results2.json

{"root":[{"title":"Airtel, Idea, RCOM drop on fears of fierce bidding","content":"Biswajit Baruah, ET Bureau Mar 28, 2015, 04.07AM IST(Reflecting the mood, analysts\u2026) MUMBAI: Shares of telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications (RCOM) dropped more than 5% on Friday on fears of aggressive bidding for airwaves, a development that may exert pressure on companies' balance sheets and cash flow, and restrict their expansion plans. Reflecting the mood, analysts maintained a cautious outlook on the sector, saying fresh buyers should stay away from this space in the near-term. On Friday, the department of telecommunications (DoT) released details of bidders at the recently concluded airwaves auction, where the government mopped up Rs 1.1 lakh crore from the spectrum put up for auction. The prices for the spectrum were considerably higher than the reserve price, said analysts. \"Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have paid a little more for the spectrum than what the markets were expecting,\" said Mayuresh Joshi, VP, (institutional) Angel Broking. \"Going forward, Reliance Jio's pricing for its services would be closely watched. However, investors should note that the overhang on telecom stocks over spectrum is probably over.\" Telecom stocks came under intense selling pressure on Friday \u2014 Bharti Airtel fell 5.64% to Rs 376. Idea Cellular dropped 4.96% to Rs 171 after touching new 52-week high of Rs 187 in early trade. RCOM touched a new 52-week low of Rs 56.90 before closing at Rs 58.25, down 3.56%, while Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) ended 1.54% lower at Rs 7.68. Shares of some telecom companies \u2014 Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular \u2014 have had a good run in the past one year, gaining 21% and 23%, respectively, while Reliance Communications dropped 53%; all these stocks have underperformed the ET 100 Index which gained nearly 27% over the same period. \"We reiterate our cautious view on the telecom sector, given the stretched balance sheets, rising capital expenditure, regulatory pushback, Reliance Jio's launch overhang, and expensive valuations,\" said Vinay Jaising, analyst at Morgan Stanley. They are also sceptical of Indian telecom companies due to a number of structural issues such as cannibalisation of voice by data, rapid expansion and network operational cost to deliver data, pricing impact from the imminent entry of Reliance Jio, and stretched balance sheets due to spectrum prices. \"Telcos will further bloat their balance sheet with debt, which is already under severe strain. We maintain 'hold' rating for Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular with a price target of Rs 399 and Rs 167\/share, respectively,\" said Amar Mourya, research analyst at IndiaNivesh. Most telecom companies may report negative free cash flow in 2015 as they are required to pay a quarter of the committed amount in the spectrum auction upfront, and the rest will be paid in installments over 10 years from 2017.","pubdate":"Sat, 28 Mar 2015 04:07:22 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Sustained growth makes Kajaria Ceramics a good long-term bet","content":"Narendra Nathan, ET Bureau Jan 26, 2015, 08.00AM IST(Analysts say Kajaria Ceramics\u2026) We recommended Kajaria Ceramics a year back because of its high growth rate and decent valuations. The company has rewarded its investors by outperforming the benchmark index, Sensex, handsomely during this time. Kajaria Ceramics continues to grow at a fast pace. It has reported a 30 per cent growth in revenue in the third quarter of 2014-15 compared to the same quarter previous year. The net profit jumped 55 per cent because of a 29 per cent increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and a fall in interest cost due to reduction in debt.  Analysts say Kajaria Ceramics will maintain its high growth in the coming years, largely because of conducive industry dynamics. For the past several years, the Indian tiles industry has been growing due to urbanisation, affordability of tiles, and consumers' focus on home aesthetics, aided by rising disposable incomes. This growth rate is expected to accelerate in the coming years because of the new government's increased focus on affordable housing and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Going by its performance, Kajaria should be able to beat the industry growth rates. In the next five years, Kajaria Ceramics is aiming to grow its revenue at a compound annual growth rate of 20 per cent. Close to 15 per cent of this growth will come from an increase in volume. The remaining will be a result of an increase in prices and a customer shift to premium brands. Kajaria Ceramics is also expanding capacity. It will be spending up to Rs 200 crore in the next fiscal year towards this purpose. Though the company will continue to focus on its tiles business, which accounts for 90 per cent of its turnover, it has entered the sanitaryware and sanitary-fittings segment. Its sanitaryware plant is already operational and is expected to reach full production by March 2015. Even though margins are expected to remain at the current 15 per cent-plus level, the fall in the natural gas price will bring down costs and should help the entire sector expand margins. The historical PE of 35 may appear high, but analysts say, because of the strong volume growth, pricing power, healthy margins and a strong balance sheet\u2014very low debt, which is being cut further\u2014it is justified. But, bear in mind, the company, and the entire Indian tiles industry, faces a threat from Chinese imports. Any policy shift that serves to boost tiles export from China, will adversely impact the entire industry, including Kajaria. Selection Methodology: We pick up the stock that shows the maximum increase in 'consensus analyst rating' in the past one month. Consensus rating is arrived at by averaging all analyst recommendations after attributing weights to each of them (5 for strong buy, 4 for buy, 3 for hold, 2 for sell and 1 for strong sell). Any improvement in consensus analyst rating indicates that the analysts are getting more bullish on the stock. To make sure that we pick only companies with decent analyst coverage, this search is restricted to stocks that are covered by at least 10 analysts.  ","pubdate":"Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:00:04 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Consumer durables stocks like Whirlpool, Voltas, Blue Star & Hitachi growth may not match early spark","content":"Jwalit Vyas, ET Bureau Jan 13, 2015, 05.14AM IST(The festive sales were split\u2026) MUMBAI: Investors riding high on strong returns generated by consumer durable stocks like IFB Industries, Whirlpool, Voltas, Blue Star and Hitachi should turn a little cautious as the last two quarters' strong growth trend may not continue. These companies are unlikely to reap the full impact of the festive season in the December 2014 quarter. The festive sales were split between September and December due to early Navratri and Diwali in 2014. Along summer and an early festive season led to a strong first half for these companies, giving many investors an impression that the demand has bounced back for discretionary products post-election. A base effect, thanks to lower sales in the year-ago period, also boosted the numbers and fuelled sentiment.  There was a growth of 27-57% in sales for the September quarter and 25-39% in the first half of FY15. The earnings growth figures were even higher. The result was a surge in stock prices (See table). But, random checks (while talking to dealers and mall outlets) suggest that the sales in the December quarter have been less than impressive. One spots a similar trend in other consumer discretionary sectors like passenger vehicles and two-wheelers. For instance, Hero Moto reported minus 2% growth YoY for the December quarter, Bajaj Auto recorded minus 1% growth YoY while M&M closed the quarter minus 12% YoY growth. Maruti was an exception, generating a 12% growth YoY. While analysts are justifying current high valuations \u2014 claiming that these companies will benefit from the correction in steel, copper and aluminium prices \u2014 a weak sales growth may keep sentiments sombre.","pubdate":"Tue, 13 Jan 2015 05:14:13 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Balkrishna Industries: A long-term bet after the recent correction","content":"Narendra Nathan, ET Bureau Jan 5, 2015, 08.00AM IST(Balkrishna Industries\u2026) The profits of Balkrishna Industries fell by around 40% after reporting poor numbers in the second quarter of 2014-15. The tyre company's net profit went down by 17% compared to the corresponding period last year and by 22% compared to the preceding quarter. Lower volume from European markets (the region contributes around 50% of its sales volume) and the discounts offered to clients to compensate the fall in natural rubber prices are the primary factors behind the fall in net profit.  Balkrishna Industries could not take advantage of the lower prices of natural rubber in the second quarter because it had a huge inventory of rubber purchased at higher prices. Rising employee costs following partial commissioning of its new tyre plant with 1.5 lakh per annum capacity in Bhuj, Gujarat, was another factor. The recent correction in its price has brought the valuations of Balkrishna Industries to reasonable levels. In addition to the fall in price, analysts are getting bullish on this niche player because of its improving fundamentals. Its Bhuj plant is expected to become fully operational by April 2015. This will help the company to foray into much bigger radial tyres (expected to move up from 35 inches to 57 inches) and, therefore, its tyre portfolio will be more comprehensive. Radial tyres have higher realisations (3-4% higher) and with this new plant, its radial sales volume is expected to move up from around 30% now to above 40% over the next three years. Balkrishna Industries is also working towards increasing its global market share in the off -highway tyres (OHT) from 5% to 8% in the next three years. To realise this goal, the company plans to set up warehouses in the US and other overseas markets in the near future to increase its penetration levels. Though the global fall in agricultural product prices has resulted in less demand for new tractors (lower demand for OEM tyres), existing tractors continue to work (normal demand for tyres in the replacement segment , which is nearly 80% of its total sales volumes). New tractor sales are also expected to improve following the stability in the American farm sector reported recently. With around 90% of its revenues coming from exports, Balkrishna Industries will also benefit from the sudden depreciation of the rupee in the last six months. Selection methodology  We choose a stock that has shown the maximum increase in consensus analyst rating during the past month. Consensus rating is arrived at by averaging out the recommendations of all analysts and after attributing weightages to each of them (5 for strong buy, 4 for buy, 3 for hold, 2 for sell and 1 for strong sell). Any improvement in consensus rating indicates that analysts are becoming more and more bullish on the stock. To make sure that we pick only companies with decent analyst coverage, this search will be restricted to stocks that have been covered by at least 10 analysts.","pubdate":"Mon, 05 Jan 2015 08:00:53 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Orient Cement: Despite the recent rally, enough value left in the counter.","content":"Narendra Nathan, ET Bureau Dec 29, 2014, 08.00AM IST(Orient Cement is a good long-term\u2026) Cost competitiveness is the main advantage of this south-based, CK Birla Group cement company. Orient Cement's per tonne cement production cost is around 13% lower than the industry average. Therefore, the company could repeat its stellar performance in the third quarter of 2014-15 as well. In its second quarter sales, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) and net profit grew by 20%, 123% and 200%, respectively, compared to the corresponding period last year, or on a year-on-year basis. The company could also improve its third quarter EBITDA per tonne to `785, which is among the highest in the industry. The rise in EBITDA per tonne was due to the strong volume growth (up by 4% y-o-y) and improvement in realisations (up by 15% y-o-y). Orient Cement is a good long-term bet because of the infrastructure growth expected in the company's two key markets\u2014Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh\u2014in the coming years. Industrial demand is expected to pick up in Maharashtra following the initiatives by the new state government. Andhra Pradesh, however, is the best example of the amount of harm political uncertainties can do to even well-established companies. The market size of cement has shrunk to 13 million tonnes in the state from the peak levels of 18 million tonnes in 2008-09. However, due to the low cost of production, Orient Cement could increase its market share.  Cement consumption should jump in Andhra Pradesh in the coming years as massive construction projects are lined up at the new state capital. To benefit from this, the mid-sized cement company is in the process of increasing capacity through green-field and brown-field projects. The company's 3 million tonne green-field project in Gulbarga (northern Karnataka) is progressing smoothly. Its trial production and, subsequently, commercial production is expected from April 2015 and June 2015, respectively. This project also includes a 45MW thermal plant and a 7MW waste-heat-recovery plant. Despite the key advantages, such as low-cost cement production, high return on equity (ROE) and return on capital employed (ROCE), this stock is still attractively priced compared to its peers. The discount should narrow down if it produces 8 million tonnes in 2015-16. This will also help it climb up the valuation ladder further Selection methodology  We choose a stock that has shown the maximum increase in consensus analyst rating during the past month. Consensus rating is arrived at by averaging out the recommendations of all analysts and after attributing weightages to each of them (5 for strong buy, 4 for buy, 3 for hold, 2 for sell and 1 for strong sell). Any improvement in consensus rating indicates that analysts are becoming more and more bullish on the stock. To make sure that we pick only companies with decent analyst coverage, this search will be restricted to stocks that have been covered by at least 10 analysts. ","pubdate":"Mon, 29 Dec 2014 08:00:39 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Credit rating agency Care to benefit from the expected increase in debt issuances","content":"Narendra Nathan, ET Bureau Dec 15, 2014, 01.35PM IST(The cyclical recovery in\u2026) Credit Analysis and Research (Care) surprised the Street with its performance during the second quarter of 2014-15. While its net profit rose by 50% year-on-year, it zoomed by 98% on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The rise in net profit was primarily due to two factors: first, there was a 316% y-o-y jump in its other income which was triggered by the profit it made from sale of investments. Second, the company reported 14% y-o-y increase in rating revenues, which was significantly higher than the 5% achieved by its main competitor Crisil during the period under consideration. In addition to the increase in surveillance income, Care also added 761 clients during the quarter and its total volume of debt instruments rated increased by 16% y-o-y.  Analysts are now getting bullish on the long-term (2-3 years) growth opportunities for the credit rating sector because it is best placed to benefit from the cyclical recovery in corporate capex and bank credit growth. The sector is already doing well because of the pickup in debt issuances in the recent past. According to Prime Database, debt placements during the first half of 2014-15 went up by 22% compared to the corresponding period last year. Another factor helping credit rating agencies is the improvement in credit environment. For example, Care's modified credit ratio (MCR) has improved from 1.05 times to 1.25 times in the second quarter, y-o-y. MCR is calculated by dividing the number of rating upgrades with downgrades. An increase in MCR means that the financials of the rated companies are stable and improving. With a turnaround in the economy, MCR is expected to improve further in the second half of 2014-15. With the revival in market sentiments, debt issuances are expected to rise manifold, increasing business opportunities for rating agencies like Care. Since the company provides 'grading' for equity public offerings, revival in stock market sentiments also bodes well for it. While analysts are bullish on the sector, Care is their preferred choice. This is so because it is the cheapest stock based on valuations and the recent correction has brought down its valuations further to reasonable levels. It is quoting at 35 times trailing price-to earnings ratio compared to 51 times for Crisil and 45 for Icra. Care is also continuing with its liberal dividend policy and has announced 650% dividend during the second quarter, taking the total interim dividend announced in 2014-15 to 710%. Selection methodology We choose a stock that has shown the maximum increase in consensus analyst rating during the past month. Consensus rating is arrived at by averaging out the recommendations of all analysts and after attributing weightages to each of them (5 for strong buy, 4 for buy, 3 for hold, 2 for sell and 1 for strong sell). Any improvement in consensus rating indicates that analysts are becoming more and more bullish on the stock. To make sure that we pick only companies with decent analyst coverage, this search will be restricted to stocks that have been covered by at least 10 analysts. ","pubdate":"Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:35:31 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Flat UK FTSE lags euro zone peers as energy stocks weigh","content":"PTI Nov 27, 2014, 05.44PM IST(Britain's top equity index\u2026) LONDON: Britain's top equity index lagged its continental peers on Thursday, held back by energy shares hit by an oversupply of oil sending crude prices to a four-year low. Oil majors such as Shell and BP were the biggest drag on a flat FTSE 100 index after Brent crude hit a a 50-month low of $75.48. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were unlikely to agree a production cut to support prices at their meeting in Vienna on Thursday, sources close to the cartel said. Oil prices having sunk 30 percent since June. \"Oil companies can't help but react to the spot oil prices as it drills down to their bottom line,\" Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG, said. \"Low prices might force companies to alter their production, but demand for oil is quite low anyway.\" Energy stocks knocked 13 points off the FTSE 100, which was down 0.78 points at 6,728.39 points at 1142 GMT. It lagged a 0.5 percent gain for Germany's DAX and a 0.3 percent rise for the Euro STOXX 50, supported by expectations of further stimulus measures from the European Central Bank. The FTSE, which is hovering just below a recent two-month high hit on Wednesday, is roughly flat for the year. Among individual stocks, Barclays rose 1.8 percent after Goldman Sachs raised its stance on the stock to \"buy\" from \"neutral\" and raised its price target to 300 pence from 272 pence. Mid-cap Stagecoach rose 7.2 percent after Britain said it would award a contract to run trains between London and Scotland to a Stagecoach and Virgin partnership.","pubdate":"Thu, 27 Nov 2014 17:44:40 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"S&P, NASDAQ edge higher but IBM results drag Dow","content":"NEW YORK: US stocks were mixed on Monday, with the S&P 500 and  Nasdaq posting modest gains, but the  Dow falling as quarterly results from  IBM disappointed.IBM shares slumped 7.3 per cent to $168.69 as the biggest drag on both the Dow and S&P 500 after the company's third-quarter earnings fell well short of Wall Street expectations. IBM had earlier said it would pay Globalfoundries $1.5 billion in cash over the next three years to take its loss-making semiconductor unit.IBM's weakness produced an outsized drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, accounting for over 80 points to the downside for the price-weighted index.The weak IBM results helped spur speculation the Federal Reserve may be reluctant to end its massive bond-buying stimulus program this month.\"On a number like that, with the forecast they gave you would expect the broader market would come under more pressure, and maybe it will,\" said Ken Polcari, Director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil Securities in New York.\"But what it is telling you is, based on IBM's report, that the odds are lining up we may hear some more dovish comments out of the Fed next week than not.\"At 9:43 a.m., the Dow Jones industrial average fell 67.84 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 16,312.57, the S&P 500 gained 2.33 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 1,889.09 and the Nasdaq Composite added 14.61 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 4,273.05.Earnings season will ramp up significantly this week, with nearly 130 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report, include Apple Inc after the close on Monday.According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday, of 81 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, 64 per cent beat analyst expectations, slightly above the 63 percent average since 1994 but below the 67 per cent rate for the past four quarters.Third-quarter earnings are expected to grow 6.9 per cent from a year ago, on revenue growth of 3.8 per cent.The largest percentage gainer on the S&P 500 was Tesoro Corp , which rose 7.5 per cent, while the largest percentage decliner was IBM.The largest percentage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 was  SANDISK , which was rising 3.0 per cent, while the largest percentage decliner was NetApp, down 1.8 per cent.","pubdate":"Mon, 20 Oct 2014 20:11:15 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Housing Development and Infrastructure shares jump as promoters revoke pledged shares","content":"PTI Sep 30, 2014, 10.58PM IST(Housing Development and\u2026) MUMBAI: Shares of Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) rose by over 5 per cent before closing nearly 2 per cent higher as company promoters revoked all shares pledged with IL&FS Trust Company. At the NSE, shares closed up by 1.89 per cent at Rs 83.65. The stock ended 1.64 per cent higher at Rs 83.45 on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 5.29 per cent to Rs 86.45. Realty player HDIL had yesterday said its promoters have revoked all shares pledged with IL&FS Trust Company. \"Promoters of HDIL have revoked all shares earlier pledged with IL&FS Trust Company and now the entire 100 per cent shares in the promoters category is non-pledged,\" a company release had said. IL&FS Trust has released over 7.54 crore equity shares of promoters, including those of Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan. The released shares in the latest tranche comprise 51.89 per cent of the total shares pledged by promoter group. On July 4, IL&FS Trust had released 7 crore equity shares, comprising 48.11 per cent of the total pledged shares of promoter group. With the latest release of pledged shares by IL&FS Trust, the total number of pledged shares by HDIL promoters now stands nil, the release had said. ","pubdate":"Tue, 30 Sep 2014 22:58:19 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Sony shares plunge 12% on ballooning loss forecast","content":"TOKYO:  Sony shares plunged 12 per cent at the open in Tokyo on Thursday after the electronics giant warned it would lose $2.14 billion this fiscal year, more than four times its earlier forecast. The shares fell to 1,865.5 yen ($17) in the first few minutes of frenzied trading, erasing most of the gains made since the start of the year, in response to Sony's announcement, which came after Japanese  markets had closed Wednesday. The company, whose dual-listed shares slid nearly 7.0 per cent in  New York, blamed the ballooning loss estimate on struggles at its mobile phone business, where it said it would cut staff by 15 per cent, or about 1,000 jobs. Demand for Sony's smartphones has come under increasing pressure from rivals including  Samsung and Apple, which is releasing its newest  iPhone in several key markets, including  Japan, this week. Sony also said it would not pay dividends for the first time since its shares started trading in Tokyo in 1958. The company, whose  credit rating has been slashed to junk, has issued a string of downward earnings revisions over the past two years as it undergoes a sweeping overhaul led by chief executive Kazuo Hirai. The restructuring has included thousands of layoffs, exiting the personal computer business and liquidating assets that saw the $1.0 billion sale of its Manhattan headquarters. News that the company was heading for a 230 billion yen ($2.14 billion) net loss in the fiscal year to March 2015 comes only months after it tipped a shortfall of just 50 billion yen, citing a turnaround in its television unit. The announcement was likely to resurrect fears that what used to be the world's leading electronics company has a lot more work ahead to cast off years of losses. Hirokazu Kabeya, senior strategist at  Daiwa Securities in Tokyo, said the share plunge was inevitable after the firm's latest worrying forecast. \"Market players are getting used to (Sony's downward revisions) but a temporary fall was still unavoidable,\" he said. Sony has been cutting expectations for sales in the money-losing smartphone business amid weaker-than-expected results in emerging markets and the soaring presence of rivals in its home market. \"Other firms are also offering new products with innovative technology -- this business experiences dramatic changes in products and services,\" Hirai told reporters in Tokyo when asked about struggles in the mobile phone unit. \"The environment is changing and becoming more severe,\" he added. Hirai, who took over in 2012, said Wednesday that the firm would continue to focus on more profitable areas of its vast business, which ranges from televisions and portable music to a movie division and little-known insurance business. Despite his bid to slim down the firm, Hirai has repeatedly shrugged off pleas to abandon a money-losing television division, which he insists remains central to Sony's core business. Japanese manufacturers have suffered badly in their TV divisions as razor-thin margins and fierce overseas competition hammered profits. Kabeya at Daiwa Securities said Sony cannot afford to get into a price war with lower-cost rivals, including Chinese smartphone makers, or beat Samsung and  Apple in global market share. \"It is difficult to cut into the dominance of the big two: Samsung and Apple,\" Kabeya said. \"(Sony) would be wise to shift its business resources to where it is strong -- such as movies and music.\" Following Thursday's share price drop, investors may take a step back and see Hirai's efforts to slim down the company as a positive, Kabeya said. \"But it's unlikely we'll see a rapid turnaround and the company will likely continue to go through a difficult time for a while,\" he added. ","pubdate":"Thu, 18 Sep 2014 08:11:08 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"The most and the least volatile global markets for investing","content":"(Most global indices fell\u2026) Most global indices fell during the week, but Argentina's MerVal and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose smartly. Figures are weekly % change. All data on this page as on 12 September 2014, unless specified.Source: ETIG Database\/Bloomberg ","pubdate":"Mon, 15 Sep 2014 08:49:22 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"How good are the returns in alternative investments?","content":"(The scope and attractiveness\u2026) The scope and attractiveness of alternative investments is increasing. Here's a weekly tracker of returns from such investments. But don't compare these with returns from traditional investments since the proportion and purpose of alternative investments is vastly different.  Overall Diamond Index is based on actual transactions from 20 different market players and reflects price movements in the global diamond market. The index is updated daily.","pubdate":"Mon, 15 Sep 2014 08:49:00 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"HUL sinks ahead of Q4 results; PAT seen up 7.5%; higher ad spend to hit growth","content":"ET Now Apr 28, 2014, 12.23PM IST(The stock came under selling\u2026)  NEW DELHI: Hindustan Unilever Limited ( HUL) is scheduled to report its results for the quarter ended March 31 on Monday. India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company is expected to report 7.5 per cent YoY growth in its standalone net profit number to Rs 840 crores, as compared to Rs 781 crores reported in the corresponding quarter last year, according to an ET Now Poll. Ahead of the results, the stock came under some bit of selling pressure and was trading nearly 1 per cent lower at Rs 574 at 12:00 p.m. It hit a low of Rs 565.10 and a high of Rs 588 in trade today. Net sales for the FMCG major are likely to grow by 9.6 per cent to Rs 6980 crores for the quarter ended March 2014, from Rs 6367 crores reported in the year ago period. EBIDTA is seen at Rs 1080 crore, or a 11 per cent rise in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2014, compared to Rs 971 crore reported in the year ago period. EBITDA margins are seen flat at 15.47 per cent as compared to 15.25 per cent reported in the year ago period. According to the ET Now estimates, consumer demand are likely to get worsen QoQ across categories and higher Ad expenses are likely to curtail bottom line growth. Analysts see Volume growth between 3-4 per cent. Volume growth in 4QFy13 was 6 per cent while in Q3Fy14 it was 4 per cent. Soaps & Detergents Co took price hikes in Soaps to pass on palm oil inflation Soaps & Detergents see muted growth Co unwound promotional offers and increased prices Soaps & detergents could grow at 9- 10% and PP at 9% Personal Products Segment could register growth of 8-9% F&L relaunch is witnessing encouraging response Beverages Beverages could post a better quarter QoQ Price growth in Beverages to come down Watch out for - Comments on volume growth - Consumer demand environment","pubdate":"Mon, 28 Apr 2014 12:23:54 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"United Spirits is a very good long term bet: Vinay Khattar","content":"ET Now Apr 15, 2014, 03.47PM IST(One of the largest distribution\u2026) In a chat with ET Now, Vinay Khattar, Head Research (Individual Clients), Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, shares his views on United Spirits. Excerpts: ET Now: What is the advice to your clients on United Spirits, people who are sitting on the stock believe that they can hold this stock for the next couple of years, would you advise them to tender into the open offer or stay with United Spirits?  Vinay Khattar: United Spirits has been a good trade for people who are looking at short time gains. It makes sense for you to tender in the open offer. But if you want to stay long with investment view of five to seven years, it is a very good stock to hold on to. You have a new management which has come in. You have one of the largest distribution set up in India which you could use to introduce new products, premium whiskeys and premium liquors into the country. Now the only thing that you may want to keep an eye for is very high valuations, you are not buying the stock cheap and if you are looking at short term returns, then certain degree of that has already factored into the price. Both gentlemen as well as ladies are beginning to consume liquor so new segments in the market are opening up which is clearly positive and a dominant brand position with a good distribution reach this could be a very-very good play the Indian consumption.","pubdate":"Tue, 15 Apr 2014 15:47:40 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Suzlon\u2019s unit to get Euro 850 million as working capital; stock gains","content":"ECONOMICTIMES.COM Apr 9, 2014, 10.28AM IST(Its's \u00a0wholly owned owned\u2026) MUMBAI: Shares of Suzlon Energy surged higher in trade after its Germany-based wholly owned subsidiary Senvion SE signed an agreement with a consortium of banks for syndicated working capital facilities of EUR 850 million for the period of 3 years. The consortium of banks is headed by BayernLB, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and Deutsche Bank AG. This move enables Senvion SE to secure follow-on financing early for the credit facilities of EUR 750 million agreed in May 2012 for the period up to August 2014. \"This enhanced facility with long tenure is of importance for the growth of the company and the oversubscription of the same with new additions to the consortium clearly reflects strong confidence of global banks in business fundamentals of the company,\" Marcus A Wassenberg, CFO of Senvion said. At 09:25 a.m., the stock was at Rs 14.78, up 5.87 per cent, on the BSE. It touched a high of Rs 14.90 and a low of Rs 14.50 in trade today.","pubdate":"Wed, 09 Apr 2014 10:28:52 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Fund raising via rights issue picks up, climbs 48% to Rs 6750 cr","content":"NEW DELHI: Fund raising through rights issue jumped 48 per cent to Rs 6,750 crore in 2014-15, a sign of increased interest among domestic companies to mop up capital through this route.This is higher than Rs 4,573 crore raised in 2013-14. The number of issues, too, went up to 17 in the past fiscal, from 13 in 2013-14.Market experts said return of investor confidence in the equity markets is at work, which encouraged some of the large firms to go for the rights issue mode.Most of the funds raised were meant for expansion plans and supporting working capital requirements of the companies.In a rights issue, shares are issued to existing investors at a pre-determined price, normally at a discount, in proportion to their holdings.According to the latest data, the gap between capital raised through the rights issue and funds via other routes like initial public offering (IPO) still remains wide.IPOs saw a mobilisation of a total of Rs 2,769 crore during 2014-15. That apart, around Rs 400 crore came in from Institutional Placement Programme (IPP). However, in the past fiscal, not a single firm opted for the FPO (Follow-on Public Offer) route to mop up funds.The largest rights issue in the said period was from Future Retail (Rs 1,589 crore), followed by GMR Infrastructure (Rs 1,402 crore) and Indian Hotels (Rs 1,000 crore).The fund-raising was in step with the soaring markets where the benchmark Sensex gained around 25 per cent in 20","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 17:44:10 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Fund raising via rights issue picks up, climbs 48% to Rs 6750 crore","content":"NEW DELHI:  Fund raising through  rights issue jumped 48 per cent to Rs 6,750 crore in 2014-15, a sign of increased interest among domestic companies to mop up capital through this route. This is higher than Rs 4,573 crore raised in 2013-14. The number of issues, too, went up to 17 in the past fiscal, from 13 in 2013-14. Market experts said return of investor confidence in the equity markets is at work, which encouraged some of the large firms to go for the rights issue mode. Most of the funds raised were meant for expansion plans and supporting working capital requirements of the companies. In a rights issue, shares are issued to existing investors at a pre-determined price, normally at a discount, in proportion to their holdings. According to the latest data, the gap between capital raised through the rights issue and funds via other routes like  initial public offering ( IPO) still remains wide. IPOs saw a mobilisation of a total of Rs 2,769 crore during 2014-15. That apart, around Rs 400 crore came in from Institutional Placement Programme (IPP). However, in the past fiscal, not a single firm opted for the FPO (Follow-on Public Offer) route to mop up funds. The largest rights issue in the said period was from Future Retail (Rs 1,589 crore), followed by  GMR Infrastructure (Rs 1,402 crore) and Indian Hotels (Rs 1,000 crore). The fund-raising was in step with the soaring markets where the benchmark  Sensex gained around 25 per cent in 2014-15. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 16:43:04 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Gold up, but set for weekly fall as US rate bets buy dollar","content":" LONDON:  Gold rose on Friday as chart levels were broken, but was still heading for its first weekly fall in four weeks, pressured by a stronger dollar and renewed expectations for a US rate hike this year. Spot gold climbed 0.8 per cent to $1,204.06 an ounce by 1431 GMT. Flat initially, it gained momentum after a break of technical resistance at $1,196 that triggered automatic buy orders. \"This move is coming during a week when we didn't really have any gold-positive news but ...the way gold is putting up a fight at the moment is potentially giving some confidence to the market,\" Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. \"But to make headwinds above the resistance area around $1,225 we need to see some real buying coming in.\" Bullion was however still down around 0.3 per cent for the week, having pulled back from Monday's seven-week top of $1,224.10 that was triggered by last week's weak US employment report. US gold for June delivery was up $13.70 an ounce at $1,207.20. \"We saw a technical move this morning that pushed prices above $1,200... but if we see some selling into the rally perhaps we can come back down again,\"  Mitsubishi Corp strategist  Jonathan Butler said. \"Looking at the slightly longer-term chart, (prices are) still heading for a weekly fall ... (after) what we heard at the FOMC meeting, very much keeping the door  open to a June rate rise.\" Gold on Friday shrugged off the impact of a stronger dollar and higher global equities. But the longer-term outlook is still bearish, traders said, and prices had surrendered gains after  Federal Reserve officials suggested a June rate hike could still be in play. Investors tend to shun gold, which doesn't pay interest, when market expectations point to US interest rates rising. Gold could drop to a five-year low of $1,100 this year due to the relative health of the US economy compared to Europe and emerging  markets, GFMS analysts at Thomson Reuters said. Gold buying in Asia was slow this week as firmer spot prices turned off buyers, especially in China, and a potentially weak monsoon threatened demand in India. Premiums for physical gold at the Shanghai Gold Exchange stood at a modest $1-$2 an ounce over the global spot  benchmark on Friday. Spot  silver rose 2.7 per cent to $16.55 an ounce, while platinum gained 1.2 per cent to $1,168.79 an ounce and palladium was up 1.7 per cent at $773 an ounce. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 22:03:36 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Gold climbs for first time in four days after ETP holdings rise","content":"LONDON:  Gold today rose for the first time in four days after holdings in exchange-traded products backed by bullion saw the largest increase in more than six weeks. Gold gained 0.7 per cent to $1,202.93 an ounce. It touched $1,192.74 on Thursday, the lowest since April 1, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting fuelled concern that policy makers are moving closer to raising interest rates. The metal has declined 0.4 per cent this week, the first weekly drop since March 13. Also,  silver rose 2 per cent to $16.52 an ounce. Holdings in silver-backed ETPs gained 4.7 tonnes on Thursday.  Platinum climbed 0.9 per cent to $1,166.75 an ounce. Gold-backed  ETP holdings increased by 3.9 metric tonnes, the most since February 23, to 1,620.1 tonnes, according to data collated by Bloomberg as of Thursday. Meanwhile, ETP holdings increased by 21.7 tons so far this year after declining 164.4 tons in 2014, a second annual drop. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback's strength against 10 major counterparts, climbed the second day, gaining 0.2 per cent. Bullion typically moves inversely to the US currency. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 20:49:15 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Rupee ends lower by 7 paise vs dollar","content":" MUMBAI: The  rupee ended lower by 7 paise to 62.31 against the American currency on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers as the greenback firmed up overseas on upbeat US jobs report. The rupee resumed lower at 62.30 per dollar against the last closing level of 62.24 at the  Interbank  Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 62.42 per dollar on initial dollar demand from banks. However, it recovered to 62.29 per dollar on some dollar selling from banks on the back of good foreign capital inflows into  equity market before ending at 62.31, showing a loss of seven paise or 0.11 per cent. It moved in a range of 62.29 and 62.42 per dollar during the day. Fresh dollar demand from banks and importers in the view of firm dollar in the overseas market mainly affected the rupee value against dollar, a  forex dealer said. In the international market, the dollar came off its overnight highs today in Asia as a rebound built on renewed hope of a US interest-rate rise in the coming months lost steam. The dollar index, a gauge of six major global rivals, was up by 0.38 per cent today. The greenback rose to three-week highs against the euro and the yen in the New York market yesterday, recouping all the losses made after disappointing jobs data last week that caste doubt on the strength of the US labour market. Oil prices were trading mixed in Asia after recovering from a steep dive, with buying sentiment shackled by a global supply glut, analysts said. Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark 30-share index  Sensex declined marginally by 5.83 points or 0.02 per cent to 28,879.38. In the forward market, premia dropped further on sustained receiving by exporters. The benchmark six-month premium payable in September moved down to 224.5-226.5 paise from 230-230.5 paise yesterday and forward contracts maturing in March 2016 also fell to 447.5-459.5 paise from 456-457 paise previously. The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 62.3660 and for the euro at 66.4884. The rupee firmed up further against the pound sterling to 91.09 from 92.35 yesterday and also advanced further against the euro to 66.01 from 67.01. The local currency firmed up further against the Japanese Yen to 51.76 per 100 yens from 51.88 previously. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 18:34:47 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Russian rouble storms higher as rally continues","content":"MOSCOW: The Russian rouble stormed higher on Friday, continuing a rally for a fifth day, as investors flooded back to cash in on an enduring truce in eastern Ukraine and high rouble interest rates. At 0750 GMT the rouble was up 1.5 percent against the dollar at 51.08 and 2 percent stronger at 54.25 against the euro, setting new new 2015 highs. The rouble has risen 10 percent against the dollar this week, taking many analysts by surprise as the Russian currency has largely decoupled from the oil price which is typically its key driver. On Friday international oil benchmark Brent was little changed at $56.55 per barrel, up around $1 since the start of the week. BCS analyst Mark Bradford said in a note that the rouble was being supported by the calm situation in eastern Ukraine, where February's Minsk peace deal appears to be holding following months of fighting between government forces and separatists. \"All the same one can't exclude a (downward) correction for both the rouble and stock indexes,\" he wrote, estimating the rouble's fair value at 57-58 per dollar at current oil prices. Analysts at Rosbank said that the rouble was being buoyed by attractive rouble interest rates on currency forwards and local treasury bonds, as well as technical factors. \"The USD\/RUB pair is approaching the level of the 200-day average (49.44 roubles per dollar), which strengthens the strategy of selling foreign currency,\" they wrote. Russian stock indexes were mixed on Friday, with strong gains in the dollar-denominated RTS index which is boosted by a stronger rouble. At 0750 GMT the RTS was up 2.8 percent to 1,031 points while the rouble-based MICEX index was down 0.3 percent to 1,662. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 15:54:59 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"HDFC Ltd to raise up to $500 million from Exteral Commercial Borrowing","content":"NEW DELHI: Housing Finance company  HDFC Ltd today said it has got  RBI clearance to raise up to $ 500 million (about Rs 3,100 crore) as  Exteral Commercial Borrowing (ECB) to fund its business growth. The approval to raise up to $ 500 million is valid for six months, HDFC Ltd said in statement. HDFC would be raising the money under the ECB window for housing finance companies that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed for funding affordable housing projects. Last year, it raised $ 300 million through ECB, the first by an housing finance company under the low-cost affordable housing scheme of RBI. Low-cost affordable housing units have been defined as units where the property cost does not exceed Rs 30 lakh, loan amount is capped at Rs 25 lakh and the carpet area does not exceed 60 square metres. Meanwhile, HDFC today cut home loan rate by 0.2 per cent to 9.9 per cent for new as well as existing borrowers. Besides, it is also revising its deposit rates. Earlier this week, many banks including  State Bank of India,  ICICI Bank,  HDFC Bank and  Axis Bank cut lending rate by up to 0.25 per cent after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's tough talk with bankers. The central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 7.5 per cent in its monetary policy on April 7. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 22:53:09 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"},{"title":"Kerala to release bonds of Rs 1,500 crore","content":" THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala will come out with a Rs 1,500 crore bonds issue to mobilise funds for various development activities. An auction in this regard would be held at the Reserve Bank office in Mumbai on April 13, an official release said today. ","pubdate":"Fri, 10 Apr 2015 21:52:25 +0530","newspaper":"Economic Times"}]}