Stocks in Focus on October 20: Nestle, LTTS, Mastek, ACC to Deepak Fertilizers; here are top 5 shares

The key equity indices snapped their winning streak and closed with marginal loss on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 49.54 points, 0.08%, to 61,716.05. The Nifty 50 index closed 58.30 points, or 0.32%, at 18,418.75. But certain stocks came in the news after the market was closed. These stocks can impact the indices when it reopens on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. List of such five stocks:

Nestle: FMCG Giant on Tuesday reported a 5.2% YoY rise in the profit at Rs 617.4 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 (Q3CY21). It had posted a profit of Rs 587.1 crore in the year-ago quarter. Nestle India follows a January to December financial year. Revenue from operations rose 9.6% YoY to Rs 3,882.6 crore compared to Rs 3,541.7 crore posted last year. EBITDA grew 5.8% YoY to Rs 952 crore compared to Rs 900 crore posted last year. Margins contracted to 24.5% in Q3CY21 compared to a margin of 25.4% posted in Q3CY20. The revenue growth came mainly from broad-based domestic sales growth which increased by 10.1% and was largely driven by volume and mix. Exports witnessed a marginal growth of 1.3% against the expectation of 7% growth. Besides, Nestle has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 110 per share and October 27, 2021, has been fixed as the record date for the purpose. Management Commentary  

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

- E‐commerce channel showed strong acceleration on the back of convenience and pandemic drove consumer behaviour.

 - Continued its path of robust and sustained double-digit growth is not just the large metros, but also “small town Bharat’.

- Out Home consumption: There are signs of a return to pre‐pandemic levels of business traction in some geographies, categories and channels. 

- Input prices are expected to be on a bullish trend both globally and to some extent locally.

- The recent announcement of scrapping import duties on edible oils, if continued next year, beyond March 2022, can have a positive impact on muting food inflation pressures. 

LTTS + Mastek

LTTS: Engineering services firm L&T Technology Services (LTTS) reported a 6.5% QoQ rise in the consolidated profit at Rs 230 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. It had posted a profit of Rs 216 crore in the previous quarter ended June 30, 2021. Revenue from operations grew 5.9% YoY to Rs 1,608 crore as compared to Rs 1,518 crore posted in the previous quarter. Dollar revenues grew 5.5% QoQ at $21.74 crore in the reported quarter as compared to $20.6 crore posted in the previous quarter. EBIT stood at Rs 296 crore, up 13%, from Rs 262 crore posted in the previous quarter. The margin improved to 18.4% in Q2FY22 as compared to 17.3% posted in Q1FY22. Besides, LTTS has declared a special dividend of Rs 10 per share to mark the 5th anniversary of its IPO and fixed October 27, 2021, as the record date for the purpose. The company has reported a 6% sequential growth in constant currency driven by healthy traction in digital engineering across all our five segments. The attrition rate stood at 16.5% in Q2FY22 as against 14.5% posted in Q1FY22. The company has provided its USD revenue growth guidance to 19-20% (16-18% estimated) for FY22. This is the highest operating margin reported by the company. It has seen healthy traction in digital engineering across all five segments.

Verticals QoQ growth 

- Transportation (31.4% rev) 6.20% 

- Industrial Products (20% rev) 8.60% 

- Telecom & Hi-Tech (21.1% rev) 1.40% 

 Geography QoQ growth 

- North America (62.9% rev) 6.80% 

- Europe (16.7% rev) 5.20% 

- India (13% rev) 6.20% 

- ROW (7.4% rev) -2.20% 

Mastek: The software company has reported a 4% QoQ rise in the consolidated profit at Rs 72 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. It had posted a profit of Rs 69 crore in the previous quarter ended June 30, 2021. Revenue from operations grew 3% to Rs 534 crore in the period under consideration from Rs 516 crore posted in the June quarter. Dollar revenues grew 2.5% QoQ at $7.2 crore as compared to $7.02 crore posted in the previous quarter. EBIT remained unchanged at Rs 103 crore in both quarters. Margin dropped slightly to 19.3% in Q2FY22 as compared to 20% posted in Q1FY22. 

ACC + Navin Fluorine + ICICI Prudential 

ACC: The leading cement manufacturer of India has reported a 23.6% YoY rise in the profit on a standalone basis at Rs 449 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 (Q3CY21). It had posted a profit of Rs 363 crore in the year-ago quarter (Q3CY20). ACC Ltd follows a January to December financial year. Sales grew 5.9% YoY to Rs 3,749 crore as compared to Rs 3,537 crore posted last year. EBITDA stood at Rs 712 crore, up 6% YoY, from Rs 670 crore posted last year. The margin remained flat at 18.9%. The cement maker's cement sales volume grew by 1% YoY at 6.6mt.

Navin Fluorine: The chemicals company Navin Fluorine International Ltd. has reported a 7% YoY decline in the consolidated profit at Rs 63 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 (Q2FY22), as compared to a profit of Rs 68 crore posted in the year-ago quarter (Q2FY21). Sequentially, the profit grew 12.5% from Rs 56 crore posted in the quarter ended June 30, 2021 (Q1FY22). Revenue from operations grew 6% YoY to Rs 339 crore as compared to Rs 319 crore posted last year. It posted a revenue of Rs 327 crore in the June quarter. EBITDA stood at Rs 84 crore, down 8% YoY, from Rs 91 crore. It posted an EBITDA of Rs 78 crore in the previous quarter. Navin Fluorine's margin stood at 25% in Q2FY22 as compared to 28% in Q2FY21 and 24% in Q1FY22. Besides, the company has declared an interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share having the nominal value of Rs 2/- each for the financial year ending March 31, 2022. In addition, the company has appointed Mr. Basant Kumar Bansal as CFO and key managerial personnel, w.e.f, November 1, 2021. Ms. Apurva Purohit was appointed as additional director and Independent Director w.e.f October 19, 2021. 

ICICI Prudential: The private sector life insurer ICICI Prudential has reported a 46.5% YoY jump in profits on a standalone basis at Rs 444 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. It had posted a profit of Rs 303 crore in the year-ago quarter. Net premium earned during the September 2021 quarter rose 8.3% at Rs 9,286 crore compared to Rs 8,572 crore posted in the year-ago quarter. The company had Covid-19 claims (net of reinsurance) of Rs 862 crore. Net income growth was driven by the growth in the value of the new business and a massive jump in investment income.

Deepak Fertilizers: The Board of Directors of the Company has approved resolutions for raising funds by way of issue of equity shares, through a qualified institutions placement. It has authorized the opening of the issue on October 19, 2021, and the floor price for the Issue is Rs 422.48 per equity share. Besides, the Board is scheduled to meet on October 22, 2021, to consider and approve Meeting of the Securities Issue Committee is scheduled to be held on October 22, 2021, to inter alia consider and approve the issue price, including a discount, if any thereto, and to consider, determine, and approve the date of closing of the Issue. The Company may at its discretion offer a discount of not more than 5% on the floor price for the issue. 

Astral Ltd + Sterling and Wilson Solar

Astral Ltd: Board of Directors has decided to enter the business verticals of Faucets & Sanitaryware as a part of its growth strategy to leverage the brand ASTRAL. The Faucet & Sanitaryware division has a market potential of Appx. Rs 15,000 crores in India. The company has appointed Mr. Atul Sanghvi, as President (Faucets & Sanitaryware division) to head this vertical.

Sterling and Wilson Solar: The company, reportedly, has plans to sell its textile units of Karnataka and raise up to Rs 1,000 crore by March. It has plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore from asset sales by March 2022.