Stocks to Watch; Tata Motors, P&G, TVS Motor, Colgate Palmolive, Bank of India and others in news

In today’s pre-market update on October 31, 2023, several prominent companies are making headlines:

Tata Motors: The Tata Group’s subsidiary has secured an arbitral award of Rs 766 crore plus interest as compensation for its former Singur plant investment. A unanimous decision by a three-member arbitral tribunal has put an end to the pending arbitration proceedings, ruling in favor of Tata Motors. The company is entitled to recover Rs 765.78 crore with an annual interest rate of 11% from September 1, 2016, until the actual recovery from WBIDC.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care: This FMCG giant has reported a remarkable 36% year-on-year growth in net profit, amounting to Rs 211 crore for the first quarter of FY24. This growth was driven by an acceleration in volume, an advantageous product price mix, and enhanced productivity. The company’s revenue from operations also saw a substantial increase of 9% YoY, reaching Rs 1,138 crore, thanks to superior retail execution and a well-integrated growth strategy.

TVS Motor Company: The two-and-three-wheeler manufacturer has posted a standalone profit of Rs 536.55 crore for the quarter ending in September FY24, marking a significant 31.7% increase over the previous year. The company’s revenue from operations surged by 12.8% YoY to Rs 8,145 crore during the same quarter, with sales volume rising by 5% YoY to 10.74 lakh units. TVS Motor also achieved a 22% year-over-year increase in EBITDA, reaching Rs 900 crore, and saw a margin expansion of 80 basis points to 11%.

Colgate-Palmolive: The oral care company has received an income tax liability notice of Rs 170 crore from the Income Tax Authority. This notice arises from a transfer pricing order for the Assessment Year 2021–22 issued by the Assessing Authority, which disallowed certain international transactions.

Bank of India: This public sector lender has adjusted its marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR) with effect from November 1, in line with the approved pricing policy. While the overnight MCLR remains at 7.95%, the MCLR for a one- to three-year period has increased by 5 bps.

DLF: The real estate leader has reported a substantial 30.6% year-on-year growth in consolidated profit, reaching Rs 622.8 crore for the quarter ending in September FY24, despite modest topline growth. This performance was partly supported by EBITDA margin improvement. The consolidated revenue from operations also increased by 3.5% YoY, reaching Rs 1,347.7 crore for the same quarter.

Marico: This FMCG major recorded a 17.3% year-on-year increase in consolidated profit, amounting to Rs 360 crore for the July–September period of FY24. This growth in profit was achieved despite muted topline results, primarily driven by a healthy EBITDA performance with lower input costs. The company’s revenue from operations, however, declined by 0.8% to Rs 2,476 crore compared to the previous year.

APL Apollo Tubes: The structural steel tubing company has witnessed a robust 35% year-on-year growth in profit, totaling Rs 202.9 crore for the July–September period of FY24, driven by strong operating profit. Revenue from operations also grew by 16.65%, reaching Rs 4,630 crore compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial: The microfinance lender has reported a substantial 127% year-on-year growth in net profit, amounting to Rs 125.2 crore for the quarter ending in September FY24. This impressive performance is further reflected in the sharp 105% YoY growth in revenue from operations, which reached Rs 610.3 crore. Additionally, the lender’s assets under management (AUM) increased by 69% to Rs 9,784 crore, and disbursements grew by 81% to Rs 2,513 crore for the quarter.

Castrol India: The automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturer has reported a 3.9% year-on-year increase in profit, reaching Rs 194.4 crore for the third quarter of 2023 (Q3CY23), despite a decline in EBITDA margin. Revenue from operations also showed a positive trend, growing by 5.5% to Rs 1,183 crore compared to the same period in the previous year.

Blue Star: The air conditioner manufacturing company has posted a healthy profit of Rs 70.8 crore for the quarter ending in September FY24, marking an impressive 66% growth over the previous year. This outstanding performance was driven by strong operating EBITDA. Additionally, the company’s revenue grew significantly by 19.5% to Rs 1,890.4 crore during the same period, and the operating profit increased by a notable 43.3% year-on-year to Rs 122.7 crore, supported by an enhanced scale and higher gross margins.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals: The company has announced that the public shareholders of Butterfly Gandhimathi voted overwhelmingly against the proposed merger between the two companies. Consequently, the merger scheme will not be implemented. However, this decision is not expected to bring significant changes to the company’s growth strategy, and both entities will continue to operate independently.

PSP Projects: The company has secured work orders totaling Rs 200.25 crore in Ahmedabad. With the addition of these orders, the total order inflow for the financial year 2023–24 has reached Rs 958.63 crore. Furthermore, PSP Projects has emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction of the main building for the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) in Gandhinagar, a project worth Rs 101.67 crore.

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar: The Uttar Pradesh-based sugar company has received Rs 1361 crore in the dedicated escrow account, specifically maintained for cane price payments for each of its 14 sugar units, from Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation. This payment is aimed at clearing the cane payment arrears for the sugar season 2022–23, benefiting cane growers.

Rajgor Castor Derivatives: The castor oil-based product manufacturer is set to make its debut on the NSE Emerge on October 31. The final issue price for its equity shares has been fixed at Rs. 50 per share, and these shares will be available for trading in the trade-for-trade segment.