Ahead of the opening bell today, on October 19, 2023, here are the companies making headlines:
Wipro: The technology services and consulting company reported Q2 FY24 revenue from operations at Rs 22,395.8 crore, a 1.6 percent sequential decrease. Dollar revenue fell 2.3 percent QoQ to $2,713.3 million, with constant currency revenue declining by 2 percent during the same period. IT services EBIT margin increased by 10 bps QoQ to 16.1 percent for the quarter. The company expects revenue from the IT services business segment to be in the range of $2,617–2,672 million, a decline of 3.5–1.5 percent in constant currency terms. Wipro also announced the merger of its five subsidiaries.
Results on October 19: Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Voltas, Coforge, Cyient, PVR Inox, Aarti Drugs, Agro Tech Foods, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Hatsun Agro Product, Havells India, HFCL, Indoco Remedies, Jindal Stainless, Mastek, Metro Brands, Mphasis, Ramkrishna Forgings, South Indian Bank, Tanla Platforms, Tata Coffee, Tata Communications, United Breweries, and Updater Services will be in focus ahead of quarterly earnings on October 19.
Bajaj Auto: The Pune-based automobile company reported a standalone profit of Rs 1,836.1 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, a 20 percent YoY increase, with better-than-expected operating numbers. Standalone revenue from operations increased by 5.6 percent YoY to Rs 10,777.3 crore, supported by double-digit volume growth. Sales volume decreased by 8.7 percent YoY to 10.5 lakh units during the quarter. The quarterly EBITDA surpassed the Rs 2,000-crore milestone for the first time, growing 21 percent YoY to Rs 2,133 crore, with a margin expansion of 260 bps YoY at 19.8 percent in Q2 FY24.
IndusInd Bank: The private sector lender reported a standalone profit of Rs 2,181.5 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, a 22.09 percent YoY increase. Net interest income grew by 18 percent YoY to Rs 5,076.7 crore during the same period, while net interest margin remained flat at 4.29 percent QoQ but grew 5 bps YoY.
Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO): The Government of India has decided to exercise the oversubscription option and will sell an additional 3.5 percent stake or 7 crore equity shares in the offer-for-sale on October 19. This is in addition to the base issue size of 3.5 percent or 7 crore shares. The OFS received a good response from non-retail investors on October 18 and was subscribed nearly twice the base size. The OFS will open for retail investors on October 19.
LTI Mindtree: The IT services company reported slightly better-than-expected earnings for the July-September period of FY24, with profit rising 0.9 percent QoQ to Rs 1,161.8 crore and revenue increasing 2.3 percent to Rs 8,905.4 crore. Revenue in dollar terms grew by 1.6 percent QoQ to $1,075.5 million, and in constant currency terms, it increased by 1.7 percent during the same period. The EBIT margin dropped 70 bps sequentially to 16 percent for Q2 FY24. The company declared an interim dividend of Rs. 20 per share.
Persistent Systems: The Pune-based technology services company reported a profit of Rs 263.3 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, a 15.1 percent sequential increase. Revenue increased by 3.9 percent to Rs 2,411.7 crore for the quarter. Revenue in dollar terms increased by 3.1 percent QoQ to $291.7 million, and in constant currency terms, it grew by 3.2 percent, surpassing analysts’ estimates.
Bandhan Bank: The Kolkata-based private sector lender reported a profit of Rs 721.2 crore for the July–September period of FY24, a 245 percent YoY increase. Net interest income for the quarter at Rs 2,443.4 crore increased by 11.4 percent YoY, with loan growth at 12.3 percent and deposits rising 12.8 percent. The bank also announced the appointment of Abhijit Ghosh as the interim CFO, effective from October 20, until a new CFO is appointed.
Mastek: The digital engineering and cloud transformation company has received a three-year contract from the UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS) valued at £8.5 million. The contract, with options available to extend to a total of five years, involves designing, building, and operating the GOV.UK One Login Technical Service Desk (TSD).
VA Tech Wabag: Pankaj Malhan has resigned as Deputy Managing Director and Group CEO (key managerial personnel) of the company due to personal reasons. He will be relieved from the services of the company with effect from October 30.
