Upgrades

We upgrade Marico to BUY from Add, and raise Mar-26E TP by ~16% to Rs810 (from Rs700), given FY25 management aspirations have been already realized and execution is continually improving.

SBI posted a slightly soft quarter, as credit growth moderated to 12.4% YoY due to pre-payments in the corporate book, while higher opex (staff cost + deposit insurance) and provisions (std assets + investment + PLI incentive) caused a 5% earnings miss, with PAT at Rs186bn/1.1% RoA.

Coromandel International (CRIN) reported a robust operating performance in 4QFY25 (EBIT up 62% YoY), aided by strong growth in both the Crop Protection business (EBIT up 60% YoY) and the Nutrients and Allied business (Adj. EBIT up 38% YoY; includes INR509.4m toward an adjustment for the write-down of
certain assets across plants).

Marico (MRCO) reported consol. revenue growth of 20% YoY (in line) in 4QFY25. Domestic revenue growth was 23% YoY, while volume growth was 7%. International growth was 11% YoY (16% CC growth).

BPCL’s Q4FY25 performance was much better than expected. SA EBITDA/APAT was down 15%/18% YoY to Rs78.1/45.5bn, albeit at a significant beat, driven by reported GRM of USD9.2/bbl (Emkay: USD6/bbl).

Adjusted EBITDA profitability in Q4FY25 was above our estimates (act. INR 0.7bn vs. est. INR 0.1bn). This was achieved by containing quick commerce (QC) losses despite adding 294 dark stores and 1mn sq.ft. warehousing space in a quarter with seasonally lower AOV (-5.9% QoQ).

Stable margins and strong fees led to City Union Bank’s steady operating performance. Overall profitability was strong, with RoA coming at 1.53%. Ahead, we expect net slippages to be negative since most of the stress has been recognised. The focus now shifts to business growth.

VED reported a steady Q4FY25 with EBITDA of Rs116.2bn (+4.5% vs Emkay; +3.0% QoQ); the performance was mainly led by sequentially better profitability in its Aluminium and Zinc India businesses.