Indian stock market and companies daily report (February 21, 2012, Tuesday)

The domestic markets are expected to open flat or marginally in green following higher closing across most of the western markets. Asian stock markets are trading flat as investors remain cautions and wait for European finance ministers in Brussels to approve a crucial second bailout for Greece.

The US markets traded choppily on Friday (closed on Monday) as the economic data releases painted a mixed picture with a report from the Conference Board showing that its index of leading economic indicators increased for the fourth consecutive month in January, while another report from the Labor Department showing only a modest increase in consumer prices in the month of January. Although investors seemed reluctant to make any significant moves going into the long weekend, optimism that European finance ministers will approve a new bailout package for Greece helped to keep traders from doing much profit taking. Meanwhile Indian shares rebounded on Friday after some consolidation the day before, with firm global cues supporting the liquidity-driven rally.

Markets Today

The trend deciding level for the day is 18,315/5,572 levels. If NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 18,397 – 18,504/5,599 – 5,634 levels. However, if NIFTY trades below 18,315/5,572 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 18,208 – 18,126/5,537 – 5,511 levels.

Cement companies raise prices

Cement companies have raised prices in the northern and western regions in the range of Rs.7 to Rs.10 per bag with effect from February 17, 2011. The price hike follows the correction in the region during January due to the severe winter season, which affected construction activities. We believe the recent price hike is an effort by cement manufacturers to pass on the hike in operating costs. We are currently Neutral on the cement sector, as we believe valuations are significantly ahead of the cycle, but we maintain our Buy recommendation on JK Lakshmi Cement due to its attractive valuations, with a target price of Rs.79.

NMDC cuts ore prices; lowers volume guidance

NMDC has cut prices of iron ore fines and lumps by 20% and 3%, respectively, for 4QFY2012 on the back of the decline in global iron prices, the recent rupee appreciation and increased export duty on iron ore. The price cut by NMDC is higher than our expectations given the shortage of iron ore in the domestic markets.

NMDC has also lowered its sales volume guidance for FY2012 and FY2013. The company now expects sales volumes of 27mn tonnes and 30mn tonnes (earlier 30 mn tonnes and 33mn tonnes) for FY2012 and FY2013, respectively. Although the company has ~5mn tonnes of iron ore inventory at its mine pit-heads, however it faces logistical constraints to increase off take due to breakdown in slurry pipeline, lower availability of railway rakes and stricter regulations in transportation of iron ore in Karnataka. Considering the company’s revised sales volumes guidance, we lower our 4QFY2012 and FY2013 realization and sales volume estimates.

Although NMDC has a strong balance sheet, presence in sellers market (iron ore), low cost of production, high-grade mines and long mine life, we now expect sales volumes to witness a CAGR of only 5.2% over FY2011-2013. On account of lower volume growth and lower realization, NMDC’s bottom line is expected to grow by only 4.0% yoy during FY2013. Further, given the 23% rise in the stock price since January 1, 2012, we recommend Neutral on the stock.

Result Review – 4QCY2011

CRISIL announced its 4QCY2011 numbers. Net sales increased by 26.6% yoy to Rs.225cr (Rs.177cr) led by strong growth in the research segment. Research segments revenue increased by 34.0% yoy while the rating segment and advisory segments revenue increased by 14.1% and 7.0% respectively. EBITDA increased by 15.2% yoy to Rs.80cr (Rs.69cr) due to higher revenue. EBITDA margin declined by 352bps yoy to 35.6% (39.1%). PAT increased by 10.4% yoy to Rs.56cr (Rs.51cr) while margin declined by 366bps yoy to 24.8% (28.5%) almost in line with EBITDA margin contraction. We will be coming out with a detailed report post management interaction. We continue to maintain an Neutral rating on the stock.

Economic and Political News
- Government may let foreign individuals directly buy corporate debt
- Railways stares at a Rs.2lakh cr crunch
- Bankers agree to subscribe to Air India’s Rs.7,400cr bond issue

Corporate News
- Ashok Leyland's Optare eyes small bus market
- Frozen bank accounts led to disruptions: Kingfisher
- Essar Oil plans to raise Rs.3,000cr in next 15 months

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Indian stock market and companies daily report (January 09, 2011, Monday)

Indian markets are expected to open in red taking cues from gap down opening in most of the Asian markets and negative closing in most of the global markets on Friday. The Indian markets ended flat to modestly high on Friday, reversing early declines, as European stocks rose and expectations of an interest rate cut this month heightened.
Globally, most of the US and European markets closed lower on Friday traders shrugged off another upbeat U.S. employment report amid continued concerns about the ongoing European debt crisis, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading. Selling pressure in global markets was also generated by news that Fitch Ratings downgraded Hungary to junk status. Adding to the concerns, ECB said overnight deposits by European commercial banks reached a new record high of EUR455.3bn. The markets this week be closely watching out from IIP numbers and Infosys results which will be released on January 12, 2012. Infosys result is expected to set tone for the upcoming result season.

Markets Today
The trend deciding level for the day is 15,861 / 4,750 levels. If NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 15,888 – 15,926 / 4,757– 4,766 levels. However, if NIFTY trades below 15,861 / 4,750 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 15,823 – 15,796 / 4,740 – 4,733 levels.

NTPC gets back three de-allocated coal blocks
The Coal Ministry has given back three coal blocks to NTPC Ltd. The ministry had taken back these blocks last year as the company had failed to develop them within the stipulated period. All the blocks have been given back on the condition that they would be developed within two years, failing which they would be again taken back by the Coal Ministry. At the CMP, the stock is trading at P/BV of 1.6x its FY2013 estimates. We maintain our Buy recommendation on the stock with a target price of `200.

Idea challenges fresh liquidated damages imposed for two circles
Idea Cellular has approached telecom tribunal TDSAT against the government’s move to impose additional liquidated damages on it for not meeting roll-out obligations in two circles – Haryana and Maharashtra. The contention of the telco is that when the main penalty for these two circles has already been set aside by the tribunal, there is no point in imposing the additional penalty. The main penalty had been set aside on December 5. The counsel appearing for Idea also said that DoT has imposed penalty on it without serving a show cause notice, thereby denying it an opportunity to present its case in a proper manner. TDSAT has directed the DoT to file reply on Idea's plea by Wednesday. It has also asked DoT not to take any action against the operator. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Economic and Political News
- 9% growth in 12th Plan a challenge, says Montek Singh
- Proposal for Japanese FDI in DMIC project gets MEA nod
- Fiscal deficit may be more than projected, says Pranab Mukherjee

Corporate News
- Ashok Leyland Stile and Partner unveiled
- After Kingfisher, AI Express, DGCA raps other carriers
- JSPL commissions new unit, capacity rises to 917 MW
- GMR Infra issues debentures worth `250cr to GMR Airports
- Mundra UMPP's first 800MW unit starts production

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Indian stock market and companies daily report (January 05, 2012, Thursday)

Indian markets are expected to open lower following negative cues from the European markets and the Asian markets. Asian stocks are trading in the red after Italy’s biggest bank said it needs to raise more capital, spurring concern that the European debt crisis is worsening.

Indian shares ended a choppy session modestly lower on Wednesday, with key benchmarks indices losing less than half a percent each, as investors took some profits after a two-day rally.

European shares snapped a four-day streak of gains on Wednesday as UniCredit SpA’s plan to sell shares fueled concern that banks need to raise capital to weather the debt crisis. US market traded lower in the first half due to profit taking, with some traders cashing in on Tuesday's strong gains amid lingering concerns about the European debt crisis and the outlook for the global economy. The downward momentum was partly offset by the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing a rebound in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods, leading to US markets ending marginally in the green.

Markets Today

The trend deciding level for the day is 15,903/4,754 levels. If NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 15,984 - 16,086/4,779 - 4,808 levels. However, if NIFTY trades below 15,903/4,754 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 15,802 - 15,721/4,725 - 4,700 levels.

Cement Dispatches – December 2011

UltraTech reported cement dispatches for December 2011, which were up by strong 10.6% yoy to 3.62mn tonnes. However, for 3QFY2012, growth in dispatches has been modest at 5.9%. In December 2011, the company managed to post better growth in dispatches compared to Ambuja Cements' growth, which reported modest growth of 5.7% yoy. We continue to remain Neutral on UltraTech.

KEC International secures orders worth Rs.1,253cr

KEC International (KEC) has bagged orders totaling Rs.1,253cr across various business verticals. In the transmission and distribution space (T&D), the company secured orders worth Rs.976cr. Order intake in MENA region stood at Rs.414cr (Rs.310cr and Rs.104cr worth of orders from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, respectively). SAE Towers secured orders worth Rs.154cr. In addition, Rs.350cr worth of orders came from the U.S., Kenya and Philippines. Notably, only one order came from the domestic T&D space (Rs.59cr), thus demonstrating the company’s globally diversified strength. The completion time of all these orders ranges from 12-27 months. In addition to the above, the company bagged orders in the business verticals of water (Rs.123cr), cables (Rs.105cr) and telecom (Rs.49cr). The current order book of the company stands at Rs.9,000cr.

KEC’s globally diversified model has enabled it to gain an edge over its domestic peers in the T&D space. While domestic players have struggled to secure orders amid the slowdown, KEC has consistently maintained its average quarterly run rate of Rs.1,200 since the past several quarters. In addition, new businesses of water, railway and telecom are faring well (pace of new orders is gradually increasing). Hence, given the latent potential of the company and healthy return ratios (25%), the valuations of 4.3x FY2013E EPS (well below its historic PE multiple average of 14.0x) are compelling. We recommend Buy with a target price of Rs.45.

Economic and Political News
- Government defers decision on PSU disinvestment via buyback-
- Finance Ministry rules out floating rates in postal savings
- Global food prices expected to remain high: FAO

Corporate News
- ONGC finds four more potential reserves
- Bosch to invest Rs.3,000cr in India on expanding capacity
- Hero MotoCorp unveils three new products at Auto Expo, New Delhi
- TCS adds 200 clients on its SME platform iON
- Dhanlaxmi Bank raises NRE term deposit rates

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Share Market Update on Central Bank of India for 1QFY2012

Share Market Update on Central Bank of India for 1QFY2012 with a Neutral recommendation.

For 1QFY2012, Central Bank of India posted a 16.6% yoy decline in its net profit primarily due to higher provisions. However, results were above our estimates on lower-than-estimated operating expenses. A sharp sequential dip in NIM and high slippages despite the pending switchover to system-based NPA platform were the key highlights of the results. We maintain our Neutral view on the stock.

NIM dips on lower yield on investments; slippages remain elevated: The bank’s business momentum slowed during the usually lean quarter. Advances declined by 2.8% qoq (up 17.2% yoy) and deposits increased by 3.6% qoq (up 20.3% yoy). CASA deposits growth moderated to 14.7% yoy, resulting in a 259bp qoq decline in CASA ratio to 32.6%. Bulk deposits and CDs constituted a relatively higher ~33% of total deposits. The reduction in CASA ratio and the higher interest rate environment resulted in a sharp 72bp qoq rise in cost of deposits to 6.8%. The yield on advances went up by 77bp qoq to 11.4%. Reported NIM declined sharply by 48bp qoq to 3.0% primarily due to fall in yield on investments (fall of 73bp qoq). The sequential decline in NIM was exacerbated by the benefit of interest on income tax refund of ~`130cr in 4QFY2011. Overall asset quality of the bank deteriorated during the quarter, with annualised slippage ratio remaining elevated at 1.8% (1.1% in 1QFY2011) and net NPAs rising by 27.7% qoq. Slippages remained elevated at 1.8% as compared to 1.1% in 1QFY2011. Provision coverage ratio including technical write-offs declined to 65.2% from 67.6% in 4QFY2011. The bank is yet to switchover to the system-based NPA recognition platform, which could result in a substantial rise in slippages given the bank’s rural branches (37%) and a relatively large agri (16%) portfolio.

Outlook and valuation: At the CMP, the stock is trading at cheap valuations of 0.8x FY2013E ABV compared to its trading range of 0.5–1.5x with a median of 1.1x since listing in 2007. However, due to near-term asset-quality concerns because of system-based NPA recognition, we remain Neutral on the stock.

Share Market Update on Bhushan Steel for 1QFY2012

Share Market Update on Bhushan Steel for 1QFY2012 with a Neutral recommendation.

Strong top-line growth: During 1QFY2012, Bhushan Steel’s (BSL) net sales grew by 62.6% yoy to `2,232cr mainly on account of higher volumes of flat products. Flat products sales volumes grew by 80.2% yoy to 388,790 tonnes, while long product sales volumes grew by 7.6% yoy to 100,664 tonnes in 1QFY2012. Long product average realisation increased by 18.2% yoy to `42,915/tonne, while flat product average realisation decreased by 3.2% yoy to `49,294/tonne.

Depreciation and interest costs mute net profit growth: During 1QFY2012, EBITDA increased by 62.1% yoy to `661cr, representing EBITDA margin of 29.6%, compared to 29.7% in 1QFY2011. EBITDA/tonne increased to `13,505 (US$300) in 1QFY2012, compared to `13,186 (US$293) in 1QFY2011. Depreciation expense increased by 182.4% yoy to `151cr due to increased capacity, while interest expense increased by 173.8% yoy to `216cr because of higher debt. A sharp increase in depreciation and interest costs resulted in net profit growth of only 2.0% yoy (despite 62.1% growth in EBITDA) to `210cr.

Outlook and valuation: At the CMP, the stock is trading at 8.1x FY2012E and 7.1x FY2013E EV/EBITDA, a significant premium over its peers. Although we expect sales volume growth of 24.8% over FY2011–15E, we believe it is too early to play the volume growth story of BSL as strong volume growth is expected only post FY2013. Further, although BSL uses a combination of BF-EAF technology to produce steel, rising prices of iron ore and coal will affect its margins. Moreover, BSL’s debt-equity ratio remains high. Further, we believe the increase in the stock price in the past three months fairly discounts the growth prospects of BSL. Hence, we maintain our Neutral view on the stock.