Even as Vedanta saw pressure on its profits in Q4, it is planning to spend $2 billion on capex in FY24. That would entail doubling of capex over FY23. For the quarter, revenues were up but profits fell 5% due to input cost pressures. According to the CEO, Sunil Duggal, the business of Vedanta does have the potential to go up to $30 billion in revenues and $12 billion in EBITDA, so continuous capex was essential. Vedanta has been aggressive in inorganic growth even as it has used its massive profits to cut down on its debt.
With the equity IPO process largely streamlined, the next focus of SEBI is to streamline the process for REITs and INVITs. For starters SEBI will cut the time to listing from the current 12 days to just 6 days. This rule will apply to REITs and INVIT issues that open on or after 01st June 2022. A REIT is like a mutual fund scheme that invests in commercial property for returns and appreciation. The INVIT returns are more akin to debt returns and invest in long gestation infrastructure projects like highways and power transmission.
For the Mar-22 quarter, Axis Bank reported 54% growth in standalone profit at Rs.4,118 crore. The net interest income (NII) grew 16.7% yoy at Rs.8,819 crore. The NIM was stable at 3.49% but is well below the NIMs of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank at around 4%. Axis Bank saw 15% growth in deposits and 19% growth in credit. One of the secrets behind its profit growth was the 54% fall in provisions and contingencies to a level of Rs.987 crore. NPAs improved by 88 bps to 2.82% in Q4 while the net NPAs eased further to 0.73%.
Tata Motors has aggressive plans to sharply ramp up its annual output of EVs from 19,000 units in FY22 to 80,000 units in FY23. Tata Motors has been hinting that EV demand was rapidly outstripping supply. It has already announced plans to launch up to 10 EV models by FY26 entailing an investment of $2 billion. Tata Motors already accounts for 90% of India EV sales, although the EV segment is just about 1% of the annual demand of 30 lakh vehicles. It may be recollected that PE player TPG has invested in its EV arm.
In a major move to take on the existing private sector ecommerce ecosystem, India will launch its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The idea is end the dominance of US giants like Amazon and Wal-Mart (via Flipkart). Both Flipkart and Amazon have been accused of violating competition laws and used predatory pricing tactics by favouring a handful of sellers only. The ONDC platform allows the buyers and sellers to connect and transact online irrespective of the application. In a way, it will be platform agnostic.
In a major green mobility initiatives, Tata Power has signed a collaboration deal with National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Maharashtra. The collaboration will install 5,000 EV charging points across its member properties. It is likely to boost EV adoption in the state. This will encompass installation, maintenance and upgradation of chargers. EV owners across NAREDCO member properties have access to 24×7 vehicle charging, monitoring and e-payments facilities via the Tata Power’s EZ Charge mobile app.
Cyient is all set to acquire Singapore-based Grit Consulting for $37 million. The purpose of the deal is to strengthen its technology consulting practice as well as to get access to new customer portfolios. Cyient was formerly called Infotech Enterprises and is based out of Hyderabad. Grit has expertise in consulting for industries like metal mining and energy. Cyient will use this deal to deepen its mining footprint. It will help Cyient to accelerate its consulting capabilities and deliver innovative technology solutions to clients.
Bajaj Auto is apprehensive that the global semiconductor shortage will impact 15%-20% of Bajaj Auto’s planned production in Q1. Most supplies of chips and semiconductors have been held up as suppliers have been starved of inventory. Bajaj Auto needs a steady supply of chips to action its EV plans. Currently, the Chetak has an order book of 15,000 units but the company is not sure when they will be able to deliver in the face of the chip shortage. This adds to the input cost spike, which led to EBIT falling by 10% in Q4 FY22.
