Check out the companies making headlines before the opening bell today, on October 18, 2023.

Bajaj Finance: The non-banking finance company has reported a substantial 28 percent year-on-year increase in profit after tax, reaching Rs 3,551 Crore for the quarter ending September FY24. During the same period, net interest income increased by 26 percent to Rs 8,845 crore, with a 26 percent increase in the number of new loans booked, totaling 8.53 million. Assets under management (AUM) also experienced robust growth, rising by 33 percent to Rs 2.9 lakh crore as of September 2023.

L&T Technology Services: The engineering services company has recorded a 1.4 percent sequential growth in Net Profit at Rs 315.4 crore for the quarter ending September FY24, surpassing analyst estimates. Quarterly revenue increased by 3.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,386.5 crore, with dollar revenue rising by 2.9 percent to $288.1 million. The company has revised its USD revenue growth guidance for FY24 to 17.5–18.5 percent in constant currency and declared an interim dividend of Rs 17 per share.

Tata Elxsi: The design-led technology services company has achieved a 5.9 percent sequential growth in net profit, reaching Rs 200 crore for the July-September period of FY24. During the same period, revenue increased by 3.7 percent to Rs 881.7 crore. Notably, the transportation segment exhibited a strong growth of 7.1 percent quarter-on-quarter, driven by large deals and robust traction in software-defined vehicle (SDV) engagements.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders: The state-owned shipbuilding company has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence’s acquisition wing for the construction and delivery of one training ship for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), valued at Rs 310 crore.

ICICI Bank: The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 12.19 crore on ICICI Bank for contravening sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Banking Regulation Act.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation: Petromin Corporation, Saudi Arabia, will establish 1,000 Petromin Express Stations (quick service vehicle care) at HPCL retail outlets across India in the next five years. The first 16 Petromin Express Stations have been launched in Bengaluru and Chennai on October 16.

Avenue Supermarts: The D-Mart operator has received a tax demand notice with a penalty of Rs 3.9 lakh from the Superintendent of Central Tax (GST), Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

Lemon Tree Hotels: The hotel chain has signed a franchise agreement for a 45-room hotel in Vadodara, Gujarat, set to operate in FY26 under the brand Keys Select by Lemon Tree Hotels.

Housing & Urban Development Corporation: The Government of India will be selling up to 7,00,66,500 equity shares of HUDCO, representing 3.50 percent of the total paid-up equity, on October 18–19, with an option to sell an additional 7,00,66,500 equity shares if oversubscription occurs. The floor price has been set at Rs 79 per share, with a potential fund raising of Rs 1,107 crore by the government.

Bajaj Electricals: The company has secured a service contract worth Rs 347.29 crore from the Power Grid Corporation of India.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation: IRCTC has partnered with Zomato for the supply and delivery of preordered meals through IRCTC’s e-catering portal in a proof of concept (PoC) at five railway stations, including New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Varanasi.

Kotak Mahindra Bank: Subsidiary Kotak Securities has sold its entire shareholding of approximately 7.50 percent in Entroq Technologies to Delente Technologies at Rs 508.06 per share. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 3.95 crore on Kotak Mahindra Bank for non-compliance with RBI Directions on various aspects.

Grasim Industries: The Century Rayon plant in Shahad has received permission from the Department of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) to restart operations of the carbon disulfide refining section. The necessary permissions from other concerned departments have also been obtained.

Exide Industries: The company has invested Rs 100 crore in its wholly owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions, on a rights basis, with no change in the shareholding percentage.

Himadri Speciality Chemical: The speciality chemical company has reported a standalone net profit of Rs 101 crore for the period ending September FY24, marking a significant 246.2 percent year-on-year increase. Despite a 5.1 percent on-year decline in revenue, which amounted to Rs 1,005 crore, the robust EBITDA and margin expansion contributed to this growth.

Can Fin Homes: The housing finance company has reported an 11.5 percent year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 158 crore for the Quarter Ended September FY24, and net interest income during the same period grew by 26.1 percent to Rs 316.8 crore. Asset quality weakened with the gross non-performing assets (NPA) rising 13 bps sequentially to 0.76 percent and the net NPA rising 9 bps QoQ to 0.43 percent for the quarter.

CIE Automotive India: The auto ancillary company has recorded an 11.4 percent on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 186.7 crore for the quarter ended September 2023, driven by a better operating margin. Revenue from operations increased by 2.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,279.4 crore in Q3 FY23.

Zensar Technologies: The company has reported net profit at Rs 173.9 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, growing 11.3 percent over the previous quarter, with EBIT rising 3.5 percent to Rs 194.4 crore and EBIT margin expanding 40 bps QoQ to 15.7 percent. Revenue from operations increased by 1.1 percent sequentially to Rs 1,240.8 crore for the quarter.

VST Industries: The Hyderabad-based cigarette manufacturer has reported a 17.6 percent year-on-year decline in net profit at Rs 75.95 crore, with tepid growth in topline, lower profit before tax, and other income. Revenue from operations for the quarter increased by 2.86 percent year over year to Rs 452.3 crore.

In other corporate news, Arvind has appointed Nigam Shah as the Chief Financial Officer, and Syngene International, a contract research organisation, recorded a 14 percent year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 117 crore for the July-September period FY24. Revenue from operations increased by 18.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 910 crore during the same period.

Mphasis, an IT solutions provider, announced a strategic partnership with WorkFusion to enhance its services in transforming financial crime operations for its enterprise clients.

Mahanagar Gas has entered into a joint venture agreement with Baidyanath LNG to incorporate a private limited company in India for the business of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The subscription to the initial share capital of the joint venture company will be in the ratio of 51:49.

Astra Microwave Products executed a licence-cum-transfer of technology agreement between NewSpace India (NSIL) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to utilize the know-how relating to MiniSAR: X-band Airborne SAR.

Committed Cargo Care, a third-party logistics provider, is set to debut on the NSE Emerge on October 18, with an issue price of Rs. 77 per share. Its equity shares will be available for trading in the trade-for-trade segment.