Arvind Q3 revenue up 4 %

Consolidated EBIDTA was marginally lower at Rs. 281 crores as against Rs. 288 crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Arvind Limited, one of the largest integrated textile and branded apparel players, has recorded growth in the consolidate revenue by 4% at Rs. 2157 crores for the quarter ended 31st December, 2015 as against Rs.2074 crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. 

Consolidated EBIDTA was marginally lower at Rs. 281 crores as against Rs. 288 crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Profit after tax (before exceptional items) was marginally lower at Rs. 105 crores as compared to Rs. 112 crores in the corresponding quarter for the last year on account of higher tax provision.

Commenting on the results as well as outlook of the Company, Jayesh Shah, Director & Chief Financial Officer said: "The performance for the quarter has been satisfactory considering very challenging domestic markets. Following improvements in consumer sentiments, we expect performance in quarter 4 to be a stronger than corresponding quarter."

Zydus Wellness Q3 net profit at Rs. 27.2 crore

The total income was at Rs. 110.2 crore as against Rs.129.3 crore (YoY).

Zydus Wellness Ltd posted results for the third quarter ended 31st December, 2015.

The net profit for the quarter stands at Rs. 27.2 crore as against Rs. 44.4 crore.

The total income was at Rs. 110.2 crore as against Rs.129.3 crore (YoY).

Zydus Wellness Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 689.3, down by Rs. 55.9 or 7.5% from its previous closing of Rs. 745.2 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 755 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 760.7 and Rs. 675 respectively. So far 27922(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2911.5 crore.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1130.3 on 19-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 734.85 on 21-Jan-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 785 and Rs. 740 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 72.54 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 12.92 % and 14.53 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Bajaj Auto Q3 net profit at Rs.901 crore; EBITDA margin at 21%

Total Income has increased from Rs. 57524.40 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 to Rs. 57645.80 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.

Bajaj Auto Ltd posted a net profit of Rs. 9014.90 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 as compared to Rs. 8612.40 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. 

Total Income has increased from Rs. 57524.40 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 to Rs. 57645.80 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.

 EBITDA margin for the quarter stands at 21%

Lupin plunges 4% despite new drug launch

The company launched its Metformin HCl ER Tablets, 500 mg and 1000 mg to market a generic equivalent of Santarus Inc.’s Glumetza HCl ER Tablets, 500 mg and 1000 mg, in the US.

Shares of Lupin are currently trading 4.10% lower at Rs. 1,629.25 on BSE despite the company, on Tuesday, launched its Metformin HCl ER Tablets, 500 mg and 1000 mg to market a generic equivalent of Santarus Inc.’s Glumetza HCl ER Tablets, 500 mg and 1000 mg, in the US. 

The scrip opened at Rs. 1705 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1718.95 and Rs. 1617.55 respectively. So far 494264(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 76577.18 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2127 on 06-Oct-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1523.55 on 03-Feb-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1778 and Rs. 1681.45 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 46.53 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 43.56 % and 9.92 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Auction of coal linkages for non-regulated sector

The framework attempts to make the coal available in a fair manner to the end-users. The proposed auction methodology leads to the price through a market mechanism; it does not seek to maximize revenue.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval that all allocations of linkages/Letter of Assurance (LoAs) for non-regulated sector viz. Cement, Steel/Sponge Iron, Aluminium, and Others [excluding Fertilizer (urea) sector], including their CPPs, shall henceforth be auction based.   The tenure of Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) will be as decided by Ministry of Coal from to time.

The framework attempts to make the coal available in a fair manner to the end-users. The proposed auction methodology leads to the price through a market mechanism; it does not seek to maximize revenue.

It ensures that all market participants of non-regulated sector have a fair chance to secure coal linkage, irrespective of their size.

The details are as follows:

There may not be premature termination of FSAs of non-regulated sector as of now. There will be no renewal of existing FSAs of non-regulated sectors [except FSAs of CPSEs and Fertiliser (Urea)] which are maturing in 2015-16 onwards, after completion of their current agreement tenure.

The existing FSAs with Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) may continue to be renewed on expiry; for additional linkages, CPSEs may participate in auction.

To start with, in the first tranche, the quantities corresponding to FSAs of non-regulated sector [except CPSEs and Fertilizer (Urea)] maturing in 2015-16 onwards and 25% of incremental Coal India Limited (CIL) / Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) production during 2015-16 over 2014-15 will be put up for auction.

For auction of linkages, separate quantities shall be earmarked for sub-sectors of Non-Regulated sector. The sub-sectors could be Cement, Sponge Iron/Steel, Aluminium, and Others [excluding Fertilizer (urea) sector], including their Captive Power Plants (CPPs) etc. Auctions shall be conducted by CIL/SCCL.

Policy directions will be issued by the Ministry of Coal and will be implemented by CIL/SCCL

The auction of coal linkages is transparent, and creates a level playing field. It ensures that all market participants have a fair chance to secure the coal linkage, irrespective of their size. It attempts to ensure an optimal allocation of coal across user industries and geographies.

Background:

Hon'ble Supreme Court of India vide its judgements in August and September, 2014, had declared 204 coal mines/blocks allocated since 1993 as illegal on the grounds that the procedure followed was arbitrary, Pursuant to this judgment, e-auction of Schedule II and Schedule III Coal Mines was conducted. The same philosophy of non-discretionary allocation could be extended for the coal linkages as well. This would require CIL to allocate linkages through a market-based mechanism.

An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) was constituted in the Ministry of Coal in January, 2015 to consider and examine various structures and implementation models for implementing the competitive bidding for .auction of coal linkages/LoAs and to  recommend the optimal structure that would meet the requirement of all the stakeholders. The IMC met 7 times since its constitution. It was decided in the 5th meeting of IMC that auction of linkages for non-regulated sector should be taken up first. An Approach Paper regarding proposed methodology was discussed in the 5m meeting of the IMC and was uploaded on the website of Ministry of Coal (MoC) for inviting comments of the general public and stakeholders.

The responses received from various. stakeholders and individuals, besides comments from Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Steel and Department of Fertilizers were placed before IMC for consideration. Further, stakeholder industry associations presented their views and comments before the 6tn meeting of IMC on 21s August, 2015. The issue was also deliberated by the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) in its meeting held on 09.10.2015.

Coal linkages to various sectors are governed by New Coal Distribution Policy (NCDP) issued by the Ministry of Coal on 18.10.2007. Under the NCDP, a new system of issuance of LoA)was introduced for Power, Cement and Sponge Iron sectors. Under this system, requests for Linkage/LoA are forwarded to the Administrative Ministries for their recommendation. Recommendations are placed before Standing Linkage Committee (SLC/LT) which authorizes issue of LoA, However, no new linkages or LoAs have been allocated to non-regulated sector since 2007.

NTPC, Tata Steel and Gail among Nifty losers in early trade

While the Nifty is above 7400 in early trade, three stocks are in the red this morning. On expected lines the indices raced ahead on Thursday following positive global cues. Banking and metal stocks are, however, showing signs of weakness after initial rise. Tata Steel and NTPC have shed close to a percent each while Gail is down marginally. Remaining stocks in the Nifty are in the green.

Key Q3 results today include Arvind Ltd, Bajaj Auto, Berger Paints, Fortis Healthcare, GSPL, Hawkins, Heidelberg Cement, Ingersoll-Rand India, Inox Leisure, JK Lakshmi Cement, Mphasis Ltd, MT Educare, OnMobile, Poly Medicure, Sanofi India, Solar Industries, Talwalkars, Tata Steel, Torrent Pharma, Trent Ltd and ZF Steering.
 
Most Asian markets are trading higher except for Nikkei. China's CSI300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are up over a percent while South Korea's Kospi has gained 0.9%.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded late on Wednesday after oil prices jumped by 8%, lifting the Energy and Materials sectors. The Dow erased a 120-point drop to close 183.19 points, or 1.1%, higher at 16,336.66. The S&P 500 index gained 9.5 points, or 0.5%, to end at 1,912.53.   The Nasdaq Composite index pared earlier losses but ended in the negative territory, losing 12.71 points, or 0.3%, on the day to settle at 4,504.24.

Oil prices surge as USD falls...Russia open to meet OPEC

US traded crude oil futures rallied on Wednesday, rising by 8%, after the US dollar declined and amid news reports of Russia raising the prospect of a meeting with OPEC.

US traded crude oil futures rallied on Wednesday, rising by 8%, after the US dollar declined and amid news reports of Russia raising the prospect of a meeting with OPEC.

Earlier, Nymex oil futures had dipped in response to a steep advance in American crude inventories - their fourth weekly increase in a row.

March WTI crude gained US$2.40, or 8%, to settle at US$32.28 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, recouping much of the more than 11% drop it suffered in the previous two sessions. 

It had briefly fell as low as US$29.78 after the supply data, before recovering.

Brent crude oil futures rose by US$2.32, or 7.1%, to finish at US$35.04 per barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday that crude inventories rose by 7.8 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 29.

The weekly increase lifted total American crude supplies to 502.7 million barrels - the highest weekly level on record.

The dollar logged its largest one-day drop versus the euro since early December following weaker-than-expected economic reports on the service sector and private sector employment.

The ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell to a session low of 96.8900 - its weakest level since early November.

Separately, Russia reiterated its willingness to talk with OPEC producers on a plan to help boost oil prices, according to media reports.

Wipro to hire 25,000 people in Karnataka: Azim Premji

“We will add 25,000 more IT jobs in Karnataka where we already employ over 55,000 people and are expanding each of our businesses,” Premji said.

Wipro Ltd. will hire 25,000 techies in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, Chairman Azim Premji said on Wednesday at the state’s global investors meet.

“We will add 25,000 more IT jobs in Karnataka where we already employ over 55,000 people and are expanding each of our businesses,” Premji said.

“We are endorsing the fact that Karnataka is a very hospitable and a very progressive state to investors,” Premji said.

Admitting that Bengaluru had its constrains in terms of infrastructure, Premji said that the city was a source of best technical talent, nice weather, strong science background and cosmopolitan culture.

“I hope Karnataka continues to invest in infrastructure to be one of the fastest growing states in the country,” Premji added.

All of Wipro group's businesses are headquartered in Karnataka, which include IT business, consumer care & lighting, aerospace and Wipro GE healthcare systems.

17 stocks in focus: Tata Steel, Maruti, Mphasis, Bajaj Finance

Maruti Suzuki reportedly plans to invest over $1billion to revamp its range and launch over 15 new vehicles in three to five years.

Tata Steel Ltd:  One of India’s leading steel producers, will announce its financial results on February 4 for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015. IIFL forecasts the company’s net revenue for Q3 FY16 to plummet to Rs. 26,414 crore, at a rate of 21.5% yoy and 9.9% qoq. IIFL expects EBIDTA margin at 7.8%, with a yoy fall of 1.4 bps.  
 
Zydus Wellness: The company will announce its financial results on February 4 for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015. IIFL forecasts the company’s net profit for Q3 FY16 to plunge to Rs. 29.3 crore, at a rate of 33.5% yoy; however, it is expected to rise 0.6% qoq. IIFL expects net revenue to fall to Rs. 112 crore at 1.3% yoy; however, it is expected to rise 6.6% qoq. IIFL expects EBIDTA margin at 26.5%, with a yoy rise of 0.6 bps.  
 
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd:  Besides a host of launches at the AutoExpo 2016, Maruti Suzuki reportedly plans to invest over $1billion to revamp its range and launch over 15 new vehicles in three to five years
 
Pfizer Ltd: Net profit jumped to Rs 40.34 crore for the quarter ended December 2015.
 
Hexaware Technologies Ltd: The company reported 13.9% jump in its net profit. FY 2015 constant Currency revenue at $496.8 mn; up 17.6% YoY FY 2015 revenue at $485.5 mn; up 14.9% YoY PAT at $60.7 mn; up 15.8% YoY Earnings per share (EPS) was Rs 13.05; up 22.4% YoY New Customer deals of $120 mn TCV signed in 2015.
 
Gateway Distriparks Ltd: The company reported 43 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 30.93 crore for the quarter ended December 2015 due to the impact of Chennai rains on business.
 
JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd: Standalone net profit zoomed to Rs 49.89 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 on account of higher operating profit and other income.
 
Suzlon Ltd: Wholly­owned subsidiary, SE Forge Ltd (SEFL), has exited the Corporate Debt Restructuring plan.
 
TD Power Systemes Ltd: Net loss for the quarter at Rs. 5.6 crore as against loss of Rs. 0.2 crore (YoY). The total income stands at Rs. 112.8 crore as against Rs. 150.6 Cr (YoY).
 
Wipro Ltd: The company will hire 25,000 techies in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, Chairman Azim Premji said on Wednesday at the state’s global investors meet.
 
Bajaj Finance: The stock will remain in action after it climbed 9.4% to Rs.6,380 on BSE. The company recorded a rise of 58.13% in its net profit at Rs. 40.8 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 as compared to Rs. 25.8 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
Hindustan Copper: The stock dipped 2.3% on Wednesday to Rs.48.10 after the company posted 44.38% fall in its net profit in the December quarter to Rs.5.89 crore compared with Rs.10.59 crore a year ago.
 
Inox Wind: The stock slipped 2.6% on Wednesday to Rs.294 on BSE. The company completed commissioning of the 170 MW wind power project for Continuum Wind Energy located at Ratlam district in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
 
Adani Enterprises: The stock closed marginally lower at Rs. 71.80 on BSE despite the company received environmental nod for its mega coal mining project in Australia. The Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) yesterday issued a final environmental authority (EA) for Adani’s Carmichael Mine project with approximately 140 conditions, including 9 conditions relating to the black throated finch as required by the Land Court.
 
Camlin Fine Sciences Limited: The stock had  jumped 4.5% to Rs.102 after the company's subsidiary CFS ANTIOXIDANTES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., Mexico (CFS Mexico) has entered into a share Purchase Agreements to acquire 65% stake in a entity in Mexico along with its proposed group companies, which shall be subject to certain conditions being fulfilled prior to the said acquisition.
 
Aurobindo Pharma: The company received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) to manufacture and market Isosulfan Blue Injection, 1% (50 mg/5 mL) single-dose vials. The product is expected to be launched in Q4 FY15-16.
 
Mphasis Ltd:  The company will announce its results and the stock will remain in focus on reports that private equity firms Blackstone and Apollo Global Management are looking to acquire the company.
 
Among other results to watch include Tata Steel, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, ABB India,Bajaj Auto,Fortis Healthcare,Gillette India, Great Eastern Shipping,Orient Green Power Company,Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), Arvind, Berger Paints India, Acrysil, Asian Hotels (East), Apollo Finvest (India), Asahi Industries, Bajaj Holdings & Investment,Balaji Telefilms, Camex, D-Link (India), Dr.Agarwal's Eye Hospital, Esab India, Gujarat State Petronet, Gtl Infrastructure, Hawkins Cookers, Heidelbergcement India, Hil, Ingersoll-Rand, Inox Leisure, JK Lakshmi Cement, Kalindee Rail Nirman (Engineers), Kaveri Seed Company, Lakshmi Electrical Control Systems, Multi Commodity Exchange Of India, Mphasis, Mt Educare, Nitin Fire Protection Industries, Onmobile Global, Sanofi India, Schneider Electric Infrastructure, Sjvn, Srikalahasthi Pipes, Talwalkars Better Value Fitness, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, Timex Group India and Trent.

Sensex, Nifty to open in the green

China's CSI300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are up over a percent while South Korea's Kospi has gained 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded late on Wednesday after oil prices jumped by 8%, lifting the Energy and Materials sectors.

After three days of fighting the bears, sentiment seems to have improved for the day thanks to upbeat global cues. US indices swung wildly as higher oil prices were countered by a spate of weaker-than-expected economic data, which stoked fears of a slowdown in the US economy. The US service sector expanded in January at the slowest pace in almost two years, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday. Separately, a private-sector employment report by payroll-services firm ADP pointed to solid job growth in January but weaker than the previous month. Gold also rallied to its highest settlement level in more than three months.
 
The outlook is a positive start. The indices will see some green for a while at least given the upbeat global cues. Most Asian markets are also trading higher except for Nikkei which is down half a percent. China's CSI300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are up over a percent while South Korea's Kospi has gained 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded late on Wednesday after oil prices jumped by 8%, lifting the Energy and Materials sectors. The Dow erased a 120-point drop to close 183.19 points, or 1.1%, higher at 16,336.66. The S&P 500 index gained 9.5 points, or 0.5%, to end at 1,912.53.   The Nasdaq Composite index pared earlier losses but ended in the negative territory, losing 12.71 points, or 0.3%, on the day to settle at 4,504.24.
 
Among the key results to watch out for include Arvind Ltd, Bajaj Auto, Berger Paints, Fortis Healthcare, GSPL, Hawkins, Heidelberg Cement, Ingersoll-Rand India, Inox Leisure, JK Lakshmi Cement, Mphasis Ltd, MT Educare, OnMobile, Poly Medicure, Sanofi India, Solar Industries, Talwalkars, Tata Steel, Trent Ltd, ZF Steering and Zydus Wellness. 
 
Quess Corp has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for raising Rs 4,000 million through an IPO of its equity shares (“Issue”). This is intended as a full primary equity issuance, with all of the money raised being invested in the company. None of the promoters are divesting their stakes as part of the IPO.
 
Sunteck Realty Ltd announced the signing of a definitive agreement with leading global investment firm KKR under which KKR’s investment vehicles would provide up to Rs150 crore (US$22.4 million) of funding to Sunteck’s flagship luxury residential developments in Mumbai, Signia Isles and Signia Pearl. 
 
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval that all allocations of linkages/Letter of Assurance (LoAs) for non-regulated sector viz. Cement, Steel/Sponge Iron, Aluminium, and Others [excluding Fertilizer (urea) sector], including their CPPs, shall henceforth be auction based. 
 
Private equity firms Blackstone and Apollo Global Management are in the race to acquire Mphasis, according to reports.
 
Cisco Systems said that it intends to acquire Silicon Valley-based Internet of Things (IOT) start-up Jasper Technologies Inc. for US$1.4 billion in cash. 
 
Wipro Ltd. will hire 25,000 techies in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, Chairman Azim Premji said on Wednesday at the state’s global investors meet.
 
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan reportedly said to ET now that Reserve Bank of India's move to clean up balance sheets of commercial lenders is not aimed at reducing the risk-taking appetite of company owners.
 
Karnataka should be growing by 2 - 3 percent faster than the country's GDP. The state has potential in better natural resources and quality human resources. The Central government will extend all required help to Karnataka for its overall growth said Arun Jaitely, Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting.
 
The growing entrepreneur activity coupled with shift in business focus from a service provider to a solution provider is expected to push IT sector hiring to new heights. While last year the hiring was largely muted with only 12 percent increase this year the sector will witness a 14-16% growth in hiring. And it is expected to increase to 22% by 2020; IT industry will create 2.5 lakh new job openings in 2016.
 
Bajaj Finance climbed 9.4% to Rs.6,380 on BSE. The company recorded a rise of 58.13% in its net profit at Rs. 40.8 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 as compared to Rs. 25.8 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
Hindustan Copper dipped 2.3% to Rs.48.10 after the company posted 44.38% fall in its net profit in the December quarter to Rs.5.89 crore compared with Rs.10.59 crore a year ago.
 
Inox Wind slipped 2.6% to Rs.294 on BSE. The company completed commissioning of the 170 MW wind power project for Continuum Wind Energy located at Ratlam district in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
 
Shares of Adani Enterprises closed marginally lower at Rs. 71.80 on BSE despite the company received environmental nod for its mega coal mining project in Australia. The Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) yesterday issued a final environmental authority (EA) for Adani’s Carmichael Mine project with approximately 140 conditions, including 9 conditions relating to the black throated finch as required by the Land Court.
 
Camlin Fine Sciences Limited jumped 4.5% to Rs.102 after the company's subsidiary CFS ANTIOXIDANTES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., Mexico (CFS Mexico) has entered into a share Purchase Agreements to acquire 65% stake in a entity in Mexico along with its proposed group companies, which shall be subject to certain conditions being fulfilled prior to the said acquisition.
 
Aurobindo Pharma Limited gained 0.5% to Rs.771 after the company received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) to manufacture and market Isosulfan Blue Injection, 1% (50 mg/5 mL) single-dose vials. The product is expected to be launched in Q4 FY15-16.