The country’s largest lender, SBI, is doing well on all fronts State Bank of India just delivered a class in how to navigate a tricky credit environment. While private sector banks grapple with slowing loan demand and margin pressure, the government-owned behemoth posted 6% quarterly loan growth while keeping net interest margins above the psychologically … Read more
The state-owned behemoth is shedding its mass-market legacy for higher-margin products. Life Insurance Corporation of India is pulling off something remarkable: teaching an elephant to dance. The state-owned insurance giant, long synonymous with low-margin, mass-market policies sold door-to-door by millions of agents, is executing a pivot that’s starting to show in the numbers. Third-quarter results … Read more
India’s fifth-largest drugmaker is thriving in diabetes and cardiac care while waiting for its infection-treatment business to recover Mankind Pharma is executing a textbook transition from acute to chronic therapies, and the third-quarter numbers prove the strategy is working—mostly. The company posted 11.5% revenue growth to Rs 35,672 million, beating estimates, while margins expanded to … Read more
India’s Jockey licensee is managing margins brilliantly while volume growth stalls. Page Industries delivered a technically clean third quarter, beating Street estimates on both growth and profitability. Yet beneath the headline numbers lies a more nuanced story—one of a premium brand navigating the delicate balance between maintaining margins and reviving volume growth in a subdued … Read more
The financial conglomerate’s long-suffering insurance arms are rebounding. But is that enough to justify a valuation that’s relied heavily on its stellar lending business? For years, investors saw the financial conglomerate’s underperforming life and general insurance subsidiaries because its flagship lending arm, Bajaj Finance, delivered spectacular returns. Now the insurance businesses are pulling their weight. … Read more
India’s state-owned iron ore miner is digging itself into a profitability hole. Higher output can’t compensate for soaring costs and weak pricing power. NMDC is learning a that in commodities, volume isn’t everything. India’s largest iron ore producer posted impressive production numbers in the December quarter—14.7 million tonnes, up 44% sequentially—yet investors have little to … Read more
India’s second-largest paint maker is chasing market share at the expense of profitability, why that may not paint a good hue on the stock Berger Paints India is discovering that winning the volume war doesn’t necessarily translate into shareholder value. The country’s second-largest decorative paints company delivered 8.5% volume growth in the December quarter, yet … Read more
India’s hotel operator is mastering the art of rate increases while learning the hard way that filling new inventory takes time. . For Chalet Hotels, the average room rates surged 16% year-on-year in the December quarter while revenue per available room climbed 12%, according to Philip Capital. But occupancy slipped to 67.9% from 70.2% a … Read more
Morgan Stanley’s harsh downgrade signals a structural shift threatening the state aerospace champion’s monopoly India’s state-owned aerospace champion may be losing altitude. Hindustan Aeronautics stock tumbled 6% on February 4 as investors digested a reality: the company that once monopolized India’s military aviation is being systematically sidelined by private competitors. Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to underweight … Read more
India’s consumer lending giant is front-loading provisions in a bet that pessimism today beats nasty surprises tomorrow. Investors aren’t convinced—yet. Bajaj Finance delivered a textbook example of financial prudence. Net profit fell 6% year-on-year to Rs 40.7 billion in the December quarter as provisions surged 77%, driven by what Philip Capital describes as an “accelerated … Read more