And therefore, the 65 per cent decline in Q2 profit could not drag the auto stock any further. If anything, the stock rose 0.40 per cent, on a bad day for the market, to close at Rs 7,325.20 on the BSE.
The company said adverse commodity prices and lower sales volume due to electronic component shortages impacted its performance in the September quarter. What might have lifted sentiment is the fact that the company had more than 2,00,000 pending customer orders at the end of the quarter. Analyst views are awaited though.
jumps on price hike hopes
This stock climbed 4.43 per cent to Rs 3,094.40 after a couple of brokerages said their interactions with dealers suggest the paintmaker plans to execute another 15-45 per cent price increase, effective November 12.
This is in addition to the recent 7.5 per cent price increases, they said.
“Such high price hikes are unprecedented in the paint industry. While on one hand, this would improve Asian Paints’ profitability, on the other hand, it could result in a moderation in its volume trajectory,” said Centrum Broking.
IRB pref allotment hurts stock
IRB Infra’s decision to allot preference shares to a subsidiary of Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial SA and an affiliate of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC at a steep 28 per cent discount did not go down well with investors.
The scrip hit a 10 per cent lower circuit limit at Rs 265 for the day. Analysts, however, believe the development would tackle the twin issues of leverage and growth capital. Post infusion, the net debt to equity ratio at the consolidated level will fall to 1.2 times from 2.1 times while the growth capital earmarked at Rs 1,500 crore will help IRB win larger projects with potential assets, they said.
Axis Bank’s credit growth disappoints investors
This stock was the worst Sensex performer for the day, falling 6.52 per cent to Rs 787.35 on BSE. Axis Bank’s Q2 credit growth at 10 per cent lagged peers like ICICI (up 17 per cent), HDFC Bank (up 15 per cent) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 15 per cent). That did not go down with investors, as they sent the stock tumbling below Rs 800 mark. This is even as lower provisioning helped the private lender log an 86 per cent YoY surge in the September quarter profit. Analysts, however, are positive on the stock with price targets suggesting up to 30 per cent potential upside.
