Emkay Broker Research reports

India's power distribution space is experiencing a significant transformation, driven by the advancement of smart grid technology. Smart meters continue to see gradual implementation, albeit at a slow pace.

We upgrade Devyani to BUY from Add, while raising our TP by ~18% to Rs200 from Rs170 (30x FY27E EBITDA vs 26x earlier). The upgrade is led by potential value creation in the likely acquisition of ‘Biryani By Kilo’ (BBK) and possible return of a mid-teen growth for the India business in FY26E (vs 7% in FY25).

ICICI Bank has noted a superlative performance yet again, with 5% PAT beat at Rs126bn (up 18% YoY; historically superior RoA of ~2.5%), healthy credit growth at 13% YoY, and a sharp 16bps QoQ margin uptick to 4.4%.

After growth calibration for the past one year, and under pressure to bring down LDR and manage PSL/margins, HDFC Bank reported better credit growth in 4Q at 5% YoY/4% QoQ as well as stable core margins.

HDFCLIFE reported an overall steady performance in growth (Retail APE YoY growth – FY25: 18%; Q4FY25: 9.7%) and profitability (FY25 VNB margin: 25.6%; VNB growth: 13% YoY) despite the headwinds from new surrender regulation implementation and decline in the MFI-linked Credit Life segment.

As part of its restructuring efforts, GPUIL has initiated strategic divestments of non-operational and stressed assets, besides a one-time settlement (OTS) with lenders of GREL in Mar-25.

Infosys reported a disappointing revenue performance in Q4, and missed implied growth guidance. Revenue declined 3.5% QoQ in cc terms, falling short of our expectations.

Wipro reported weak revenue performance in Q4, while margins stood steady. Revenue declined 0.8% QoQ CC, a tad below our expectations. IT Services EBITM was flat at 17.5%.

The US Court of Appeals has vacated the preliminary injunction against Sun Pharma’s launch of Leqselvi which was granted by the US District Court of New Jersey in Nov-24.

We recently upgraded GCPL to BUY from Reduce, as we see that most headwinds are in the base. GCPL has capability of recovering business, given prudent execution.

Delhivery announced the acquisition of Ecom Express – the second largest 3PL B2C operator, for a cash consideration of Rs14bn, valuing the company at 0.6x EV/sales (on FY24 numbers).

We initiate coverage on Fino Payments Bank (Fino) with BUY and TP of Rs300 (upside of 34%). Fino has emerged as a distinctive, asset-light, and profitable payment bank, capitalizing on India’s RURBAN digitization wave.

Bikaji's growth narrative continues to swiftly improve under its professional management, which has a dual focus—strengthening core operations and enhancing fundamentals through strategic M&A initiatives.

We recently downgraded Dabur to REDUCE, given its weak execution. Dabur, in its Q4FY25 business update, noted a mid-single-digit decline in the domestic business, which is a key business concern in our view.

We re-iterate BUY on SRF with revised SoTP-based TP of Rs3,250 (rollover to Mar-27E; up by 4.8%), as we believe the worst is behind for all businesses of SRF and, going forward, we should see gradual pick up in specialty chemicals driven by stabilization of existing products and incremental contribution from newer products (largely Active Ingredients).

Union Bank hosted an Analyst Meet to give an update on its recent performance and outlook on growth, margins, and asset quality.

After the course correction in 3Q, Federal Bank hosted an analyst meet to unveil its long-term (next 3-5 years) business strategy (Plan 4.0) under the aegis of new MD & CEO KVS Manian (ex-Kotak), per which it plans to strengthen its core and tweak its asset/liability profile toward delivering sustained RoA of over 1.4% from 1.2% now.

Go Digit hosted an Analyst/Investor Day on 17-Feb-25 in Bangalore, for select analysts and investors where the management provided a detailed update on its business strategy and outlook.

Nalco posted a solid quarterly performance given EBITDA of Rs23.3bn (+21.1% vs Consensus; +26.1% vs Emkay; +50.3% QoQ), with the earnings beat led by higher alumina export volumes, while benefitting from elevated alumina prices.

JKI’s Q3FY25 performance was significantly impacted by high-cost inventory (major hit in Q3; guided to partial reversal in Q4) along with subdued demand from CV OEMs; this resulted in a largely flattish consolidated revenue performance.