Latest news with #AnantaAgarwal
Mint
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
India auto dealers cautious on June sales amid rare earth curbs, high inventory
(Reuters) -Indian auto dealers expect demand to remain cautious in June as high inventory levels, tighter financing and concerns around rare earth shortages weigh on the industry. While above-normal monsoons are expected to support tractor and two-wheeler sales in semi-urban and rural markets, shortages of rare earths - critical to EV production - could sap demand, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India said. Only a third of the industry body's members expect growth in June, while around 55% expect flat sales. Automakers and dealers have been counting on new EV launches to drive growth this year and soften the blow of slowing sales of combustion engine cars in urban areas. "...global supply-chain headwinds — from rare-earth constraints in EV components to ongoing geopolitical tensions —may keep urban consumer sentiment in check," FADA said. To be sure, while sales of EVs in India have been growing at a faster pace than their gasoline counterparts, they still accounted for just 2.5% of the 4.3 million cars sold last fiscal year. China's suspension of exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended supply chains crucial to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors. Global automakers have warned of production halts due to the export restrictions. While Indian carmakers are yet to publicly disclose the impact of the curbs, an auto industry body privately told the government last month it expects production "to come to a grinding halt" as early as the end of May or early June. India's top e-scooter maker Bajaj Auto last week said any delays in lifting the export curbs would hurt the production of its electric scooters from July. TVS Motor, too, has warned of an impact by June or July. The FADA also said high inventories of cars and commercial vehicles remain an overhang for dealers. Inventories for cars stood at 52-53 days in May, above FADA's recommended level of 21 days. (Reporting by Ananta Agarwal and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
Mint
27-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Indias TTK Prestige posts quarterly profit fall on weak rural sales
(Reuters) -Indian kitchenware maker TTK Prestige reported a 39% fall in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, as rural volumes remained under pressure due to reduced lending by microfinance institutions. The company reported a profit before tax and exceptional items of 453.8 million rupees ($5.32 million) in the quarter ended March 31, down from 745.2 million rupees a year earlier. It booked a one-time impairment charge of 714 million rupees related to its UK subsidiary, Horwood Homewares, on continued stress in the UK economy, and the threat of tariffs from the U.S. possibly compounding that, TTK said. Its shares were down nearly 6% after the results. Overall revenue from operations rose nearly 4.3% to 6.5 billion rupees, while total expenses increased 9.5%. For further earnings highlights, click here. Microfinance lenders have been issuing fewer collateral-free small loans to borrowers in the rural parts of the country, amid rising default rates, following a period of aggressive lending in the segment. TTK Prestige, which has a "significant share of sales" from rural areas, said it is seeing a slowdown in rural volumes as a result. While its sales from traditional channels, which include stores and e-commerce grew 10.2%, the sales hit in rural areas pulled overall growth down to 2.7%. Higher aluminium prices during the quarter also impacted performance, said TTK. Valuation (next 12 Estimates (next 12 Analysts' sentiment RIC PE EV/EBI Price/ Revenue Profit Mean No. of Stock to Div TDA Sales growth (%) growth (%) rating* analyst price yield TTK Prestige 36.27 24.66 8.95 25.05 Hold 4 0.88 0.88 Voltas 37.87 30.48 2.19 11.56 19.51 Buy 33 0.87 0.44 Havells India 53.66 35.47 3.92 14.14 21.29 Buy 24 0.88 0.64 Crompton Greaves 34.00 21.78 2.38 10.89 19.15 Buy 30 0.82 0.84 * The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT JANUARY TO MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE -- $1 = 85.3790 Indian rupees (Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Indian textile firm Arvind warns US tariffs to hit margins in fiscal year 2026
By Ananta Agarwal and Hritam Mukherjee (Reuters) -Indian textile manufacturer Arvind's margins may come under pressure in the first two quarters of the ongoing fiscal year, as it partly absorbs the impact of U.S. tariff policy, a company executive said on Thursday. Top U.S. retailers have been haggling with suppliers over how the costs that U.S. tariffs are set to impose might be distributed, Reuters has reported. Arvind said it will strive to reduce costs and increase volumes to lessen the pressure on margins and pause all non-critical and discretionary capital expenditure until there is clarity on tariffs. It also did not provide a forecast for the fiscal year due to "prevailing uncertainty" and plans to issue one "at a later stage". Its shares closed down about 5% after the comments, despite a 52% year-on-year increase in its fourth-quarter net profit to 1.51 billion rupees ($17.64 million). "The demand situation is the most robust we have seen in recent memory," Arvind's vice chairman Punit Lalbhai said in a post-earnings call, adding that customers are talking about volume increases and advancing orders. India remains in a comparatively favorable position due to the heftier tariffs that could hit bigger U.S. garment suppliers such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and China, from July. Exports made up nearly 40% of Arvind's annual revenue in fiscal year 2024, according to its annual report. Part of the volume benefit could come from the UK-India free trade agreement, the company said, as the pact will open up a new "key geography". UK currently makes up less than 2% of its business. ($1 = 85.5800 Indian rupees) Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zomato-parent Eternal's quick commerce expansion saps fourth-quarter profit
By Ananta Agarwal (Reuters) -Indian online delivery player Eternal reported a nearly 78% drop in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as its fast-growing quick commerce arm Blinkit spent aggressively to open more stores and stave off intense competition. Shares of Eternal, which officially changed its name from Zomato in March, had more than doubled in each of the last two years, partly fueled by optimism around Blinkit's success. But competition in India's quick commerce space is intensifying. Blinkit accelerated store openings and offered discounts and subsidized delivery as it jostled for market share with smaller rivals, Swiggy's Instamart and start-up Zepto. Eternal said it sees the competition intensifying in the near term. "The impact is visible in the lack of significant margin expansion that we would have otherwise expected," Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said in a call with analysts. Quarterly revenue from Blinkit more than doubled year on year to 17.09 billion rupees. But adjusted core loss widened to 1.78 billion rupees from 370 million rupees last year, while its store count has more than doubled year on year to 1301 stores. Eternal on Thursday also flagged likely competition from companies like Amazon and Walmart backed Flipkart, where some delivery times have shortened to four to six hours. The two giants are also newer entrants in the quick commerce industry. Meanwhile, growth in Eternal's food delivery platform, Zomato, has slowed down the past few months due to a "sluggish demand environment" and competition from quick commerce itself, which delivers packaged meals, Eternal said. The company also said it is shutting down Zomato Quick, which delivered food from nearby restaurants with the speed of quick commerce, months after rolling the service out, citing "inconsistent customer experience". Adjusted revenue for Zomato grew 17% year-on-year to 24.09 billion rupees, below Eternal's forecast of 20% growth. Eternal reported a consolidated net profit of 390 million rupees ($4.6 million) in the March quarter, compared to 1.75 billion rupees last year. ($1 = 84.5880 Indian rupees)
The Star
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
India's Zomato-parent Eternal profit drops on expansion of quick commerce business
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Indian food delivery company Zomato is seen on its app on a mobile phone displayed in front of its company website in this illustration picture taken July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - Indian online delivery player Eternal reported a nearly 78% drop in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday as it opened more stores to expand its fast-growing quick commerce arm, which delivers items from milk to mobile phones within 15 minutes. The company also said it will shut down Zomato Quick, which delivered food from nearby restaurants with the speed of quick commerce, just months after rolling the service out, citing "inconsistent customer experience." Eternal, which officially changed its name from Zomato on March 20, reported a consolidated net profit of 390 million rupees ($4.6 million) in the quarter ended March 31, compared to 1.75 billion rupees a year ago. Quick commerce, largely catering to the largest consumption category of groceries, has become a fiercely competitive space in India while growing at a blistering pace, with top players jostling for market share. Eternal's quick commerce platform Blinkit competes with rival Swiggy's Instamart, which has a smaller market share, and start-up Zepto. These companies have ramped up discounts and subsidized deliveries while pouring money into opening more stores. "Our view is that competition is going to intensify further from here in the near term," Eternal said in a letter to shareholders, adding that even next-day delivery companies are competing for market share. Revenue from Blinkit more than doubled year-on-year to 17.09 billion rupees, compared to 7.69 billion rupees a year earlier. However, Blinkit's adjusted core loss widened to 1.78 billion rupees in the fourth quarter from 370 million rupees a year earlier as it added a record 294 stores in the quarter. Meanwhile, Eternal's food delivery platform, Zomato, which earns the highest revenue by segment, has seen a slowdown in the past few months due to a "sluggish demand environment" and competition from quick commerce itself, which delivers packaged meals, Eternal said. Adjusted revenue for Zomato grew 17% year-on-year to 24.09 billion rupees, below Eternal's forecast of 20% growth. ($1 = 84.5880 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
