY23, compared to a loss of Rs 488 crore in Q4FY22. Its revenue surges by 61.3% YoY on the back of robust growth in the licensed and franchised distribution businesses driven by rising electricity demand. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with improving net cash flows over the past two years.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (650.75, 6.45%), HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. (1,951.10, 4.13%) and JSW Energy Ltd. (263.00, 4.08%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Vedanta Ltd. (285.60, -4.91%), Adani Total Gas Ltd. (698.05, -4.27%) and Info Edge (India)Ltd. (4,065.25, -3.37%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

38 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Eureka Forbes Ltd. (454.95, 13.44%), Hikal Ltd. (307.80, 8.67%) and Birla Corporation Ltd. (1,092.20, 7.05%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Campus Activewear Ltd. (331.65, -7.57%), Jubilant Pharmova Ltd. (332.35, -7.29%) and NOCIL Ltd. (214.70, -3.18%).

Kalpataru Power Transmissions Ltd. (520.90, 2.87%) was trading at 28.7 times of weekly average. Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd. (1,609.00, 0.20%) and Sobha Ltd. (516.05, 1.80%) were trading with volumes 20.7 and 14.7 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

28 stocks hit their 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - AIA Engineering Ltd. (2,971.75, 6.52%), Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (650.75, 6.45%) and Cummins India Ltd. (1,755.35, 0.65%).

19 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd. (290.85, 4.40%) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (1,447.35, 3.96%). 9 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Jubilant Pharmova Ltd. (332.35, -7.29%) and Vedanta Ltd. (285.60, -4.91%).

Market closes higher, GMR Airports Infrastructure's Q4 loss nearly triples to Rs 636.7 crore

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 18,598.65 (99.3, 0.5%), BSE Sensex closed at 62,846.38 (344.7, 0.6%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 15,772.35 (75.6, 0.5%). Of the 1,999 stocks traded today, 1,035 were in the positive territory and 887 were negative.

Indian indices maintain gains from the morning session and closed in the green with the Nifty 50 hovering around the 18,600 mark. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose above 12 at the close. India is now the fifth largest stock market with a market capitalization of USD 3.3 trillion.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed higher, following the benchmark index. The Nifty Bank index closed at an all-time high. Nifty IT closed lower, despite the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 closing in the green on Friday. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, coal was the top-performing sector of the day as it rose over 1.92%.

Most European indices trade flat except for Switzerland’s Swiss Market Index, which traded in the green. US indices will remain closed today on account of Memorial Day. US Federal Bank is expected to shore up capital from the current holding of USD 50 billion to USD 500 - 600 billion as the debt ceiling for the government is removed until January 2025.

  • Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Indigo Paints, CG Power and Industrial Solutions, Dixon Technologies (India) and Intellect Design Arena are in the overbought zone.

  • Natco Pharmarises as it returns to profitability in Q4FY23 with a net profit of Rs 275.8 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 50.5 crore in Q4FY22. Profitability improves as the cost of raw materials declines. Revenue rises 50.5% YoY on the back of robust growth in the US market.

  • Adani Enterprises, Varun Beverages, Tube Investments, Patanjali Foods and Linde India outperform the Nifty 500 index over a 5-year period.

  • Vartika Shukla, Managing Director of Engineers India, expects an increase in order inflow from the consultancy business in FY24, and its revenue contribution to rise to around 50% from the current 43%.

  • Ipca Laboratories’ Q4FY23 net profit declines 41.2% YoY to Rs 76.5 crore due to rising inventory costs and employee expenses. The firm’s revenue rises 17.3% YoY driven by healthy growth in exports and India formulations business. The company shows up in a screener for stocks with medium to low Trendlyne momentum scores.

  • Godfrey Phillips falls despite a 41.8% YoY growth in its Q4FY23 net profit to Rs 147.1 crore. Its revenue also rises 16% YoY, driven by robust growth in sales of retail & related products and cigarette, tobacco & related products. It appears in a screener of stocks with RSI indicating price strength.

  • Auto tyres manufacturers such as Balkrishna Industries, Ceat, MRF and Goodyear India are falling in trade. The broader Auto tyres & rubber products industry is also trading in the red.

  • GMR Airports Infrastructure plunges over 10% as its Q4FY23 net loss almost triples to Rs 636.7 crore. The increase in net loss is attributed to revenue share paid to concessionaire grantors and higher employee benefits and finance costs. However, revenue grows 44.3% YoY to Rs 2,001.9 crore, backed by improved domestic and international passenger traffic at its airports.

  • City Union Bank is falling despite its Q4FY23 standalone net profit rising 4.4% YoY to Rs 218 crore and net interest income growing by 2.7% YoY. Its asset quality also improves as its net and gross NPAs fall by 59 bps and 33 bps YoY respectively. But the bank missed Trendlyne Forecaster’s net profit estimates by 7%.

  • Goldman Sachs maintains its ‘Sell’ rating on Bharat Heavy Electricals with a target price of Rs 34. The brokerage says the company’s Q4 results have been a mixed bag with revenue below its estimates.

  • ICICI Securities upgrades its rating on Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to ‘Add’ from ‘Sell’ and increases the target price to Rs 92 from Rs 77. This implies an upside of 8.8%. The brokerage's outlook improves as it expects SAIL to benefit from lower coking coal prices and increasing sales volumes in the coming quarters. It expects the company’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 43.3% over FY23-25.

  • Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals is falling as its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit decreases 61.4% YoY to Rs 94.1 crore due to an increase in inventory costs. However, its revenue rises 9.3% YoY. It appears in a screener for stocks with low durability.

  • The sectoral index Nifty Bank is trading in the green and hits an all-time high. Banking stocks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank are rising in trade.

  • Aurobindo Pharma is falling as its Q4FY23 net profit decreases 34% YoY to Rs 519.3 crore due to higher raw material expenses. However, its revenue rises 12.8% YoY on the back of robust growth in the US and Europe formulation and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) segments. It appears in a screener of stocks with promoters increasing pledged shares QoQ.

  • Saurabh Mittal, MD and CEO of Greenlam Industries, says the company's peak revenue potential is around Rs 3,500-3,600 crore. He anticipates a growth rate of 20-25% for Greenlam's revenue in FY24.

  • Karnataka Bank is rising as its Q4FY23 standalone net profit surges 171.4% YoY to Rs 353.8 crore due to lower tax expenses. Its revenue increases 28.8% YoY on the back of robust growth in the retail banking segment. It appears in a screener for companies with consistently high returns over five years in Nifty 500.

  • Financial services stocks like ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Power Finance Corp and REC are rising in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty Financial Services index are also trading in the green.

  • Metal stocks like Hindalco Industries, Steel Authority of India, National Aluminium Company, Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Steelare rising in trade. The broader sectoral index BSE Metal is also trading in the green.

  • Ahluwalia Contracts touches its all-time high of Rs 617.6 as its net profit surges 70.4% YoY to Rs 72.2 crore in Q4FY23. Revenue grows by 18.1% YoY to Rs 863.1 crore backed by growth in contract work and property investments. It appears in a screener for top price gainers since market open.

  • Tencent Cloud Europe BV, a foreign direct investor, sells a 2.1% stake in PB Fintech in a bulk deal on Friday.

  • Reports suggest that 37.4 lakh shares (0.2% equity) of Ambuja Cements, amounting to Rs 159 crore, change hands in a large trade.

  • Sunteck Realty is falling as its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit drops 547.7% YoY to Rs 27.9 crore due to higher construction, development and inventory costs. Its revenue also dips 65.4% YoY and appears in a screener of stocks with declining revenue and profits.

  • Bharat Heavy Electricals is rising despite its Q4FY23 consolidated net profit falling 33.1% YoY to Rs 611 crore due to a rise in raw material and finance costs. However, the firm's revenue rises by 1.9% YoY. It appears in a screener for companies with high momentum scores.

  • Clean Science & Technology is falling as reports suggest that 3.95% of the company's equity, amounting to Rs 594 crore, change hands in a large trade.

  • Balkrishna Industries falls as its net profit decreases by 30.9% YoY to Rs 259.8 crore in Q4FY23 due to increased inventory expenses. Its revenue also dips by 4% YoY on the back of a reduction in net sales in Q4FY23. It appears in a screener of stocks with reduced MF holdings in the past quarter.

  • Sun Pharmaceuticals falls despite its net profit rising to Rs 1837.8 crore in Q4FY23, compared to a net loss of Rs 1996.5 crore in Q4FY22, due to a reduction in raw material expenses. Its revenue increases by 18.2% YoY, driven by robust growth in India and US formulation sales and global specialty sales. It appears in a screener of stocks representing top Indian listed exporter companies.

  • Oil & Natural Gas Corp's net profit plunges 64.8% YoY to Rs 3,715.5 crore in Q4FY23. Revenue increases 5.2% YoY, while EBITDA margin decreases by 354 bps YoY due to a rise in raw materials, finance, employee benefits, and exploration costs. The company features in a screener of stocks that released their results in the past week, showing a decline in net profit YoY or QoQ.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. (1,190.95, 8.27%), Macrotech Developers Ltd. (1,060.30, 3.93%) and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (1,330.15, 3.77%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (2,280.50, -7.64%), Adani Total Gas Ltd. (729.20, -4.14%) and Bosch Ltd. (18,329.00, -3.23%).

Movers and Shakers

33 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (440.05, 8.32%), ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. (1,190.95, 8.27%) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (83.00, 5.13%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Greaves Cotton Ltd. (133.05, -10.28%), GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd. (40.55, -9.89%) and City Union Bank Ltd. (125.65, -9.86%).

Clean Science & Technology Ltd. (1428.70, -0.39%) was trading at 129.1 times of weekly average. Natco Pharma Ltd. (633.10, 0.52%) and Prince Pipes & Fittings Ltd. (637.30, 4.42%) were trading with volumes 12.9 and 7.8 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

23 stocks overperformed with 52-week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Apollo Tyres Ltd. (392.30, -0.05%), Crisil Ltd. (3,722.15, 0.55%) and Cummins India Ltd. (1,744.05, 0.52%).

24 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. (1,190.95, 8.27%) and Macrotech Developers Ltd. (1,060.30, 3.93%). 3 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Greaves Cotton Ltd. (133.05, -10.28%) and JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. (667.75, -2.24%).

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The Baseline
26 May 2023
Five Interesting Stocks Today
  1. Deepak Nitrite: This chemical manufacturer rose by 9.5% in trade on Wednesday, marking its highest single-day gain in over 26 months. This uptrend follows the company’s announcement that its subsidiary, Deepak Chem Tech, has signed an MoU with the Gujarat Government to invest around Rs 5,000 crore in the state over the next four years. The company plans to manufacture specialty chemicals like phenol, acetone and bisphenol in Dahej and Nandesari, Gujarat.

    This sharp surge in the stock price comes despite the company’s subdued performance in Q4FY23. Its net profit has fallen 12.5% YoY to Rs 233.9 crore due to high input costs. Its revenue marginally increased by 4.8% YoY in Q4. However, it beat Trendlyne’s Forecaster profit estimates by 5.8%. The stock also shows up in a screener for companies with increasing net cash flows over the past two years.

    Going forward, the company plans to become the largest producer of solvents, as it believes this will help it benefit from import substitution. To achieve this goal, the management is aggressively expanding the firm’s production capacity. However, the expansion plans have encountered project delays, with the management announcing a delay in three of its projects. This includes the debottlenecking of its phenol plant, which was supposed to be commissioned in Q4FY23. It has now been delayed to Q1FY24. Similarly, the commissioning of its methyl isobutyl ketone (MIKB) and methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) plants has been delayed by one quarter to Q1FY25. Only the commissioning of its photo chlorination and fluorination units seems to be on track.
  2. EIH: This hotel company rose 7.5% on May 18 and touched its 52-week high of Rs 218.5 per share as it posted a 5.7x growth in net profit to Rs 84.4 crore in Q4FY23. Revenue has shot up 111.7% YoY to Rs 637.1 crore, driven by industry-leading revenue per available room (RevPAR) of Rs 15,284. This growth has exceeded Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates by 20.7% for revenue and 6.4% for net profit.

The company’s net cash flow turned positive for the first time in the past five quarters, owing to a reduction in debt. This has helped the company show up in a screener of stocks with improving return on capital employed (RoCE) in the past two years. EIH also leads the industry in RevPAR and average room rate (ARR), demonstrating its ability to command a premium.

MD and CEO Vikram Oberoi, expects further growth in occupancy levels and ARR, backed by strong domestic demand and the recovery of foreign occupancy in the winter season.

According to ICICI Direct, profitability is expected to remain healthy due to strong ARR and occupancy levels, particularly in key cities like Mumbai and Delhi with consistent demand. The broker has upgraded its rating on the hotel company to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ with a target price of Rs 240, implying a potential upside of 18%.

  1. Dixon Technologies: This consumer electronics company has risen 10% since announcing its results on Tuesday evening and 20.6% over the past week till Friday. Its PE ratio is 85.3 (above the industry median), but it is trading below its 3 and 5-year historical PE averages. In Q4FY23, its net profit increased by 28.1% YoY to Rs 80.6 crore, while its revenue grew by 3.8% YoY. It beat Trendlyne Forecaster’s revenue and profit estimates by 1.5% and 9.6% respectively. The firm also shows up in a screener for companies with improving cash flows and high durability scores. 

This healthy Q4 performance was led by growth in home appliances and mobile business verticals. An increase in revenue contribution from original design manufacturers (ODM) has aided in margin improvement. Its EBITDA margin expanded by 110 bps YoY to 5.1%. But the growth in the white goods and lightning segments was subdued due to weak demand. 

Despite the healthy performance in Q4 and the stock’s uptrend, analysts’ views on the company’s prospects differ. While BoB Capital Markets maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on the firm due to its dominant position in the electronics manufacturing space and growing revenue contribution from the ODMs, ICICI Securities maintains its pessimistic outlook toward the company. It believes weakness in demand for white goods and durables will impact revenue growth in the near term.

The management expects to deliver ‘industry-leading’ growth in FY24 on the back of its robust order book, new client additions, and increasing production capacity. It expects further expansion of the EBITDA margin in FY24 given the increasing contribution from the ODM business and its backward integration efforts. 

  1. Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL): This retailing company hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after reporting a net loss of Rs 187 crore in Q4FY23, compared to a net profit of Rs 43.6 crore in Q4FY22. This was due to an increase in expenses, which offset the demand for its apparel and lifestyle products. The company features in a screener of stocks with declining profits for the past three quarters. However, its revenue has increased by 26.2% YoY, beating Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates by 3.9%. 

The company’s management states that the overall demand continues to be weak in the value and premium categories, which could likely affect the SSSG (same-store sales growth) and new store additions, especially for Pantaloons. Jagdish Bajaj, Managing Director, said, “The performance in metro cities continued to remain strong, but sales in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities remained sluggish as inflationary pressures and weak consumer sentiments impacted demand.”

On the bright side, the Lifestyle brand posted its highest-ever Q4 revenue of Rs 1,535 crore, led by robust retail and strong e-commerce performance, while the Pantaloons segment has grown by 18% YoY, with an SSSG of 13% during the quarter.

Following the company’s results, ICICI Securities has downgraded its rating to ‘Add’ from ‘Buy’ and lowered the target price to Rs 220. The brokerage expects increased competitive intensity from online/offline players and a slower improvement in the profitability of emerging business. As a result, the company features in a screener of stocks where brokers have downgraded the target price or recommendation in the past month. 

  1. Narayana Hrudayalaya: This healthcare facilities provider has risen 9.3% until Friday after posting results on Monday. It also touched its new all-time high of Rs 880.8 on Wednesday. In Q4FY23, Narayana Hrudayalaya’s profit rose 151.2% YoY to Rs 173.1 crore, while its revenue increased by 30.1% YoY. It beat Trendlyne’s net profit Forecaster estimate by 11.5%. The company’s YoY profit growth also beat its industry’s profit growth of 41.4% YoY. The multispeciality private hospital appears in a screener for stocks with growth in quarterly profit and profit margin. 

According to Emmanuel Rupert, Managing Director and Group CEO, Narayana Hrudayalaya achieved its highest-ever revenue and profitability due to a rise in patient footfalls, along with improvements in the specialty and payor mix. He added, “The performance improvement is supported by the growth in business across our flagship units, other hospitals, and newer hospitals, in addition to the increased contribution of international patients.” The average revenue per occupied bed has increased by 11% YoY to Rs 36,986 per day.

The management expects the India business to grow at the current pace and has guided an aggressive capex of Rs 1,100 crore for FY24.

ICICI Direct maintains a ‘Buy’ call on the healthcare facilities provider on the back of improved occupancy levels, ramp-up in new hospitals, and consistent performance at the Cayman Islands facility. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the company has a consensus recommendation of ‘Strong Buy’ from nine analysts, of which five are ‘Strong Buy’, three ‘Buy’ and one ‘Hold’.

Trendlyne's analysts identify stocks that are seeing interesting price movements, analyst calls, or new developments. These are not buy recommendations.