Wipro Ltd. said it’s “aligning business and talent” to a “changing market environment”, amid reports that India’s fourth-largest IT services firm was undertaking mass layoffs to shore up profitability.
“We are committed to investing in our people, processes, and technology to drive better client and employee experiences and enhance productivity, agility across our organisation to meet fast-evolving client and market needs,” a Wipro spokesperson replied to NDTV Profit over email, when asked to comment on reports of mass layoffs at the firm.
“Aligning our business and talent to the changing market environment is a critical part of our strategy as we look to build a resilient, agile and high-performance organisation.”
Wipro is in the process of cutting “hundreds” of mid-level roles onsite in an attempt to improve margin, ET Prime reported on Wednesday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. The Bengaluru-based IT services firm has sent intimations to employees who are “very expensive resources onsite at Capco”.
The move is significant, for it comes nearly three years after Wipro acquired U.K.-based IT consultancy Capco Inc. for $1.45 billion—its biggest acquisition till date. That bet has yet to pay off meaningfully as a pandemic boom in the consulting and outsourcing space has gone bust amid sustained macroeconomic headwinds in the U.S.
Aparna Iyer, who took over as Wipro’s chief financial officer less than six months ago, has now been tasked with showing better margins in the January-March quarter.
The RBI said the Paytm Payment Bank's continued material supervisory concerns warranted further supervisory action.
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd from accepting fresh deposits and making credit transactions. India's apex bank said in a statement that the action was precipitated by the bank's "persistent non-compliances".
Paytm’s parent company is Noida-based One97 Communications .(Virendra Singh Gosain/ HT)
The RBI said the Paytm Payments Bank's continued material supervisory concerns warranted supervisory action.
The apex bank didn't reveal any timeline for reviewing the restrictions.
Noida-based One 97 Communications Ltd is the parent company of the Paytm Payments Bank. It holds 49 percent stake in the company.
What is a payments bank?
A payments bank is a financial services company that cannot accept more than ₹2 lakh in deposits per account. It is not allowed to lend directly but can sell loan products. It can also promote other third-party loan products.
How will the action affect customers?
Paytm Payments Bank now cannot take deposits after February 29. It will not be able to perform credit transactions, including via wallets. This means the bank won't be able to credit loan money to customers through its accounts or wallets.
However, customers can withdraw or utilise their existing balances without restrictions.
The bank will not be allowed to offer fund transfers, including via India's popular Unified Payment Interface. This means if a person wants to transfer the balance in the Paytm Payments Bank through UPI, she won't be able to do so.
The RBI said the nodal accounts of One97 Communications Ltd and Paytm Payments Services are to be terminated at the earliest and not later than February 29.
The bank will also be barred from activities like topping up any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, cards for paying road tolls.
The bank, however, can credit interest, cashbacks or refunds in the accounts of customers.
Withdrawal or utilisation of balances by its customers from their accounts including savings bank accounts, current accounts, prepaid instruments, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, will be permitted without any restrictions, upto their available balance.
This means customers will not be able to top up these services with fresh funds but can use existing balances
"No further deposits or credit transactions or top ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, NCMC cards, etc. after February 29, 2024, other than any interest, cashbacks, or refunds which may be credited anytime," it said.
It is unlikely that Paytm's wallet application and UPI services linked to the accounts of other banks will be impacted after RBI's deadline. Only the services linked to the payments bank accounts are likely to be impacted.
The latest decision comes nearly two years after the regulator barred the bank, from taking on new customers because it violated certain rules, Bloomberg News had reported. Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had then said the bank is fully compliant with Indian rules.
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India is reducing import taxes on several mobile-device components to boost smartphone production, a boon for companies like Apple Inc. that are increasingly considering the country as a global manufacturing base.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government late Tuesday announced it was lowering tariffs on components including plastic and metal mechanical parts, SIM sockets and screws.An industry group welcomed the move as a step in the right direction.
PM Modi is trying to make India an electronics manufacturing powerhouse, luring global brands such as Apple away from China. At the same time, he’s trying to build an ecosystem of domestic suppliers to ensure India grabs a larger part of the value chain instead of being just an assembly location.
“This is a critical and welcome policy intervention by the government towards making mobile manufacturing competitive in India,” Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of India Cellular and Electronics Association, said in a statement. “Building scale, riding on low input tariffs is key to transforming India into a global hub for electronics manufacturing and exports.”
The lobby group, which counts Apple, its Taiwanese suppliers Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp. as well as homegrown contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies India Ltd. among its members, said last month higher duties hurt India’s cost competitiveness by up to 7%.
Modi’s project has had some early successes, with Apple among companies that have boosted production in the country. India now accounts for more than 7% of the iPhone’s global output.
Apple is exploring ways to reduce its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate. Its longtime partners, who make most of the world’s iPhones from sprawling factories in China, have added assembly lines in India at a rapid pace over the past years.
Lower import tariffs will make assembly more cost-effective, and could encourage manufacturers to increasingly build devices for exporting as domestic smartphone consumption slows down. India’s smartphone exports doubled in the fiscal year through March 2023 to about $11 billion.
“That scale will help strengthen India’s ambition to become the factory of the world by pushing more component makers to set up local factories,” said Navkendar Singh, an analyst at tech researcher IDC.
The budget day always holds its relevance in forecasting the economic outlook of the nation, which is simultaneously being reflected through the equity markets, says brokerage house Angel One.
According to Angel One, technically, the higher time frame charts continue to look attractive with the recent accomplishments. The undertone favors the Bulls of D-Street, and dips are likely to augur well for them as well. However, a conservative approach is advisable after the recent accomplishments, and traders should remain selective in their approach, emphasising more on the themes poised for outperformance, it added.
The brokerage house has come out with 4 technical picks for tomorrow's budget. Let's take a look:
This month PSU stocks have given a spectacular run. The government-backed telecom stock MTNL has spiked more than 30 percent this month and looks appealing on the higher degree charts as well. The counter has surpassed the strong resistance zone around the 40-41 odd zone and looks poised for a rally beyond the 50 mark in the near term. Recently, this counter has been taking support around the 20 EMA on the weekly chart, which is now placed around the 32-33 odd zone. We anticipate that this outperformance will persist, and hence, we recommend buying this counter on dips towards Rs.41-38 for a near-term target of ₹52, with a stop loss at ₹32.
After a long consolidation phase, PETRONET has finally shown a strong volume-based buying in the last two months. The counter has precisely rebounded from the multi-year support zone around 190 odd levels which also coincides with the 89 EMA on the monthly chart. On the higher side, the stock has managed to surpass the hurdle of 250-255 and has formed a higher-top higher-bottom structure. Considering the above development, we expect a continuation of the ongoing rally. Hence, we would recommend a buy on PETRONET between the range of 255 and 245, with a stop loss of 224 and a target of 295.
The entire CEMENT space is on a roll for a few months. With larger names like ACC and Ambuja out of their slumber phase, we expect up move to continue in this space. DIGVIJAY CEMENT has been performing consistently since March 2023 lows. Despite giving two-fold returns in such a short span, there is no sign of fatigue yet. The monthly chart depicts a breakout from the bullish ‘Cup and Handle’ pattern with sizeable volumes. Traders are advised to buy around 110-105 for a target of 136. The stop loss to places at 92.
This stock has been one of the stable performers within the NBFC space. Prices have not been showing any flamboyance; but if we take a glance at the daily and weekly time frame charts, we can clearly see a steady move in the form of ‘Higher Highs Higher Lows’ in the last few months. We expect a continuation of this outperformance; however, prices have recently moved rapidly and hence, one should wait for a small decline to get into this counter. Traders are advised to buy around 2,350-2,250 for a target of 2,880. The stop loss needs to be placed at 2,000.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decision.
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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on January 30 announced that Aviva, the UK’s leading insurance, wealth and retirement provider has expanded its partnership with the IT services major in a 15-year agreement to transform the company’s "UK Life business and improve customer experience".
TCS did not disclose the deal size. However, sources told Moneycontrol that this will be a mega deal which is usually considered to be over $500 million in size. The deal comes after the country’s largest IT services firm had a seasonally weak quarter where no large deals were reported.
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Aviva is a long-standing partner of TCS for 20 years. In this new agreement, TCS will be deploying TCS BaNCS transforming Aviva’s end-to-end policy administration and servicing to expand to cover over 5.5 million policies. This will further be managed by Diligenta, TCS’ FCA regulated subsidiary in the UK, on behalf of Aviva.
Doug Brown, CEO Insurance, Wealth & Retirement, Aviva said, “Extending this strategic partnership will improve how we serve our customers, further simplify our operations and support our growth ambitions. It will allow us to rationalize our systems and improve efficiency, bringing significant benefits for our customers and the business.”
R Vivekanand, President, BFSI Products & Platforms, TCS added, “Our long-standing relationship with Aviva over the last 20 years is a testament to our joint efforts to consistently and continuously transform customer experience.”
TCS has operated in the UK for more than 45 years and works with over 200 of the top businesses in the country including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Sainsbury’s, Nationwide, M&S, Asda and Boots. TCS has a leadership position in software and IT services to the UK market. It currently employs more than 23,000 people in the UK and Ireland, making it among the region’s biggest IT employers.
NEW DELHI: The stock market experienced a steep downturn on Tuesday, with both the Sensex and Nifty indices plummeting notably due to profit-taking in index giants Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank following a surge in the preceding session.
BSE Sensex dropped by 801.67 points or 1.11%, settling at 71,139.90. At its lowest point during the day, it fell by 865.85 points or 1.20% to 71,075.72.
Meanwhile, the Nifty saw a decline of 215.50 points or 0.99%, closing at 21,522.10.
Bajaj Finance took a hit, falling by 5.03% after disappointing December quarter earnings failed to impress investors.
Other major laggards among the Sensex firms included Titan, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, ITC, and NTPC.
On the upside, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Consultancy Services recorded gains.
In Asian markets, Tokyo ended positively, while Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong closed lower. European markets showed gains, while the US markets ended higher on Monday.
On Monday, the BSE benchmark surged by 1,240.90 points or 1.76%, settling at 71,941.57, and the Nifty climbed by 385 points or 1.80% to 21,737.60.
NTPC's board also approved paying a second interim dividend of Rs 2.25 per share
State-run power generator NTPC Ltd reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,208.87 crore for the third quarter of 2023-24, up 7.3 percent from Rs 4,854.36 crore in the year-ago period.
Revenue from operations in the December 2023 quarter was Rs 42,820.38 crore, down 3.9 percent from Rs 44,601.84 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.
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According to the average of analyst estimates calculated by Bloomberg, NTPC was projected to report a net profit of Rs 4,930 crore and a revenue of Rs 44,646.80 crore in the quarter under review.
The company's board also approved paying a second interim dividend of Rs 2.25 per share on the face value of paid-up equity shares of Rs 10 each for FY24. The dividend will be paid on February 22.
NTPC is India's largest integrated power utility, contributing 25 percent of the country’s power requirement.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at Rs 12,116.42 crore, which is 18 percent lower compared with Rs 14,864.96 crore during the same period a year earlier. The EBITDA margin declined by 5 percentage points to 28 percent from 33 percent.
During the quarter, the company recorded gross power generation of 89.467 billion units (BU), 13.76 percent higher than 78.646 BUs in the same period of the previous year.
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Coal produced from its captive mines stood at 8.09 million tonnes in the quarter, marking a sharp spike of 51.2 percent over 5.35 MT in FY23.
The total installed capacity of the NTPC group stood at 73,874 MW in Q3FY24 against 70,884 MW in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. On a standalone basis, NTPC reported a total installed capacity of 57,838 MW, up from 58,269 MW in Q3FY23.
On September 1, 2023, India witnessed a record power demand of almost 240 GW, amid soaring temperatures.
Shares of NTPC closed at Rs 324.55 a piece on the National Stock Exchange on January 29 ahead of the results, up almost 3.11 percent.
New Delhi: India’s car industry will drive its manufacturing growth and play a big role in attracting investments and prosperity, Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava said, adding the country will become a provider of automobile technology to much of the developing world. However, despite the geopolitical advantages India benefits from due to the global policies of diversification, its manufacturing industry is yet to become globally competitive, Bhargava said.
“Today, India is the third largest car market in the world. I see the Indian car market growing, and we are the only large country which has potential to grow substantially over the coming years. I see India becoming a major exporter of cars and auto components, which are already at over $20 billion. I think in many ways, we will become the developers and providers of technology to a lot of the developing world in the automobile industry," Bhargava said in an interview.
“The car industry will drive manufacturing growth in India, and I see a big role for the car industry going forward because among all the manufacturing sectors; I believe the automobile industry is ahead of everybody else. It is the only area where all the major global manufacturers have invested in India and I can’t think of another manufacturing sector, where there’s so much of foreign interest and foreign actual investment from all the biggest players of the world," he said.
However, Bhargava, a former civil servant, cautions that the Indian manufacturing industry is yet to achieve high levels of competitiveness and productivity, and its public enterprises in particular need to boost performance in the sector. These are themes he addresses in his latest book, Impossible to Possible, in which he describes what made Maruti Suzuki, the first and only instance of the government-run public sector undertaking (PSU) forming a joint venture with a foreign company (Suzuki) in India, starting manufacturing in India in a new sector by bringing in and adapting principles of productivity implemented by its Japanese partner.
Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest car manufacturer, aims to produce 4 million cars by 2030, and surpassed the 2-million mark in 2023.
Bhargava, 89, and Osamu Suzuki, 93, have both retained their positions as chairmen of Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki Motor Corp. respectively, even after retiring from executive roles as MD and CEO, in a 40-year long partnership of trust, loyalty and friendship that aided the success of Maruti Suzuki, says Bhargava. Suzuki has held a majority stake in MSIL since the government disinvested in Maruti Udyog Ltd in 2002, and now owns nearly 60% of the company, generating outsized returns on the investment of ₹20 crore Osamu Suzuki made in the company in 1981, ‘staking his reputation’ on a company that was almost ‘guaranteed to fail’, according to Bhargava, because he was one of the few people who believed in the potential of India’s car market. Suzuki also helped Maruti break out of the mould of a traditional PSU and prioritize profitable growth and competitiveness.
“One of the ways in which the public sector performance can improve, and I think there’s no question that public sector performance needs to improve substantially if they are going to contribute to the country’s growth, is by getting strategic partners who will bring in systems which will help the company grow," Bhargava said.
“One example is in the private sector, the partnership of Kubota and Escorts, where the management of Escorts decided to bring in a Japanese partner in a company which has been family-dominated for decades. This will enable them to grow their business substantially, instead of them having a large piece of a smaller pie," he explained.
Bhargava cautions Indian industry against a predominantly Western school of management which might be adversely affecting its global competitiveness. “We tend to blindly follow, including in our education institutions, the Western system of management. But which western country today is as productive and as competitive as companies in the East? A failure to look at what is happening in the world in terms of productivity and competitiveness and manufacturing... will ensure we remain like the Western countries in terms of manufacturing, non-competitive", Bhargava said. A key feature of this Japanese philosophy of management is kaizen, continuous improvement, which can only be achieved when managements work alongside workers in an equal partnership, Bhargava said.
Maruti Suzuki enjoys a cash stockpile of nearly ₹ 50,000 crore, achieves a 2-3% reduction in the cost of their components (not accounting for inflation) every year, because of the ‘hundreds of 1000s of suggestions made by Maruti Suzuki’s workers every year, leading to savings of hundreds of crores every year. And that is what makes the difference between an ordinary or good manufacturing company", Bhargava said.
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The transaction is the company's second major divestment of stake held in Shriram Group. On June 21, 2023, Piramal had sold its entire 8.3% stake in Shriram Finance Ltd. via multiple block deals for an aggregate amount of Rs 4,824 crore.
The Ajay Piramal-led company will be reporting its quarterly earnings on Monday, with analysts polled by Bloomberg estimating a revenue of Rs 994.3 crore revenue and net profit of Rs 151.6 crore.
Shares of Piramal had closed 0.73% higher at Rs 873.55 apiece on the BSE, compared to a 0.51% decline in the benchmark Sensex on Thursday.
Alarmed by its falling share prices, large shareholders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises are planning to seek the views of the company's board on the future plans of the Indian media conglomerate. The shareholders may also ask Zee to call an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to elect new directors to steer the company if they are not satisfied with its future plans.
An institutional source said the action will be taken as early as next week and the move was triggered by the company's share price crash. The share prices of Zee nosedived sharply after the collapse of
Billionaire Bernard Arnault has surpassed Tesla CEO Elon Musk to become the richest man in the world.
CEO of global luxury goods company LVMH, Arnault and his family’s net worth grew to $207.8 billion after an increase of $23.6 billion on Friday, exceeding Musk’s $204.5 billion mark, as per Forbes real-time billionaires list.
This comes after Tesla suffered a blow in the stock market on Thursday (Jan 25), plummeting to 13 per cent which made Musk lose more than $18 billion in net worth, according to a Forbes report.
On the other hand, LVMH shares rose by over 13 per cent on Friday around 11 am immediately after the news of strong sales surfaced.
LVMH's market cap reached $388.8 billion on Friday, compared to Tesla’s $586.14 billion market cap, as per Forbes.
Tesla shares drop by 12 per cent
Tesla shares on Thursday dropped by over 12 per cent after Musk cautioned that the sales growth would go down despite slashing the prices that have already caused a dent in the margins of the world's most valuable automaker.
Musk on Wednesday said that growth would be "notably lower" as Tesla shifts its focus on making cheaper next-generation electric vehicles at its Texas factory in the second half of 2025.
However, he said that speeding up the production of the new model would pose challenges as it would involve the latest technologies.
"The Tesla headlines have essentially gone from bad to worse," said TD Cowen analysts, noting that the fourth-quarter revenue and profit were also below expectations.
"The problem for Tesla is any significant attempt to boost sales from here on will probably need to be achieved at the cost of further falls in operating margin, due to having to compete with BYD in China, as well as increased competition elsewhere," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Media index shed 10 percent, Nifty Realty index down 4.5 percent, Nifty Bank index fell 2.6 percent, and Nifty PSU Bank index down 2 percent. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma index up 1.7 percent.
The Indian equity market extended losses in the truncated week ended January 25 amid mixed earnings from India Inc, possible delay in the US Fed rate cut, Middle East tension, and continued FII selling.
For the week, the BSE Sensex declined 1 percent or 722.98 points to end at 70,700.67, while Nifty50 finished at 21,352.6, falling 219.2 points or 1 percent.
The BSE Small-cap index shed 0.5 percent. Karnataka Bank, Zee Media Corporation, Tanla Platforms, Bliss GVS Pharma, MPS, MSTC, Angel One, Restaurant Brands Asia, Cyient lost between 10-12 percent, while IFCI, Transformers and Rectifiers India, Salasar Techno Engineering, IFB Industries, Visaka Industries, Borosil Renewables, HLV, ALLSEC Technologies, Steel Exchange India and Dhunseri Ventures added between 20-37 percent.
BSE Mid-cap Index erased the previous week's gains and ended 1.6 percent lower dragged by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Oberoi Realty, Indraprastha Gas, IDFC First Bank, Balkrishna Industries, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
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The BSE Large-cap Index extended the fall this week with a 0.9 percent fall. Losers were Axis Bank, Mankind Pharma, Asian Paints, Adani Energy Solutions, Havells India, Interglobe Aviation, and FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa), while gainers were Bajaj Auto, The Tata Power Company, Zydus Lifesciences, Indus Towers, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
In terms of market value, HDFC Bank lost the most in terms of market value, followed by Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, and Asian Paints. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Infosys added most of their market cap.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Media index shed 10 percent, Nifty Realty index down 4.5 percent, Nifty Bank index fell 2.6 percent and Nifty PSU Bank index down 2 percent. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma index up 1.7 percent.
During the week, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 12,194.38 crore, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support as they bought equities worth Rs 9,701.96 crore. In January so far, the FIIs sold equities worth Rs 35,778.08 crore, and DIIs purchased equities worth Rs 19,976.66 crore.
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This week, the Indian rupee ended marginally lower against the US dollar. The domestic currency shed 5 paise to end at 83.11 in the week ended January 25 against the January 19 closing of 83.06.
The crusie ship, Icon of the Seas, is built to run on liquefied natural gas
New York:
The world's largest cruise ship is set for its maiden voyage on Saturday, but environmental groups are concerned that the liquefied natural gas-powered vessel - and other giant cruise liners to follow - will leak harmful methane into the atmosphere.
Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas sets sail from Miami with capacity for 8,000 passengers across 20 decks, taking advantage of the surging popularity of cruises.
The ship is built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which burns more cleanly than traditional marine fuel but poses greater risks for methane emissions. Environmental groups say methane leakage from the ship's engines is an unacceptable risk to the climate because of its short-term harmful effects.
"It's a step in the wrong direction," said Bryan Comer, director of the Marine Program at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), an environmental policy think tank.
"We would estimate that using LNG as a marine fuel emits over 120% more life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than marine gas oil," he said.
In terms of warming effects, methane is 80 times worse over 20 years than carbon dioxide, making cutting those emissions key to holding down global temperature warming.
Cruise ships like Icon of the Seas use low-pressure, dual-fuel engines that leak methane into the atmosphere during the combustion process, known as "methane slip," according to industry experts. There are two other engines used on bulk carriers or container ships that emit less methane but they are too tall to fit in a cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean says its new ship is 24% more efficient when it comes to carbon emissions than required by global shipping regulator the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
LNG emits fewer greenhouse gases than very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) that powers most of the global shipping fleet, said Steve Esau, chief operating officer of Sea-LNG, an industry advocacy organization.
Cruise engines convert natural gas into power in a cylinder, where it is "important to make sure that all the natural gas is converted to energy," said Juha Kytola, director of R&D and Engineering at Wartsila, which developed the cruise ship's engines.
What is not converted can escape during the combustion process into the atmosphere, he said, adding that Wartsila's natural gas engine technology emits 90% less methane than it did 20 to 30 years ago.
Cruise ship engines have an estimated methane slip of 6.4% on average, according to 2024 research funded by the ICCT and other partners. The IMO assumes methane slip at 3.5%.
"Methane is coming under more scrutiny," said Anna Barford, Canada shipping campaigner at Stand Earth, a nonprofit organization, noting that the IMO last summer said its efforts to cut greenhouse gases include addressing methane emissions.
Of the 54 ships on order from January 2024 to December 2028, 63% are expected to be powered by LNG, according to the Cruise Line International Association. Currently, about 6% of the 300 cruise ships sailing are fueled by LNG.
Newer cruise ships are being designed to run on traditional marine gas oil, LNG, or alternatives like bio-LNG that only account for a fraction of U.S. fuel consumption.
Royal Caribbean will use different fuels as the market evolves, said Nick Rose, the company's vice president of environmental, social, and governance.
"LNG is one piece of our actual strategy," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Yes Bank Q3 result: Net profit at Yes Bank is at ₹231 crore, and the NII is up 2.3 percent at ₹2,016.8 crore, the company reported in its Q3 results on January 27, 2023.
Yes Bank's net profit of ₹231.6 crore, fell short of market estimates set at ₹415.1 crore. The gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank remained at 2 percent, showing no change from the previous year.
Conversely, the net NPA for the quarter was 0.9 percent, a slight improvement from 1.0 percent in the same period last year.
Stock and Market Expectations
Yes Bank shares traded flat last ahead as the market eagerly waited for the announcement of Q3 results 2024. Trading range-bound throughout the week, Yes Bank share price registered a marginal gain of ₹0.20 per share in the week gone by and ended at ₹24.90 on NSE on Thursday.
Stock market experts expected Yes Bank to announce a healthy set of numbers in Q3FY24. They said that recoveries in the past few quarters are expected to keep the asset quality of the Yes Bank stable condition. With ARCs submitting bids for its two NPA loan books, the market is expecting healthy bottom-line growth in Q3FY24.
On the outlook of Yes Bank shares, Shiju Koothupalakkal, Technical Analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher said, “Yes Bank share has picked up quite well in the last 3 months from ₹16 zone and has maintained an uptrend with series of higher low formation on the daily chart with currently consolidating having the near-term support at ₹23.70 levels. On the upside, a decisive breach above ₹25.70 to ₹26 zone is much needed to confirm a breakout and thereafter can anticipate further rise with next targets of ₹28.50 and ₹31 levels visible."
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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Binny Bansal Flipkart co-founder: Binny is also an active angel investor and is on the board of payments giant PhonePe.
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down from the board of the Walmart-owned e-commerce firm he founded with Sachin Bansal sixteen years ago, capping the end of an era.
Binny’s decision to step down comes months after he sold his remaining stake in the firm and at a time when he is starting up again, in the e-commerce space. His other co-founder Sachin Bansal exited Flipkart a few years ago and is now building a fintech venture Navi.
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Binny and Flipkart confirmed the developments.
“I am proud of the Flipkart Group's achievements over the past 16 years. Flipkart is in a robust position, with a strong leadership team and a clear path forward, and with this confidence, I have decided to step aside, knowing the company is in capable hands”, Binny Bansal said.
At the same time, Leigh Hopkins, Executive Vice President, International Strategy & Development and Regional CEO – Asia and Walmex and Flipkart Board Member said, “As a founder of the business, Binny provides a unique combination of knowledge and experience. We have been fortunate to have him remain on the Board since Walmart’s investment in 2018, and we have greatly benefited from his counsel and insight.”
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO and Flipkart Board Member, who has been running operations for years now said, “We are thankful for Binny's partnership over the past several years, as the Flipkart Group has grown and entered new businesses. His insights and deep expertise of the business have been invaluable to the Board and company.”
Binny Bansal along with Accel, one of the company's earliest investors, and US-based Tiger Global Management fully exited the e-commerce giant by selling their stakes to Walmart in August last year. Binny is learnt to have netted $1-1.5 Billion from his stake in the company since inception.
These exits came half a decade after Walmart's purchase of a 77 percent stake in Flipkart for a staggering $16 billion in May 2018. The deal with Walmart came with a five-year non-compete clause, which ended in 2023, allowing Binny Bansal to start up again in e-commerce.
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His new venture, OppDoor, will help e-commerce firms expand operations globally by providing them end-to-end solutions.
It will provide design, product, human resource, and other backend support to e-commerce companies that are looking to expand to other regions by leveraging the network of top platforms such as Amazon and others. OppDoor will initially focus on e-commerce companies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.
Binny is also an active angel investor and is on the board of payments giant PhonePe. Flipkart's journey began in 2007 when it solely operated as an online bookstore out of a Bengaluru apartment.
The group has initiated the process to buy six Pilatus PC-24 aircraft, according to two people aware of the matter. Currently, the group owns six private jets—two Embraer Legacy 650; and one each of Bombardier Global 6500, Bombardier Challenger 605, Hawker Beechcraft 850 and Beechcraft B-200—and two helicopters.
The aircraft will be purchased from the resale market by Karnavati Aviation Pvt. Ltd, the group’s aviation arm that houses all its jets.
“The company is not buying new aircraft, but (buying them) from the resale market, which means it should cost them over ₹300 crore to buy all six aircraft," said a top executive at a private jet operator company on the condition of anonymity. “The plane can fly to any part of the country and can also land on difficult runways under difficult conditions. So, it is an apt aircraft for domestic usage."
The executive added that if the company had decided to buy new airplanes, six new Pilatus PC-24 would have cumulatively cost around ₹450 crore.
Queries sent to the Adani Group remained unanswered till press time. However, an Adani executive confirmed the purchase plan to Mint and said the planes will start arriving soon. He added that the deliveries are likely to be spread over a long period and can go up to 18 months for all six deliveries to arrive.
A private jet industry watcher, however, said the deliveries may be sooner, adding the company may be looking at putting its business jet aircraft for commercial usage.
Another industry watcher, however, said commercial plans are unlikely. “Any company buying so many aircraft in one go would have meant that a plan to enter into the business jet renting space," the person said. “[But] since it is the Adani Group, the company may be looking at using them for its captive requirements since it is expanding."
According to industry estimates, India has about 150 business jets with large conglomerates owning most of these aircraft. Conglomerates like Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd own the most private jets in the country—their largest aircraft being the Airbus Charter Jet 319.
Still, India’s tally is much lower than the estimated 3,500 business jets in the US, 970 in Mexico, 490 in Germany and 300 in Venezuela.
The segment is set to register healthy growth, as the general elections due this year would give a big boost to business jet flights in the country.
The aircraft induction at the Adani Group is also happening after it got a clean chit from the Supreme Court on the Hindenburg report—released on 24 January last year—that had alleged various malpractices at the group’s companies. The report hammered its shares, forcing its flagship firm to cancel a $2.4 billion share sale. The Adani Group had denied the allegations.
Early this month, the apex court placed its trust in the markets regulator and dismissed petitions seeking a separate investigation into Hindenburg Research’s allegations against the group.
The group, on the back of the favourable court order, expects more foreign investors to put money into the conglomerate, as it taps into international debt markets to aid its expansion plans. The Hindenburg saga had made the conglomerate “untouchable" for private banks and sovereign funds, whose boards turned wary of its proposals.
The group has initiated the process to buy six Pilatus PC-24 aircraft, according to two people aware of the matter. Currently, the group owns six private jets—two Embraer Legacy 650; and one each of Bombardier Global 6500, Bombardier Challenger 605, Hawker Beechcraft 850 and Beechcraft B-200—and two helicopters.
The aircraft will be purchased from the resale market by Karnavati Aviation Pvt. Ltd, the group’s aviation arm that houses all its jets.
“The company is not buying new aircraft, but (buying them) from the resale market, which means it should cost them over ₹300 crore to buy all six aircraft," said a top executive at a private jet operator company on the condition of anonymity. “The plane can fly to any part of the country and can also land on difficult runways under difficult conditions. So, it is an apt aircraft for domestic usage."
The executive added that if the company had decided to buy new airplanes, six new Pilatus PC-24 would have cumulatively cost around ₹450 crore.
Queries sent to the Adani Group remained unanswered till press time. However, an Adani executive confirmed the purchase plan to Mint and said the planes will start arriving soon. He added that the deliveries are likely to be spread over a long period and can go up to 18 months for all six deliveries to arrive.
A private jet industry watcher, however, said the deliveries may be sooner, adding the company may be looking at putting its business jet aircraft for commercial usage.
Another industry watcher, however, said commercial plans are unlikely. “Any company buying so many aircraft in one go would have meant that a plan to enter into the business jet renting space," the person said. “[But] since it is the Adani Group, the company may be looking at using them for its captive requirements since it is expanding."
According to industry estimates, India has about 150 business jets with large conglomerates owning most of these aircraft. Conglomerates like Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd own the most private jets in the country—their largest aircraft being the Airbus Charter Jet 319.
Still, India’s tally is much lower than the estimated 3,500 business jets in the US, 970 in Mexico, 490 in Germany and 300 in Venezuela.
The segment is set to register healthy growth, as the general elections due this year would give a big boost to business jet flights in the country.
The aircraft induction at the Adani Group is also happening after it got a clean chit from the Supreme Court on the Hindenburg report—released on 24 January last year—that had alleged various malpractices at the group’s companies. The report hammered its shares, forcing its flagship firm to cancel a $2.4 billion share sale. The Adani Group had denied the allegations.
Early this month, the apex court placed its trust in the markets regulator and dismissed petitions seeking a separate investigation into Hindenburg Research’s allegations against the group.
The group, on the back of the favourable court order, expects more foreign investors to put money into the conglomerate, as it taps into international debt markets to aid its expansion plans. The Hindenburg saga had made the conglomerate “untouchable" for private banks and sovereign funds, whose boards turned wary of its proposals.
Aided by lower provisioning for bad loans and better operating performance, Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday reported a 253 per cent increase in standalone net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023 at ₹2,223 crore against ₹629 crore during the same period in previous financial year.
For the nine months period ended December 31, 2023, PNB has recorded a net profit of ₹5,234 crore, up 288 per cent over net profit of ₹1,349 crore in the same period in previous year.
In entire 2022-23, PNB had reported a net profit of ₹3348.45 crore.
PNB had earlier guided net profit of ₹6,000 crore for the current fiscal. Going by the performance so far this fiscal, PNB is on course to comfortably surpass the ₹6,000 crore net profit mark.
Operating profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023 stood at ₹6,330.71 crore (₹5,715.90 crore).
Total income for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023 at ₹29,961.65 crore (₹ 25,722.40 crore).
PNB’s stock advanced ₹3.60 or 3.52 per cent to ₹105.80 on NSE.
Microsoft Corp. achieved a historic $3 trillion market valuation on Wednesday, in the latest example of how optimism over artificial intelligence has fuelled a seemingly unstoppable advance in the software giant.
The stock rose as much as 1.3% to $403.95, resulting in a market capitalization of $3 trillion. The threshold cements Microsoft’s status as one of the largest public stocks. It briefly surpassed Apple Inc. in value — which last year became the first company to hit $3 trillion — but subsequently dropped back below the iPhone maker, with the two trading places ever since.
Bloomberg
The Redmond, Washington-based company is one of the so-called Magnificent 7 that fueled the market’s advance over 2023, gaining about 57%. The advance continued into this year, with a 7.4% rise that exceeds the 4.6% gain of the Nasdaq 100 Index. Microsoft accounts for 7.3% of the S&P 500 Index.
Much of the gain reflects investor enthusiasm over AI and its potential to accelerate growth in both earnings and revenue. Microsoft, through its partnership with OpenAI Inc., is seen as one of the biggest beneficiaries of AI. It has released AI-supported services to customers.
Demand for AI services, along with cloud computing to support it, is projected to support Microsoft’s long-term growth trends. Revenue is expected to rise nearly 15% in its 2024 fiscal year, faster than the overall tech sector, according to data from Bloomberg Intelligence.
Popular in Markets
This kind of growth has resulted in Microsoft being one of the most popular stocks on Wall Street. More than 90% of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying shares, and the average analyst price target points to upside of about 7% from current levels.
The market capitalisation of tech giant Microsoft has officially touched $3 trillion mark on January 24. The tech giant has become the second company to reach this milestone after iPhone maker Apple, who achieved this record last year in June.
It momentarily exceeded the valuation of Apple Inc., the first company to achieve a $3 trillion market cap last year. However, it subsequently retreated below the valuation of the iPhone maker, and the two have been alternating positions in the market ever since.
The shares of the technology giant were trading at $403.78 each on the NASDAQ on Wednesday, reflecting a 1.17% increase. The day commenced with the stock opening at $401.48, surpassing its previous day's closing price of $398 per share.
According to reports, much of its gains reflect investor optimism regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and its capacity to propel both earnings and revenue growth.
Microsoft, positioned as one of the primary beneficiaries of AI, is capitalizing on this trend through its collaboration with OpenAI Inc. The company has introduced AI-enhanced services, contributing to its positive market perception.
The anticipated surge in demand for AI services, complemented by the necessary cloud computing infrastructure, is poised to sustain Microsoft's enduring growth trajectory. Projections indicate a forecasted revenue increase of nearly 15% in the fiscal year 2024, surpassing the growth rate of the broader technology sector, as per insights from Bloomberg Intelligence.
This robust growth has positioned Microsoft as one of the highly sought-after stocks on Wall Street. Over 90% of analysts recommends buying shares, and the average analyst price target indicates a potential upside of approximately 7% from the current levels.
(With Inputs from Bloomberg)
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Zee Entertainment share price opened at ₹208.60 against the previous close of ₹231.75 and plunged 34.2 per cent to the fresh 52-week low level of ₹152.50 during the session.
At present, Zee Entertainment's current market capitalization stands at approximately ₹14,974.50 crore, a significant decrease from the nearly ₹22,260 crore recorded in the preceding session. This marks a substantial loss of approximately ₹7,285 crore in a single trading session.
Speculations had been rife of late that the Zee-Sony deal could be called off. This weighed on the Zee Entertainment share price which is down nearly 43 per cent in January so far.
As Mint already reported, Sony Group Corp has sent a termination letter to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), citing its plans to call off the merger between its India unit and the media network.
Sony in a statement, said, “The merger did not close by the end date as, among other things, the closing conditions to the merger were not satisfied by then. Sony Pictures Networks India Private Ltd (SPNI) has been engaged in discussions in good faith to extend the end date but the discussion period has expired without an agreement upon an extension of the end date. As a result, on January 22, 2024, SPNI issued a notice to ZEEL terminating the definitive agreements."
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on 22 January that Zee Entertainment would take legal action against Sony Group after it terminated a $10 billion merger of their India operations.
The merger termination is negative for both companies. According to media and entertainment industry experts, after the termination of the merger, Zee will need a cash infusion given its mounting debt and reducing margins while Sony will lose out on access to Zee’s strong regional and sports portfolio.
Following the report of the merger deal termination, several brokerage firms downgraded Zee's stock.
Global brokerage firm CLSA revised its recommendation on Zee Entertainment, changing it from a previous 'buy' rating to a 'sell' and slashing the target price of the stock by 34 per cent to ₹198.
"With the Zee-Sony merger being terminated, we believe Zee’s PE (price-to-earnings ratio) will slump back to 12 times levels, seen before the Sony merger announcement in August 2021," the brokerage firm said.
CLSA highlighted the considerable competitive challenges anticipated for Zee, serving as an additional deterrent for the stock. The firm foresees heightened competition in the media sector, particularly with the reported merger of Reliance and Disney Star.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services downgraded Zee stock to a 'neutral' with a target price of ₹200, implying a nearly 13 per cent downside in the stock price from the current level.
"The merger could have created a linear TV business with an EBITDA of ₹4,000-4,500 crore, which could have boosted OTT investments and the company’s competitive position. But the big question is: where is the bottom of the stock price, which would make it look compelling?" Motilal Oswal said.
"If we assume zero value for the OTT business and assign 10 times to current Linear TV EBITDA (1HFY24 annualized), the stock would be valued at ₹230 per share. However, if we assume no material recovery in OTT’s profitability and ascribe 15 times on FY26E PAT of ₹1,070 crore (factors some recovery in linear TV business and adjustments for recent one-offs), the stock would be valued at ₹167 per share. As a result, we downgrade the stock to neutral with a target price of 200 (18 times on one-year forwards P/E)," said Motilal Oswal.
Emkay Global Financial Services also downgraded the stock to a sell from a buy and cut the target price to ₹175 from ₹315, implying a 24 per cent downside.
"We believe this situation is a lose-lose for both players, particularly in the face of competition from the bigger potential entity Reliance-Disney. The termination should also result in a legal tussle between the two embroiled companies, as implied in their press release," Emkay said.
"We believe this breakdown can also spur shareholder activism against Zee Management. Further, we reckon that Zee will now draw other suitors for potential deals. Currently, we have downgraded the stock to a sell from a buy due to weak competitive positioning and escalated corporate governance issues. We pull our target price down to ₹175 at 8 times Dec-25E SA broadcasting EBITDA (from ₹315; 9.5 times pro-forma broadcasting EBITDA)," Emkay said.
Disclaimer:The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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