In a significant order, SEBI banned Vivek Kudva of Franklin Templeton and Roopa Kudva, from accessing capital markets for 1 year for redeeming FT units just before the debt funds were shuttered. Apart from a penalty of Rs.7 crore, they have also been directed to disgorge Rs.22 crore of redemption amount into a separate bank account. In addition, Franklin Templeton has been barred from launching any new debt scheme for 2 years plus a penalty of Rs.5 crore and disgorged management fee of Rs.512 crore since 2018.
Central Bank of India net loss narrowed to Rs.1,349 crore on standalone basis in the Mar-21 quarter. This is better than the net loss of Rs.1,529 crore in Mar-20 quarter. FY21 net profit at Rs.888 crore was lower by 20.84% on yoy basis. Gross NPAs were lower at 16.55%, but still too high on absolute basis. During the quarter, the bank made provisions for bad loans and contingencies to the tune of Rs.3,130 crore, up by almost 45% yoy. For CBI, the real concern is the capital adequacy which constrains loan book growth.
MRF reported 51% fall in consolidated net profit at Rs.332 crore for the Mar-21 quarter. Revenues for the quarter were up by 31% on strong growth traction from the auto sector. The fall in profits was largely on account of Rs.451 crore deferred tax credit that MRF got in the Mar-20 quarter, in the absence of which the net profit would have been higher yoy. For Q4, the EBITDA improved 31% to Rs 766 crore even as the EBITDA was marginally higher at 15.9%. Final dividend at Rs.144 took total dividend to Rs.150 per share.
Tata Digital has taken one more step in inorganic digital growth by investing $75 million in CureFit. The acquisition is currently under due diligence. Tata Digital is a 100% subsidiary of Tata Sons. CureFit Founder and CEO Mukesh Bansal will join Tata Digital as President. CureFit is a fitness enabler and is the second big digital project of Bansal after Myntra. CureFit already has a panel of marquee investors including Accel Partners, Kalaari and Oaktree Capital. Indian fitness market is estimated at $12 billion and growing at 20%.
It is estimated that financial creditors may realise Rs.60,000 crore in FY22, according to a report by ICRA. In FY21, the total amount realized under IBC was just Rs.26,000 crore due to the pandemic lag effect. This estimate is largely predicated on the resolution of DHFL, which has been hanging fire for long. NCLT has just approved the sale of DHFL to Piramal Enterprises, although Wadhawan can still seek legal recourse. DHFL was the first case of the RBI referring a non-banking finance company to the NCLT for resolution.
The Enforcement Directorate or ED has confirmed that it has transferred 4.13 crore shares of UBL to the account of the Recovery Officer, DRT. The shares are worth Rs.5,615 crore at current valuations and is towards the dues of Vijay Mallya, for which he had given personal guarantees. The transferred shares are 15.63% of the total equity of the company. Heineken of Netherlands owns 46.69% in United Breweries. The government has been, meanwhile, trying to get Vijay Mallya extradited to India from United Kingdom.
In a move along expected lines, the NCLT approved the Piramal resolution plan for Dewan Housing. It is subject to appeal in the appellate tribunal and Supreme Court. Wadhawan has already approached the Supreme Court after his counter offer to Piramal was struck down by the NCLTAT. Under the resolution plan offered by Piramal, the deal will be worth Rs.37,250 crore including upfront cash payment of Rs.12,700 crore. RBI has already approved the deal. Piramal stock closed higher, above the Rs.2000 mark.
Energy infrastructure major, Archrock, selected Infosys to implement integration of digital technologies and mobile tools for its field service technicians. Archrock is a key midstream player in the compressed natural gas space. This will give the customers of Archrock an integrated and improved experience and also make the lives of the field staff simpler. Infosys has recently struck big deals with Majesco, Roland Garros and Britvic, a British soft drink maker. In Q4, Infosys had reported a record TCV of $2.1 billion.