Latest news with #BloombergIndia
Mint
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Ola Electric Sinks Most in Nearly Two Months as Loss Deepens
(Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. fell the most since early April after reporting quarterly losses that more than doubled from a year earlier, a performance that founder Bhavish Aggarwal said was marred by operational delays, weak demand and rising competition. The stock dropped as much as 9.7% Friday, the biggest intraday decline since April 7, and was trading down 5.3% as of 11:34 a.m. in Mumbai. Net loss widened to 8.7 billion rupees ($102 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 4.16 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said Thursday. Revenue fell 62% year-on-year to 6.11 billion rupees. The e-scooter maker in India has seen its shares slip more than 40% this year after a blockbuster listing in August amid multiple crises in recent months. It has faced Indian government scrutiny for counting bookings for yet-to-be launched electric motorcycles and e-scooters as part of monthly sales and faced raids and vehicle seizures by state officials for lack of trade certificates at stores and alleged violation of customer rights. Ola said it saw higher sales but lower revenue — yet sales are only recognized once a vehicle is delivered, which was disrupted during the quarter. The company's decision to abruptly terminate ties with its registration vendors led to delays in vehicle registrations, directly impacting deliveries. This, coupled with persistent product quality issues that have left service centers overcrowded with repairs, significantly weighed on profitability. Aggarwal also acknowledged the intense competition Ola is facing from incumbents in India's e-two-wheeler market. The company has been rapidly ceding ground to rivals such as Bajaj Auto Ltd. and TVS Motor Co., amid multiple regulatory hurdles and customer dissatisfaction. 'In the last quarter or two, we have lost market share as market penetration grew slower than we expected and competitive intensity increased significantly across all levers of distribution, product and pricing,' he told analysts in a post-earnings conference call. In a further blow, the launch of its flagship Roadster electric motorcycle — originally scheduled for January, then March, then May — will now occur in a 'phased manner.' Analysts remain skeptical about the company's turnaround prospects, with Kotak Securities Ltd.'s Rishi Vora expecting operating profit losses to continue amid weakening brand equity and intensifying competition. 'Ola Electric's future hinges on scaling up volumes and successful motorcycle foray, which faces execution and credibility challenges,' Vora wrote in a note Friday, while downgrading the stock to 'sell' from 'reduce,' and slashing its price target to 30 rupees from 50 rupees. Aggarwal also disclosed a one-time warranty provision of 2.5 billion rupees during the quarter to cover expected costs from Gen 1 and Gen 2 scooters. In a bid to boost sagging demand and support the stock, Ola announced a 48-hour flash sale on its S1X 3kWh scooter variant on Friday, slashing prices to 74,999 rupees and offering a 50% discount on its MoveOS software upgrade. The company is also offering a free extended battery warranty as part of the promotion. Other key numbers from Thursday's results: --With assistance from Chiranjivi Chakraborty. (Updates with further details.) More stories like this are available on
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
India-US Yield Gap at 20-Year Low Spurs Concern of Fund Outflows
(Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. India's bond yield premium over the US has narrowed to its smallest in two decades, likely risking fund outflows from local debt. The spread between the benchmark 10-year India debt and the US has shrunk to about 173 basis points, a level last seen in 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Indian bond yields have been declining, driven by the country's strong fiscal position, easing inflation, and expectations of lower interest rates, according to DBS Bank Ltd. This trend diverges from the US, where unfunded tax cuts have sparked fiscal concerns. The contrast has even led billionaire banker Uday Kotak to wonder whether Indian yields could eventually dip below those in the US. 'This compression is likely to hold given a favorable change in India's rates backdrop at this juncture, while investors' worries over US' fiscal strains are still to be addressed,' Radhika Rao, senior economist wrote in a note. Foreign funds have poured a net $2.3 billion in rupee debt so far this year, though the current quarter has seen about $4 billion of outflows. While a shrinking yield advantage is negative for emerging markets, India's strong macros may still ensure some inflows, traders say. 'Though the narrowing spread normally reduce the fund flow to Indian market, this time with sound fiscal position and less riskier currency dynamics we may still get flows in debt market,' said Gopal Tripathi, head of treasury and capital markets at Jana Small Finance Bank. Indian bonds are more integrated with global markets after the addition of local sovereign bonds to key emerging market indexes including those managed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
India, US Hold ‘Constructive' Trade Talks, Says Piyush Goyal
By Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here.
Mint
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
India's Short-Term Bonds Rally on Hopes of Record RBI Dividend
(Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. Shorter-tenor Indian bonds are leading a rally, with the government borrowing costs dropping to a three-year low at a bill auction on expectations of a bumper dividend payout from the central bank later this week. The yield on five-year benchmark debt fell as much as five basis points to 5.85%. The cutoff yield for the shortest 91-day paper at the treasury bill sale came in at 5.7124%, the lowest since Sept. 2022, beating expectations of 5.74% in a Bloomberg survey. The 182- and 364-day bill cutoffs were also lower than expected. Banking liquidity has swung to a surplus of 2 trillion rupees from a deficit of as much as 3.3 trillion rupees earlier in the year, driven by the Reserve Bank of India's debt purchases that have exceeded its Covid-era levels. A record dividend payout to the government is expected to further amplify this surplus. The RBI board will meet on Friday to consider the dividend, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week. Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. estimates the monetary authority to transfer as much as 3.5 trillion rupees ($41.4 billion) to the government,while IDFC First Bank Ltd. forecasts the dividend to be about 3 trillion rupees for the fiscal year that ends in March. The RBI paid out 2.1 trillion rupees in the previous year. 'Expectations of liquidity increasing in the system post RBI's dividend payout and hopes of a deeper rate cutting cycle,' are helping shorter bond outperform, said Puneet Pal, head of fixed income at PGIM Asset Management Ltd. The central bank is expected to cut its rate again in the June policy for a third straight time this year, as easing inflation helps it support growth Shorter-dated papers have outperformed longer notes in recent weeks, likely due to expectations of a large dividend payout likely leading the RBI to cut down on its open market bond purchases. That could hurt demand for longer papers. As a result, the five-year yield has dropped 20 basis points this month, compared to a 12 basis point drop in the benchmark 10-year paper. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
India's Short-Term Bonds Rally on Hopes of Record RBI Dividend
Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. Shorter-tenor Indian bonds are leading a rally, with the government borrowing costs dropping to a three-year low at a bill auction on expectations of a bumper dividend payout from the central bank later this week.
