Emkay Broker Research reports

We met with Ameera Shah, Promoter and Executive Chairperson of Metropolis Healthcare (MHL), to gain insights into management strategy of growing organically (via network expansion) and inorganically (revenue synergies following the integration of recent acquisitions).

We met with the management of Blue Star (BLSTR) to understand recent trends in the AC industry and mgmt outlook for FY26. BLSTR expects ~20- 25% YoY revenue drop in RAC in Q1FY26 due to a high base and unseasonal rains, partly offset by steady growth in CACs (~10-12%, led by data centers) and Commercial Refrigeration (~15-20%, led by visi coolers/freezers).

We initiate coverage on HDB Financial Services (HDBFS) with BUY and Jun-26E TP of Rs 900 (+22% upside), on FY27E P/B of 3.0x. Our positive view is due to, HDBFS being a highly diversified (geographically and product-wise), extremely granular (top 20 accounts constitute ~0.34% of AUM), and large-scale lending franchise with over 19mn customers.

We met with Vikram Mohan (MD) and the senior management of Pricol, to delve into its business strategy/growth outlook; we also visited its R&D center and manufacturing plant.

Leveraging its strong balance sheet and best-in-class retail pedigree, Metro is prudently plugging portfolio gaps and remains a platform of choice for thirdparty brands looking to enter India.

We upgrade Aarti to BUY from Add and revise up our TP by 5% to Rs 525 from Rs 500 (25x Jun-27E EPS, on rollover); the revision is owing to the recent stock price correction and steep rise in gasoline-naphtha cracks which should raise demand for octane boosters and aid volume growth for MMA (Energy business).

We met Axis Bank’s ED Subrata Mohanty and CFO Puneet Sharma, to understand the business/profitability outlook, more so in view of the recent monetary policy.

We attended Voltas’s analyst meet to gain deeper insight into its growth roadmap/demand environment. The management indicated a ~20– 25% decline in RAC secondary sales across players in Apr-May ’25, with a similar impact expected on primary sales, till inventory levels normalize.

We attended JLR’s Annual Investor Day meet to understand its outlook and growth strategy. JLR gave guidance for £28bn revenue with 5-7% EBIT margin in FY26 (vs earlier guidance of 10%; FY25: 8.5%); it maintained its interim/long-term guidance of 10%/15%, led by sustained focus on premiumization (growing share of higher-priced models), pricing discipline, and structural cost reduction.

Kumiai Chemical Industry (Kumiai) has revised up its H1FY25 revenue guidance by ~9% to JPY96bn from JPY88bn, citing that net sales are expected to exceed the forecast due to advanced shipment to overseas markets in its Agchem business.

The strategic review and potential sale by BP Plc of its lubricant arm, Castrol Ltd, marks a major global corporate development in the otherwise quiet lubricant sector.

Indian Bank has been one of the best performing PSBs for several years now. Our recent interaction with its new MD and CEO Binod Kumar reconfirms the company’s unwavering focus on profitability over growth.

We attended CEAT’s annual analyst meeting. The management retained its mid-single-digit replacement growth guidance. Rural is outpacing urban (key for CEAT’s 2Ws/farm segment) on a favorable monsoon outlook; it is eyeing share gains in PV OEMs amid rising salience of higher-rim size tyres.

We met RBL Bank MD and CEO R S Kumar to discuss the bank’s future outlook following a clean-up act in FY25, due to elevated stress in its unsecured portfolio.

We maintain BUY on Senco with an unchanged TP of Rs500 (25x Jun-27E EPS), as a 4-5% cut in estimates on higher interest expense is completely offset by rollover to Jun-26E TP.

We met new MD and CEO KVS Manian and Consumer Banking Head Virat Diwanji (ex-KMB), who gave assurance of their unwavering focus on addressing Federal Bank (FB)’s long-time pain point (margin) mainly via CASA acceleration.

We assume coverage on Star Cement (Star) with BUY and target price of Rs250, while valuing the stock at FY27E EV/EBITDA of 12x. Star, with the upcoming commissioning of grinding units (GUs) in Silchar and Jorhat (both in Assam) is set to consolidate its leadership position in the Northeast.

Puravankara (PL)’s pre-sales in FY25 were weak, as expected, as approvals were delayed (sector-wide impact). However, despite only 3.6msf new launches, sustenance sales remained strong (up 14% YoY) which was a respite.

We maintain BUY on Kalpataru Projects International Ltd (KPIL) with a TP of Rs1,450 (implying 30% upside). Standalone revenue/EBITDA/PAT grew by 21%/31%/48% YoY, led by strong order book, improved execution, and operating efficiencies.

Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) continued to report a robust performance, with PAT at Rs5.1bn and peer-best RoA at ~1.7%, which the bank guides to uphold, aided by healthy operating profitability and contained credit cost.