Adani Group’s Ambuja Cements profit up by 1.6% at Rs. 502.4 crore, announces dividend

Adani Group’s newly acquired cement arm Ambuja Cements, on Tuesday, announced a mere 1.6% rise in net profit at Rs. 502.4 Crore for the March quarter as compared to Rs. 494.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY2022.

For all Ambuja Cements shareholders a dividend of Rs. 2.50 per equity share for the quarter has been announced, as per an exchange filing.

The company’s profit has been marred by a one-time loss of Rs. 80.71 crore due to a special incentive scheme given by the firm for some key employees, following a change in ownership control (from Swiss parent Holcim to Gujarat-based Adani ). The loss included a one-time cost for employing an information technology transition. (Read More)

Airtel signs pact to merge Sri Lanka operations with Dialog Axiata

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it entered into an agreement with Axiata group to merge its Sri Lanka operations with Dialog Axiata.

“Dialog Axiata Plc, Axiata Group Berhad and Bharti Airtel Limited (collectively “the parties”), have entered into a binding term sheet to combine operations of Bharti Airtel Lanka (Private) Limited, Airtel’s wholly-owned subsidiary with Dialog, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad,” Airtel said in a regulatory filing.

Airtel will get a stake in telecom operator Dialog under the proposed transaction that will represent the fair value of Airtel Lanka.

“Airtel would accordingly be issued new shares in Dialog upon completion of the transaction,” the filing said. (PTI)

Stocks to Watch: Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Ambuja Cements, Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta, Pricol, Minda Corp, UCO Bank, Godrej Consumer Products, Punjab and Sind Bank, MOIL, and Vikas Ecotech

Titan, Havells India, ABB India, Cholamandalam Investment, Adani Wilmar, MRF, and KEC International will be among the stocks in focus as they will be declaring their March quarter earnings today. (Read More)

Adani Wilmar, Titan, Godrej Properties, MRF, Havells India, Tata Chemical, among others to announce Q4 results today

Driven by strong Q4 earnings, the Indian stock market rally managed to shrug off the impact of mixed global cues and continued for the eighth trading session in a row on Tuesday. Sensex rose over 61,350 levels and Nifty 50 was slightly shy of the 18,150 mark.

On Tuesday, Sensex closed 0.40% higher at 61,354.71. Nifty 50 ended at 0.46% higher at 18,147.65. Investors also witnessed a strong market rally in both smallcap and Midcap indexes.

Stock market investors will be keenly waiting for the quarterly earnings report of major firms like Adani Wilmar, Titan, Godrej Properties, MRF, Havells India, and Reliance Power, on Wednesday. (Read More)

Buy or sell: Vaishali Parekh recommends buying in 3 stocks today: NMDC, NOCIL, and SAIL

Vaishali Parekh Vice President – Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher recommends buying the following stocks:

Buy NMDC at 109.85 with a stop loss 105 and a target price of 118

Buy NOCIL at 221.35 with a stop loss 212 and target price of 245

Buy SAIL at 84.60 with a stop loss 81 and target 92

Hindustan Zinc’s all-cash bid for Vedanta’s $2.98 billion assets in cash lapses: Report

Hindustan Zinc Ltd’s proposal to buy certain zinc assets from Vedanta Group for $2.98 billion in cash has lapsed as the Indian miner did not get shareholders’ approval within the stipulated time limit, said two government sources.

The deal was announced in mid-January, after which Hindustan Zinc had three months to call an extraordinary general meeting to seek approval from its minority shareholders, according to Indian rules for listed companies.

“The issue is dead because three months have lapsed,” said the first government official. (Read More)

Minda Corp approaches CCI to acquire 24.5% stake in Pricol

Auto parts maker Minda Corporation on Tuesday sought the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) approval to buy 24.5% stake in rival Pricol Ltd, according to a regulatory filing.

Minda had in February bought a 15.7% stake in Pricol for ₹400 crore in a surprise move that triggered a confrontation with the promoter group of the target company led by managing director Vikram Mohan.

Mint couldn’t reach Pricol’s promoters for a comment until press time. (Read More)

Tata Steel earns consolidated PAT of ₹1,566 cr in Q4, beats estimates; recommends 360% dividend

Tata Group’s steel flagship company, Tata Steel surpassed the street’s expectations in the fourth quarter of FY23 by posting a consolidated net profit of ₹1,566.24 crore against a huge loss of ₹2,501.95 crore in Q3 of the same fiscal. The company’s board recommended a dividend of 360% on Tuesday for its shareholders and has announced the record date for the same.

Noteworthily, the latest quarterly PAT is an 83.95% drop compared to a profit of ₹9,756.2 crore witnessed in Q4 of FY22.

Along similar lines, Tata Steel’s consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹62,961.54 crore in Q4FY23, rising by 10.3% from ₹57,083.56 crore in Q3FY23, but lower by 9.2% from ₹69,323.5 crore in the same quarter a year ago. (Read More)

Crisis-hit Go First files for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings; cancels all flights from May 3-5

Go First, which has been flying for more than 17 years, will cancel all flights for three days — May 3, 4 and 5 — and promised to make a full refund to the customers. It operates around 180-185 flights, carrying around 30,000 passengers on a daily basis.

The airline’s CEO Kaushik Khona said the airline has grounded 28 planes, more than half of its fleet, due to the non-supply of engines by Pratt & Whitney (P&W), and that has resulted in a fund crunch.

“It is an unfortunate decision (filing for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings), but it had to be done to protect the interests of the company,” he told PTI. (PTI)

US stock markets fall on Tuesday as regional banks tumble, investors worry before Fed

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday as regional bank shares tumbled on renewed fears over the financial system and as investors tried to gauge how much longer the Federal Reserve may need to hike interest rates.

The Fed is expected to raise rates 25 basis points on Wednesday, and investors are anxious for any signals from the central bank on whether it will be the last hike for now, or if further increases are possible if inflation remains high.

The KBW regional banking index hit its lowest level intraday since late 2020.

Energy shares dropped along with oil prices as investors worried about a potential U.S. debt default.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the federal government could be unable by June 1 to meet all of its payment obligations without legislation to raise Washington’s borrowing limit.

The S&P 500 lost 48.82 points, or 1.17%, to end at 4,119.05 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 132.49 points, or 1.11%, to 12,077.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 365.40 points, or 1.09%, to 33,680.41.

Among bank shares, PacWest Bancorp tumbled, along with Western Alliance Bancorp and Comerica Inc. (Reuters)