Stocks in Focus on January 28: Stove Kraft IPO, Axis Bank, HUL, United Spirits to Hero MotoCorp; here are the 5 Newsmakers of the Day

Domestic shares tumbled sharply on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, on across the board selling pressure. Banks and financial shares tumbled. The Sensex plunged 938 points, or 1.94 per cent, to 47,410. The NSE Nifty also tumbled 271 points, or 1.91 per cent, to settle at 13,968. But certain stocks came in news after the market was closed. These stocks can impact the indices when it reopens on Thursday, January 28, 2021. List of such five stocks:

IPO Update: Stove Kraft Ltd

Stove Kraft Ltd: The Rs 413 crore IPO of Stove Kraft Ltd, a manufacturer of kitchen appliances, was subscribed 2.93 times on the second day of subscription, i.e. January 27, 2021. The retail quota was subscribed 13.08 times and the NII portion saw 1.85 times subscription. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 384 to Rs 385 per equity share. The public issue will close today.

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PVR: India’s largest multiplex chain operator PVR Ltd on Wednesday launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) offering at a floor price of Rs 1,495.9 per share (at a 1.2% premier from current market price, which was Rs 1,478 per share on Wednesday). The multiplex operator seeks to raise as much as Rs 800 crore by selling shares to institutional investors. Besides, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued new Guidelines for Surveillance, Containment and Caution of COVID-19. The guidelines will be effective from February 1, 2021. The QIP will remain in force up to February 28, 2021. Under the revised guidelines, the cinema halls and theatres have already been permitted up to 50 per cent of seating capacity and now they will be permitted to operate at higher seating capacity, for which a revised SOP will be issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in consultation with the Home Ministry.

Post Market Results: Axis Bank + HUL 

Axis Bank: Axis Bank on Wednesday reported a 36.4% year-on-year drop in net profit to Rs 1,116.6 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. The private lender reported a net profit of Rs 1,757 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. Net interest margin (NIM) for the quarter rose to 14.2% to Rs 7372.8 crore from Rs 6,453 crore posted in the year-ago quarter. Overall, provisions and contingencies for the quarter stood at Rs 4,604, which was 33% higher than Rs 3,471 crore reported in the year-ago quarter and 0.5% higher than Rs 4,580 crore reported in the September quarter. In value terms, gross NPAs fell to 3.4% in Q3FY21 against 4.2% posted in Q2FY21. Net NPAs also came down to 0.74% in the December quarter from 1% reported in the previous quarter. Watch list has moved from Rs14500cr in Q4FY18 to Rs14138cr in Q3FY21.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL): FMCG major Hindustan Unilever on January 27, 2021, posted an 18.9% year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 1,921 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. It posted a profit of Rs 1,616 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenues grew 21% to Rs 11,862 crore in the reported quarter against Rs 9,808 crore posted last year. EBITDA stood at Rs 2,854 crore, up 16.7%, from Rs 2,445 crore. EBITDA margins declined to 24% in Q3FY21 from 24.9% reported in Q3FY20. The company said its Ad Expenses went up by 19.3% to Rs 1,388 crore against Rs 1,163 crore reported last year. It added, volume grew by 4%. Health, hygiene and nutrition portfolio continues to grow in double digits, and we have seen significant improvement in discretionary categories. Beauty & Personal Care grew 9% with robust performance across categories and strong double-digit growths in Skin Cleansing, Hair Care and Oral Care. Besides, the company has appointed Ritesh Tiwari as Executive Director, Finance & Chief Financial Officer and a member of the board, which will be effective from May 1, 2021. He will succeed in Srinivas Phatak. 

Post Market Results: United Spirits + ICICI Prudential + Nippon Life Asset Management

United Spirits: The liquor maker United Spirits Ltd (USL) on Wednesday reported an 8.2% year-on-year rise in net profit at Rs 280.3 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2020. Diageo-controlled liquor maker has posted a net profit of Rs 259 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations grew 3.5% to Rs 2,673 crore from Rs 2,583 crore posted last year. EBITDA stood at Rs 457.6 crore in the reported quarter, up 7.9%, from Rs 424 crore. The margin grew to 17.1% in Q3FY21 from 16.4% posted in Q2FY20. Besides, the company also entered into a definitive agreement to sell its entire shareholding in its non-operative subsidiary – Tern Distilleries Private Limited for a consideration of Rs 30 crore.

ICICI Prudential: Private sector life insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Wednesday reported a 1.3% year-on-year jump in the net profit at Rs 306 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2020 (Q3FY21). The insurer has reported a net profit of Rs 302 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Net Premium grew by 10.3% to Rs 8,970.8 crore in December quarter against Rs 8,131 crore reported in the same period a year ago. New business premium stood at Rs 3,443 crore. The annualised premium equivalent (APE) stood at Rs 1,666 crore, down 18.3% year-on-year (YoY), from Rs 2,040 crore. APE refers to 100% of regular premiums and 10% of single premiums collected in a given year.

Nippon Life Asset Management: Consolidated net profit of Nippon Life India Asset Management (NAM India) rose 41.7% to Rs 211.5 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2020, as against Rs 149.3 crore posted during the previous quarter ended December 2019. Revenue declined 11.4% to Rs 268.46 crore in the quarter ended December 2020 as against Rs 303.1 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2019. The board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 3 per share.

Hero MotoCorp: In line with its global expansion strategy, Hero MotoCorp will soon commence its operations in Mexico. The world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters has entered into a distribution agreement with Grupo Salinas, founded by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas. Grupo Salinas is a group of dynamic, fast-growing and technologically advanced companies focused on creating economic, social and environmental value. In the first phase of operations, Hero MotoCorp will launch nine products, including motorcycles - for work (100cc), street (125cc), premium (150cc, 160cc) and on-off segments - and scooters. All these products are being designed and developed at Hero’s state-of-the-art R&D hubs in India and Germany.