Stocks to Watch: Ambuja Cements, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, Tata Comms., Angel One

Ambuja Cements: On Wednesday, the Adani group announced that they have invested ₹8,339 crore into their cement subsidiary, Ambuja Cements, by fully subscribing to its warrants programme. This investment brings the total amount infused by the Adani family into the company to ₹20,000 crore, increasing their stake by an additional 3.6% to approximately 70.3%. This recent capital injection follows a ₹5,000 crore investment into Ambuja on October 18, 2022, and a ₹6,661 crore investment on March 28, 2024, which was for partial share issuance. The company stated that this latest funding will assist the group in achieving its target capacity of 140 million tonnes per annum by 2028 in the cement business.

Bajaj Auto: The company is anticipated to post impressive earnings for the quarter ending March 2024, propelled by substantial volume growth, improved realisations, and a higher average selling price (ASP). The Q4 results for Bajaj Auto are set to be announced on April 18. Bajaj Auto's sales volume in Q4FY24 is projected to have risen by 24.6% to 10,68,576 units, up from 857,788 units in the same period last year. It is forecasted to report a net profit of ₹1,805 crore in Q4, marking a 26% increase from ₹1,432.9 crore in the same quarter last year, according to the average estimates of five brokerages. The company's revenue for the quarter ending March 2024 is also expected to surge nearly 26% to ₹11,200 crore, up from ₹8,904.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Infosys: The company is slated to release its Q4FY24 financial results on April 18. Amid a backdrop of weak discretionary spending, Infosys is projected to report subdued figures for Q4FY24. While revenues are anticipated to see a sequential drop, the EBIT margin is likely to remain stable due to a series of weak growth. As per the average estimates of seven brokerages, Infosys is expected to report a net profit of ₹6,142 crore in Q4FY24, marking a modest growth of 0.58% from the ₹6,106 crore reported in the December quarter. In terms of Q4 revenue in USD, Infosys is expected to see a 0.38% decline to $4,645 million from $4,663 million on a QoQ basis. In rupee terms, revenue is projected to decrease 0.59% to ₹38,590 crore from ₹38,821 crore sequentially. On the operational front, Infosys' Earnings before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) for the quarter ending March 2024 is expected to decrease 0.69% to ₹7,906 crore from ₹7,961 crore in the December quarter.

Brigade Enterprises: The Bengaluru-based realty developer has reported a 46% year-on-year increase in its sales bookings, reaching a record ₹6,013 crore in FY24, driven by strong demand for its housing projects. The company's presales in the fourth quarter of FY24 amounted to ₹2,243 crore, marking the highest ever for a quarter. The company recorded real estate sales volumes of 7.55 million square feet in FY24 and 2.72 million square feet in Q4FY24. The average realisation for FY24 saw an annual increase of 23%. Brigade Enterprises reported collections across the group for FY24 at ₹5,915 crore, compared to ₹5,424 crore for FY23, as per a regulatory filing.

Angel One: On Wednesday, April 17, fintech firm Angel One announced a 27.3% YoY increase in net profit, reaching ₹340 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2024, compared to a net profit of ₹267 crore in the same quarter last year. The company's operational revenue jumped by 64.3% to ₹1,357.2 crore, compared to ₹826 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. On the operational front, EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation) rose by 37.2% to ₹529.7 crore in Q4FY24, up from ₹386 crore in the same period last year. The EBITDA margin for the reported quarter was 39%, compared to 46.7% in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance: Non-life insurer ICICI Lombard announced on Wednesday, April 17, that its net profit for A4FY24, had increased by 19% YoY to ₹520 crore, compared to a net profit of ₹437 crore in Q4FY23. The company's gross direct premium income (GDPI) for FY24 was ₹24,776 crore, marking a 17.8% growth from ₹21,025 crore in FY23. This growth rate surpassed the industry's growth rate of 12.8%. When excluding crop and mass health, the company's GDPI growth was 17.1%, which was also higher than the industry's growth rate of 14.8% in FY24. In Q4FY24, the company's GDPI was ₹6,073 crore, a 22% increase from ₹4,977 crore in Q4FY23. The company's board of directors has proposed a final dividend of ₹6 per share for FY24, pending approval from shareholders at the upcoming annual general meeting. Including the proposed final dividend, the total dividend for FY24 is ₹11 per share.

Tata Communications: On April 17, Tata Communications Limited announced a 1.5% decrease in its consolidated net profit, at ₹321.2 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, compared to ₹326 crore net profit reported in Q4FY23. The company's operational revenue saw a significant increase of 24.6%, rising to ₹5,691.7 crore, from ₹4,568.7 crore Q4FY23. Tata Communications' EBITDA rose by 2.1% to ₹1,056.3 crore. However, its EBIT margin decreased from 22.6 percent to 18.6 percent. The company's board has proposed a final dividend of ₹16.70 per share for FY24. and re-appointed A.S. Lakshminarayanan as the Managing Director and CEO of the company for a second term. This term will commence from November 26, 2024, and will continue until April 13, 2026, pending shareholder approval.

Aditya Birla Capital: The Aditya Birla Group has launched a new app, developed at a cost of ₹100 crore, with the aim to nearly double its customer base in three years and keep up with the anticipated expansion of India's financial services industry. During its launch event on Tuesday, Kumar Mangalam Birla, the group's chairman, expressed confidence in the potential of Aditya Birla Capital, the conglomerate's financial services business. The company plans to increase its current customer base of 35 million by an additional 30 million over the next three years. Birla anticipates a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19-21% in the credit, investments, and insurance sectors of the financial services industry over the next three to five years. The app, named ABCD Aditya Birla Capital, is managed by Aditya Birla Capital Digital Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd, established in March 2023.

Vodafone Idea: The company is raising ₹45,000 crore in equity and debt to meet various needs. However, its immediate focus is on settling the dues it owes to its vendors. The company owes ₹10,000 crore to vendors, including tower and network equipment providers. In total, it carries a debt burden of ₹2.1 trillion, which includes over ₹1.3 trillion for spectrum and another ₹65,000 crore as part of a revenue-sharing mechanism owed to the government. The debt is due over a period extending up to 2040-41, but the moratorium on spectrum payments ends in the first half of FY26. "The initial plan is to settle the vendor dues over time," stated Akshaya Moondra, the managing director and chief executive, during a conversation with Mint. Vodafone Idea generates approximately ₹8,500 crore in cash annually, and its bank debt had decreased to ₹4,500 crore by the end of February, providing it with the necessary leeway to clear vendor dues, according to Moondra.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises: The board of directors at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has approved a new organizational structure proposed by Punit Goenka, the company's managing director and CEO. Goenka, who will now directly oversee the domestic broadcast business, suggested capitalizing on synergies among the main business segments, which include broadcast, digital, movies, and music. "We are confident that a lean team under the leadership of Punit will enable the company to achieve its future goals and priorities, further generating higher value for the shareholders," said R. Gopalan, chairman of ZEE, in a statement.