Emkay Broker Research reports

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.

Pricol reported a weak Q4 with core revenue growth/EBITDA margin (ex-P3L) below our estimate of 9.7%/12.2% amid muted 2W segment revenue (on OBD 2B regulation change), supply chain disruptions, and delayed exports.

Vishnu Chemicals (VCL) reported Q4 EBITDA at Rs640mn (flat YoY/QoQ), in line with our estimates. The Barium segment performed exceptionally well, with EBITDA doubling YoY to Rs345mn (+41% QoQ), led by a) price hikes in barium carbonate and precipitated barium sulphate (PBS) and b) benefits of backward integration from the Ramdas Minerals acquisition (baryte beneficiation plant).

Global Health (Medanta)’s Q4FY25 print was in line with street/our estimates. The Developing portfolio continued its healthy trajectory, as OBD grew 36% YoY (favorable base) while ARPOBs fell 7% on higher contribution of schemebased patients in both—Lucknow and Patna units.

Delhivery’s Q4FY25 print was a mixed bag, with revenue missing our estimate by 4% while EBITDA registered an 18% beat. The B2C segment continued to track its muted trajectory, growing only 3% YoY due to subdued demand and insourcing by Meesho.

We reiterate BUY on Ethos with revised TP of Rs3,500 (up ~6% on 3M rollover to Jun-26E; earnings/multiple unchanged).

REC reported a soft quarter, with moderating growth and disbursement led by higher repayments (including prepayments) and NPA resolutions, while margin and asset quality were stable.

KBL reported a 12% PAT miss in 4Q at Rs2.5bn, due to lower margin (down by 4bps QoQ to ~3%) and higher staff costs owing to higher actuarial provisioning on retirement benefits of Rs1.1bn.

Vijaya’s Q4FY25 results were a slight miss on our estimates (2%/3% on sales/EBITDA) due to industry-level headwinds (extended festivities in South India), capacity constraints in Pune centers, and gross margin contraction.

We retain REDUCE on Britannia with unchanged Mar-26E TP of Rs5,500, on 48x P/E (in line with its last 5Y forward average P/E). With improvement in macro trends, the management is reasonably optimistic about the sector recovery.