Late recovery

Nifty50: 17,110 ▼167 (-0.9%)

Sensex: 57,276 ▼581 (-1.0%)

• Despite a weak start, markets saw partial recovery in the second half of the day.
• After making new lows for six consecutive sessions, markets showed signs of a ‘pause’ today.
• Traders could expect volatility to continue in the run-up to the budget.
  

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, PSU Bank (+5.1%) and Bank (+0.7%) were the top gainers whereas IT (-3.5%) and Pharma (-1.8%) were the top losers.

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Here are the top stories of the day.

Cipla beats street estimates

The pharma major’s consolidated revenue grew 6% year-on-year to ₹5,479 crore, aided by strong traction in its Indian and North America businesses. It’s net profit dropped 3% to ₹729 crore but was higher than the street estimate of ₹710 crore.

The EBITDA margins for the quarter stood at 22.7% and it expects to close the year with about 22% margins. It’s stock has risen nearly 7% this week and has outperformed the broader markets.

Macrotech sees macro sales bookings

The Mumbai-based realtor posted a consolidated net profit of ₹286 crore, up 24% year-on-year in the December quarter. The growth was supported by a 36% rise in revenues to ₹2,059 crore and lower finance costs.

It witnessed a strong 40% growth in pre-sales (sales before construction is completed), which is the highest in the last three years. Further, it has strengthened its balance sheet with sharp reduction in net debt from around ₹16,000 crore in March ‘21 to nearly ₹9,900 crore. The company believes that the housing industry has entered a multi-year up cycle.

United Spirits tumbles

The beverage giant posted a revenue of ₹2,885 crore, up 16% year-on-year, driven by sustained demand in off-trade channels (i.e. direct retail sales) and recovery in the on-trade channels (i.e. bars and restaurants).

It’s net profit grew 27% year-on-year to ₹291 crore. The company turned debt free in the December quarter on the back of healthy operating cash flow. Meanwhile, the stock saw profit booking today.

Budget buzz

Experts believe that the government is expected to miss its FY22 divestment target, which was set during last year’s union budget. The government is expected to fall short of its target primarily due to the likely delay in the launch of LIC IPO. However, divestment and privatisation of state-owned companies is likely to gather momentum in the upcoming budget. Besides LIC, BPCL and IDBI Bank stake sales are expected to be rolled over to FY23.

Good to know

What is a SKU?

In inventory management, a stock keeping unit (SKU) is each distinct item among the total items available for sale by a company. The uniqueness of the item could be its colour, size, description, etc. When a company takes inventory of its stock, it counts the quantity it has of each SKU. For example the recently listed women wear brand Go Colors had 728 SKUs, as of July 2021. Among its peers, it offered one of the widest portfolios of bottom-wear products in terms of colours and styles.

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