Union Bank of India sees three-fold jump in net profit
Union Bank of India’s net profit for the quarter ended September rose three-fold to ₹1,526.12 crore compared to last year, helped by improvement in bad loans ratio.
The gross non-performing assets fell to 12.64% of the gross advances, compared to 14.71% of advances last year.
Bharti Airtel’s Q2 net profit rises 13%
Telecom firm Bharti Airtel reported a 13% rise in net profit to ₹1,134 crore for the quarter ended September, boosted by tariff hikes and additions in its subscriber base.
The rise also represents a 300% jump compared to the previous quarter. Revenue from operations 5.4% to ₹28,326 crore compared to last year.
Sensex, Nifty decline at market close
Equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell at market close today, followed by losses in Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank.
The BSE Sensex fell 0.18% to 60,029.06, while NSE Nifty fell 0.23% to end at 17,888.95.
Meanwhile, the rupee gained 19 paise to close at 74.68 against the U.S. dollar. Separately, gold prices gained ₹53 to ₹46,844 per 10 grams today.
Banks sanctioned loans over ₹63,000 crore in credit programme: Sitharaman
Banks have sanctioned loans worth ₹63,574 crore to about 13.84 lakh borrowers in a fortnight under the credit outreach programme, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Under this programme, banks have been holding special camps across various parts of the country to sanction loans to eligible borrowers as per the prudential norms.
HPCL Q2 net profit falls 22%
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) reported a 22% decline in net profit to ₹1,923.51 crore in the September-ended quarter, as its refineries turned lower crude oil into fuel.
The firm's two refineries turned 2.53 million tonnes of crude oil into fuel in the quarter as against 4.06 million tonnes crude throughput in the same period last year.
Jindal Steel Q2 net profit jumps three-fold
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd’s second-quarter net profit rose three-fold to ₹2,584 crore compared to last year, helped by increase in income.
The company’s total income in the September-ended quarter rose to ₹13,615 crore from ₹8,295 crore last year.
Ola reports first-ever operating profit ahead of IPO
Softbank Group-backed Ola released its first-ever operating profit ahead of its potential IPO, company documents showed.
Standalone profit or EBITDA of the company for the fiscal year ended March 2021 stood at ₹89.82 crore.
Despite revenue down 65% from a year ago after a fall in demand for ride-sharing amid pandemic lockdowns, Ola has turned profitable, helped by aggressive cost cuts and a workforce reduction, the filing with the government showed.
Bank of India Q2 net profit jumps nearly 100%
State-run Bank of India’s second-quarter net profit soared nearly 100% compared to last year, helped by improvement in asset quality.
The bank’s gross non-performing assets declined to 12% of gross advances in September-ended quarter, from 13.79% of the advances in the same period last year.
Bank of India stock traded at Rs 62.25 apiece on BSE, up 3.06 per cent from the previous close.
White Oak Capital acquires Yes Bank’s mutual fund business
White Oak Capital Management group said it has completed the transaction to acquire Yes Bank’s mutual fund business.
GPL Finance and Investments, a subsidiary of White Oak Capital group, received capital markets regulator Sebi's approval to acquire Yes Asset Management from the current sponsor, Yes Bank in September.
White Oak Group has now successfully integrated Yes Asset Management into its fold, the company said in a statement.
BlackRock raises $673 million for climate fund
Investment firm BlackRock has raised $673 for a climate-focused infrastructure fund, which has a backing from the French, German and Japanese governments.
The fund will invest in projects such as renewable energy in emerging markets.
The world's largest money manager hopes the fund, to be announced on Tuesday and dubbed the Climate Finance Partnership, will show how to mobilise private capital in developing countries to tackle climate change, a sticking point at United Nations climate talks under way in Glasgow.
Sun Pharma Q2 net profit rises 13%
Drug giant Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries announced its second-quarter net profit rose nearly 13% to ₹2,047.01 crore compared to last year, helped by higher revenue from operations.
The company’s shares were trading 0.53% up at ₹816.05 per scrip.
China issues guidelines to boost consumer services sector
China’s cabinet has issued guidelines to develop the consumer services sector including increased financial support for small firms providing catering, accommodation, child care, healthcare and services for the elderly.
The cabinet said the government will proactively use monetary policy tools such as relending and rediscounting facilities to help services companies and guide commercial banks to boost loans to small firms and individual businesses in the sector.
Investors warn Big-4 auditors of rebellion over climate accounting
Major investors have warned the world’s top four audit firms — KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC — that they will vote to stop the firms working for the companies they invest in at AGMs from next year if audits do not integrate climate risk.
The investors have been pushing auditors to improve for several years amid concern they were misrepresenting the true health of companies by not factoring in potential hits from the impact of climate change and associated policy changes.
India sees brisk gold sales on Dhanteras
Dhanteras, as auspicious day to buy gold, kickstarted on a positive note, led by recovery in consumer demand with the easing of pandemic norms.
On Tuesday, gold prices were ruling lower in the range of ₹46,000-47,000 per 10 grams (excluding taxes) in the national capital from a record over ₹57,000 in August this year. But gold rates are still ruling higher by 17.5% than ₹39,240 per 10 grams that prevailed on the 2020 Dhanteras day.
Godrej Properties Q2 profit surges five-fold
Godrej Group’s real estate unit, Godrej Properties, has reported a five-fold surge in its consolidated net profit at ₹35.72 crore for the July-September quarter compared with ₹7.10 crore in the year-ago period.
The property firm’s total income rose to ₹334.22 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal from ₹250.23 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its sales bookings surged over two times to ₹2,574 crore during Q2.
The company recorded one of its best ever quarters for bookings with a strong response to new launches across India, Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairman, Godrej Properties Ltd, said.
Indian logistics startup Delhivery’s ₹7,460-crore IPO
Indian logistics firm Delhivery has filed for an initial public offering of up to ₹7,460 crore. The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of shares worth ₹5,000 crore and an offer for sale of shares worth ₹2,460 crore, according to its draft herring prospectus.
The company joins a list of startups that have tapped the capital market this year. As of October, 157 firms including Nykaa, Paytm, Oyo, and Policybazaar have raised $17.22 billion via IPOs compared with the $8.54 billion raised by 49 companies in the same period last year, according to Refinitiv data.
Russia’s Oct oil, gas condensate output highest since April 2020
Russia’s October oil and gas condensate output touched the highest level since April 2020. The country’s output increased to 10.84 million barrels per day (bpd) last month from 10.72 million bpd in September, according to an Interfax report.
The OPEC+, which includes Russia, will hold a meeting to decide on further production policy on Thursday. Currently, the group is raising its cumulative output by 4,00,000 barrels per day each month.
Standard Chartered Q3 profit doubles
Standard Chartered’s third-quarter pre-tax profit doubled from a year earlier as the lender rode a recovery in pandemic-hit markets.
The bank’s profit surged to $996 million in the September ended quarter, from $435 million a year earlier. Its credit impairment charges of $107 million, were down $246 million year-on-year.
“We delivered a return to top-line growth in the third quarter and achieved further progress against our strategic priorities, with strong performance in our financial markets and trade businesses and ongoing positive momentum in wealth management,” Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters, said in a statement.
KFC, Pizza Hut operator’s ₹2,073-crore IPO
Sapphire Foods India, one of the two operators of KFC and Pizza Hut outlets in the country, will open its ₹2,073-crore initial public offering (IPO) on November 9 with a price band of ₹1,120-1,180 per share.
The IPO will be entirely an offer for sale of 1,75,69,941 equity shares by promoters and existing shareholders, including QSR Management Trust, Sapphire Foods Mauritius Ltd, WWD Ruby Ltd, Amethyst, AAJV Investment Trust, and Edelweiss Crossover Opportunities Fund.
99% development banks committed to cutting coal investment
Almost 99% of all development finance institutions are committed to cutting coal investment following pledges from the G20 nations to stop supporting new projects overseas, according to Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center’s research.
“If these institutions live up to their commitments, it will be easier for developing countries to find official finance for renewable energy and coal power phase-out than for building new coal-fired power plants,” Rebecca Ray, senior researcher at GDP Center said.
Rupee rises against U.S. dollar
The Indian rupee appreciated against the U.S. dollar after ending on a flat note yesterday. The domestic unit opened strong at 74.83 against the dollar and inched further to 74.79 in early deals, a rise of 8 paise over its previous close. The Indian currency gained ahead of the U.S. Fed and other central bank meeting this week.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03% to 93.84.
ByteDance CFO to lead TikTok
ByteDance CFO Shou Zi Chew will step down to focus on running the company’s short video business fulltime. Chew joined ByteDance as CFO in March and was appointed as TikTok CEO in May.
The Chinese company also plans a major reorganisation to create six business units – TikTok, Douyin, work collaboration unit Lark, business services unit BytePlus, gaming unit Nuverse, and education tech unit Dali, ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo said in a memo.
Oil prices surge
Oil prices surged as OPEC undershot its expected pace of output increases last month, while China ramped up operating rates to meet a spike in diesel demand. Brent crude futures rose 0.3%, to $84.99 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude futures gained 0.2%, to $84.24 a barrel.
Asian markets update; Sensex opens
Indian indices opened higher after closing on a positive note yesterday. The Sensex opened at 60,360.61 up 222.15 points after rallying over 800 points in the previous session. Similarly, the Nifty opened at 17,970.90, up 41.25 points after gaining 1.46% yesterday.
Asian stocks were mixed in the morning trade as investors awaited several important central bank meetings that may lead the way for risk appetite heading into 2022.
MSCI’s gauge of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recovered early losses to be 0.8% higher, with Japan’s Nikkei edging 0.25% lower and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 down 0.76%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.97%. South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.59%.
In U.S., the S&P 500 rose 0.18% while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.63%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.26%, after surpassing 36,000 points for the first time during intraday trading.
Morning note:
India's manufacturing sector activities gained further strength in October as companies scaled up production and stepped up input purchasing in anticipation of further improvements in demand, according to a monthly survey. The October Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the fourth straight month.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India PMI rose from 53.7 in September to 55.9 in October, pointing to the strongest improvement in overall operating conditions since February. – John Xavier
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---- Edited by John Xavier
(With inputs from Reuters, PTI and other news agencies.)
