The next big name in the queue to raise funds via IPO is likely to be SBI Mutual Fund, which is planning a Rs.7,600 crore IPO. SBI MF is the largest asset manager in India with AUM of Rs.620,000 crore. SBI MF has already picked up 7 investment banks to manage the issue. Four major AMCs viz. HDFC AMC, UTI AMC, Nippon AMC and Aditya Birla AMC are already listed on the stock exchanges. Tentatively, SBI MF may be valued at Rs.76,000 crore with the OFS offering 6% stake by Amundi and 4% stake by State Bank of India.
For the month of Jan-22, India’s merchandise exports were up 25.28% yoy at $34.50 billion, even as the trade deficit narrowed to $17.43 billion. The exports got a boost from engineering goods, petroleum and gems & jewellery. However, imports were also up 23.54% at $51.93 billion in Jan-22. For the first 10 months of FY22, exports were up 46.73% at $335.88 billion while imports for the same period were up 62.65% at $495.75 billion. Trade deficit for 10 months more than doubled yoy to a steep $159.87 billion.
Mumbai-based Macleods Pharmaceuticals, filed DRHP with SEBI for its proposed Rs.5,000 crore IPO. The IPO will be a total OFS to give exit to promoters. It will be the second largest pharma IPO after the Rs.6,480 crore IPO of Gland Pharma in Nov-20. This will also the pave the way for the Rs.5,000 crore Emcure Pharma IPO. Macleods will offer 6.05 crore shares at a price to be decided later. Macleods is India’s seventh largest pharma player with sales revenues of Rs.7,750 crore and healthy net profits of Rs.2,023 crore as of FY21.
For the second week in succession, RBI cancelled the auction of government securities (G-Secs) worth Rs. 24,000 crore scheduled on February 18. The previous auction of 11th February had also been cancelled. The gross borrowings for FY23 is sharply higher by 25% at Rs.14.95 trillion and the big challenge for RBI is to enable the government to borrow at reasonable rates. However, higher borrowings and a hawkish Fed resulted in a sharp spike in bond yields to a level where there is little sync between demand and supply.
Eicher Motors rallied by 6% on Tuesday to a price of Rs.2,717 after the company management assured the markets that its supply chain constraints would gradually ease out and production would stabilise in 2 quarters. For the Dec-21 quarter, Eicher had reported 13% lower EBITDA on account of commodity inflation and product launch spends worth Rs 60 crore. However, higher prices enabled revenues to grow by 2% to Rs.2,900 crore. The quarter was also hit by Omicron fears and the global microchips shortage.
In a turn of events, SEBI changed the requirements for the top-500 listed companies to separate the roles of Chairperson from the MD & CEO. Instead of making this mandatory, it has bene made voluntary as of April 2022. Due to the pandemic situation, the level of compliance had been quite low at just about 50.4%. with just 2 months to go for the deadline, SEBI has decided to put it off. Many of the industry bodies have already written to SEBI about the practical difficulties of adhering to such a stipulation in this situation.
For Dec-21 quarter, Adani Wilmar sales revenues were 41% up at Rs.14,379 crore. Growth was palpable across all 3 core segments viz. edible oils, FMCG products and industry essentials. Sales volume rose 6% to 1.26 MT. Nearly 84% of its total revenues comes from the edible oils business, which saw market share increase from 18% to 18.9% in Q3. Edible oil volumes were 9% higher. Both FMCG and industry essentials segment saw growth in sales. EBITDA margins improved by 50 bps despite steep commodity inflation.
Colgate-Palmolive launched a range of Palmolive face care products. These include face foams, gels, scrubs and masque. This is to capture the rising consumer demand at the premium end of India’s skincare market. Colgate has made these products available across traditional and e-commerce platforms. The foam face wash combines Ayurvedic ingredients like Multani mitti and tulsi with pampering essential oils like lavender and chamomile. The products across the formats will be priced between Rs.299 and Rs.599.