Tag - Covid-19 crisis

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07 Oct

In-home beverage consumption up 25%; sales at pre-COVID levels- Varun Beverages

Update on the Indian Equity Market:
On Tuesday, Bulls continued to dominate as NIFTY ended up 159 pts (+1.4%) at 11,603.
Among the sectoral indices, METAL (-0.7%), FMCG (-0.19%), and PHARMA (-0.1%) were the losers and FINANCIAL SERVICES (+3.15%), REALTY (+ 2.6%) AND PVT BANK (+2.3 %) were the gainers.
Among the stocks, TATAMOTORS (+7.7%), HDFC (+7.6%), and ADANIPORTS (+3.5%) were the top gainers. BRITANNIA (-1.5%), COALINDIA (-1.3%), and WIPRO (-1.3%) were the top losers.

In-home beverage consumption up 25%; sales at pre-COVID levels- Varun Beverages

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Ravi Kant Jaipuria, Chairman, Varun Beverages with CNBC TV18 dated 5th October 2020:

Varun Beverages (VBL) is the second-largest franchisee (outside US) of carbonated soft drinks and non-carbonated beverages sold under trademarks owned by PepsiCo. It produces and distributes brands such as Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Seven-Up, Mirinda Orange, Mirinda Lemon, Mountain Dew, Seven-Up Nimbooz Masala Soda, Evervess Soda, Duke’s Soda, Sting, Tropicana, Seven-Up Nimbooz, Gatorade and Quaker Oat Milk as well as packaged drinking water under the brand Aquafina.

• Comments on Hotels, Food courts, Restaurants and Bars to operate in Maharashtra from 5th Oct, 2020 at 50% capacity: Maharashtra is an important state but not the biggest state sales wise for Varun Beverages. He further added that UP is the largest contributing state for Varun Beverages. Unlock in any area or region will be helpful for the company to increase the sales and he is happy to know that restaurants, movie theatres are opening up.
• The overall volume sales have reached pre-COVID levels since August, and the numbers for August and September are very close to the numbers logged during the same periods last year.
• When asked about the prospects for the month of October as the restaurants are opening up he stated that September has been better and he is happy with the performance and things are looking good going forward. Opening up of restaurants will definitely help increase the sales but in-home consumption is quite large and on the go consumption has started and they will be back to normal levels soon.
• The supply started in July-20, so July-20 was reasonably good although weaker than July-19 but since August Varun Beverages is doing well and going forward, he doesn’t see any reason why sales should fall or decline unless any major incidence or lockdown happens.
• Whatever fixed cost they could cut down during the lockdown, they have kept it down since then so fundamentally they will be in a good shape as the cost have gone down and volumes are back to normal. So, going forward things are looking pretty good and in shape.
• Unfortunately, they have lost the peak season i.e. April-May-Jun this year but as the go to market keeps on improving and unlock keeps happening things will be back to normal.
• In home beverage consumption has gone up by 25-30% after COVID and on the go consumption is also seeing recovery. If it reaches the normal level he sees huge growth coming in.
• When asked about the revenue contribution, he informed that restaurants and bars contribute less than 5%, in home consumption and on the go consumption are the main business for Varun Beverages.
• When asked whether they are facing any issues at the supply side he replied that they did not had any issue at the supply side and were able to maintain the supply. Production and Supply side was never a challenge for Varun Beverages.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

• The closing price of VBL was ₹ 689/- as of 06-Oct-2020. It traded at 76x/29x/21x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 9.2/24.3/33.1 per share for CY20E/CY21E/ CY22E respectively.
• The consensus target price of ₹ 804/- implies a PE multiple of 24x on CY22E EPS of ₹ 33.1/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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18 Aug

‘Even with Covid, our fresh slippages will be in control’ – SBI

Update on the Indian Equity Market:
On Monday, NIFTY ended up 81 pts (+0.7%) at 11,259.
Among the sectoral indices, MEDIA (+2.6%), AUTO (+2.4%) and METAL (+2.5%) were top gainers while PSUBANK (-0.5%) and PHARMA (-0.3%) were the losers.
Among the stocks, NTPC (+7.5%), EICHERMOT (+4.8%) and ZEEL (+4.7%) were the top gainers. SBI (-1.6%), BHARTIARTL (-1.5%) and BPCL (-1.3%) were the top losers.

‘Even with Covid, our fresh slippages will be in control’ – SBI

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of SBI with Business Standard dated 14th Aug, 2020:

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar doesn’t see any reason to fear a sudden rise in bad debt during the pandemic. Legacy loans are well taken care of, the bank has enough capital, and the exposure to sectors affected by the Covid-19 stress is minuscule in relation to the balance sheet.

• His comments on restructuring of retail loans: SBI team is working on what the policy would be and to whom the relief should be extended. But mostly, the relief, if needed, would be for housing loans where a person has lost a job and is unable to pay his EMI or there’s been a temporary salary cut. In the case of SBI, the housing loan book under moratorium is about ~ Rs 32,000 crore. But he believes most customers would start paying EMIs from September as the moratorium comes to an end. But whoever needs relief should get it.
• When asked whether banks will have enough time to prepare resolution for all under the latest restructuring scheme, he replied that he doesn’t think they will have to wait for the RBI for such an exercise. There are not many accounts in the corporate group of ~ Rs 1,500 crore and above which would need to go to the committee because a lot of work has already happened under the June 7 framework. There will be some modalities that the committee will suggest, but the ground work such as who would need restructuring, their projections, estimations, etc., can be done.
• His views on banker’s ability to project the topline and bottom line: Future projection is the first thing that is considered in any proposal. Of course, the Covid-19 scenario brings in a lot of uncertainty. Nobody knows how long the pandemic will continue and what the revival plan will be. When you give credit or restructure, it’s based on certain assumptions, and even the current exercise will have to return to those assumptions, particularly for the term loans. The maximum one can postpone or restructure the instalments is for two years. So, whoever had to pay in five years will have to pay now in seven years. Another criterion is that the account should be performing. Whatever you have to do is within these two boundaries.
• When asked if SBI will need additional funds for the restructuring exercise he informed that the bank already has Rs 20,000 crs as an enabling provision. SBI will need to raise money from the equity market only if there is a growth in assets, for any sort of provisions for bad loans. For any risk capital, SBI have sufficient earnings and have the value sitting in subsidiaries.
• He stated that restructuring for retail has come for the first time, and is sure that lenders will make their assessment of portfolio. Moratorium by itself is not a pointer that everybody would apply or need restructuring. In the case of SBI, housing loans worth Rs 32,000 crore are under moratorium where zero or one installment has been paid. He believes many of them will start paying from September as moratorium was available and they were preserving cash. The loan to value for SBI in this segment is 60%. The restructuring would be needed in cases where income was impacted which is not a huge number and hence, any fear of large-scale restructuring is uncalled for.
• When asked whether he is concerned about the NPA situation if the pandemic lingers, he said that the scenarios are not uniform for every bank or every institution, it depends on the underwriting practices, or to which sectors they are exposed to, and what their level of risk diversification is. When negative growth is expected, it is natural that stress in the system will go up. It is a wait and watch situation for everyone. In the last three years, most banks have done a lot of clean-up and provision coverage ratio are at an all-time high. As for SBI, the provision coverage ratio (PCR) has improved from 61 to more than 86 per cent. Legacy NPA today is 1.86 per cent, and it was 5 per cent plus.
• He further commented on bad debt impact for SBI: He informed that SBI’s legacy costs are very minimal. As an example, today, in the corporate book, SBI’S net NPA is Rs 10,500 crore. Just one quarter’s earnings are sufficient to make it zero. The corporate book has no legacy credit cost left. In baseline scenario, not accounting for Covid, it is 1-1.5 per cent of slippages. Considering Covid, he believes in the worst-case scenario this 1.5 per cent can become 2.5-3 per cent. SBI’s exposure to the sectors impacted by Covid-19 is minuscule in relation to the size of the balance sheet.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener, investing.com websites)

• The closing price of SBI was ₹ 193/- as of 17-Aug-2020. It traded at 0.76x/0.7x/0.64x the consensus book value estimate of ₹ 258/279/305 per share for FY21E/ FY22E/ FY23E respectively.
• The consensus target price of ₹ 265/- implies a PB multiple of 0.86x on FY23E BVPS of ₹ 305/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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20 Jul

We will be very sensible in our lending – Federal Bank

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Friday, NIFTY ended up 162 pts (+1.51%) at 10,902. Among the sectoral indices, FIN SERVICE (+1.94%), PSU BANK (+1.84%) and AUTO (+0.73%) were top gainers while IT(-0.62%) was the only loser. Among the stocks, BPCL (+12.43%), ONGC (+5.84%) and INFRATEL (+4.32%) were the top gainers. HINDALCO (-1.90%), BRITANNIA(-1.86%) and NESTLEIND (-1.47%) were the top losers.

 

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Shyam Srinivasan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Federal Bank with Economic Times dated 16th July, 2020:

We have grown ahead of the market for the last 14-16 quarters: Shyam Srinivasan

  • Comments on 1QFY21 result: 1QFY21 numbers are quite encouraging. It is quite a balanced outcome. There is no one area that has outdone or given unique benefits but it is spread out between both credit and deposits. Credit grew by 8% YoY. Federal Bank did have businesses like gold loan parts of retail and parts of commercial banking did very well, in particular, gold loan had a remarkably good quarter it grew by 10% QoQ and 36 % YoY. Good credit growth in the higher-margin products and low-cost deposits resulted in 12% income growth YoY. CASA deposit ratio has moved from 30.5% to 32%, So, the 150 bps increase in CASA is driven by sequential growth of 7% in savings. It is an improvement consistent with what the bank has been working on for many quarters and that is why the interest income was at an all-time high of Rs 12,970 mn.
  • Outlook on PCL (provision for credit losses) ratio he said that he would like the coverage ratio including technical written off to be well above 70% and currently it at 75%. Everything depends on how the next 2-3 quarters shape up, given all that is going on in the environment and the challenges that we are all facing. The bank wants to keep coverage portfolio well covered much higher than the likely loss given default. He added that when the bank’s loss given default was in the early 40s, they had a coverage ratio closer to 47-48. When they visualized that the environment is getting stickier and the loss given default might go up, they took the coverage up to almost 59. Depending on how things shape up, Federal Bank will be well provisioned.
  • On the NPA (Non-performing Assets) he stated that we are all part of the same economy so we cannot be totally insulated from all the challenges that globally everybody is facing, given the COVID situation. Federal Bank’s portfolio generally is more secured and a relatively higher credit standard book. For very long, net NPA is at 1.22. In fact, it had a 20 quarter low. This gives confidence that the bank is better placed now to face the likely challenges that may arise over the next six months-nine months. The provisions have been made and will keep increasing the coverage at every available opportunity and post the moratorium liftoff when you can really make sense of how the credit books of everybody is performing, the visible impact will be in September-20 and in the December-20 quarter. He further added that he won’t be able to guess the exact level of deterioration but the bank is ensuring and is in continuous dialogue with customers and expects the deterioration to be manageable.
  • Comments on declining operating profits: The sequential number on operating profit may not reflect the reality because last quarter there was a significant one-off gain on the treasury and the sale of investments was not there in 1QFY21. Rs 9,320 mn of operating profit in 1QFY21 and Rs 9,590 mn in 4QFY20, both are by way of record, the highest the bank has ever done. But Rs 9,590 mn had some larger one-off gains because of the sale of investments which do not repeat itself. In that context, Rs 9,320 mn 1QFY21 is a more sustainable credible consistent number. Operating cost efficiency increase is the productivity drive of the bank. There are many elements of activity going on and that will continue to improve. The Bank is centralizing, standardizing, renegotiating, and deferring a bunch of stuff to maintain the costs.
  • Guidance on NIMs (Net Interest Margin) going forward: In the last three quarters, margins have been moving up sequentially between 4 bps one quarter 3 bps in the next quarter. In the normal course of events, a similar kind of rate of increase could be seen, but we are in a relatively low-interest environment. To that extent, margin expansion does not happen significantly. Second, as credit slippages increase which is likely to happen after the moratorium is lifted off, there certainly will be impairment which will have revenue impact as well. He said that he cannot comment on NIMs but expects to keep the current level of margins which is their top priority and number one effort. For improvement on this, we will have to see how things shape up.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener, investing.com websites)

  • The closing price of The Federal Bank was ₹ 52/- as of 17-July-20. It traded at 0.68x/0.62x the consensus BV estimate of ₹ 77/83.4 for FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 67.8/- implies a PB multiple of 0.81x on FY22E BV of ₹ 83.4/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

 

 

 

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11 May

Covid-19 will push a lot more customers to look at outsourcing: C Vijayakumar, HCL Technologies Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Friday, NIFTY ended up 53 pts (+0.57%) at 9251 level.

Among the sectoral indices, PHARMA (2.13%), FMCG (1.9%) and IT (0.83%) were among the top gainers while PSU BANK (-1.9%), AUTO (-1.29%) and PVT BANK (-0.7%) were the losers. HINDUNILVR (4.3%), SUNPHARMA (+3.9%) and DRREDDY (+3.7%) were the top gainers. NTPC (-3.7%), M&M (-3.7%) and AXISBANK (-3.6%) were the top losers.

 

Covid-19 will push a lot more customers to look at outsourcing: C Vijayakumar, HCL Technologies Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

 

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr C Vijayakumar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HCL Technologies:

 

  • Digital transformations at global companies, expected over the next two to three years, will now hasten in crisis-mode due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Vijayakumar said sectors or companies that were not looking at outsourcing will do so now to save costs.

 

  • When asked between the United States and Europe, where does he expect growth to pick up, he said that the US and Europe are not going to be very different, because in Europe, some geographies are already opening up. Around 23 states in the US have also already relaxed some guidelines and there is some hope that things will stabilize quickly, but customer behavior may not change immediately.
  • His views on traditional and digital services in coming fiscal years: Traditional services also have some very strong propositions, like digital workplace, engineering services. Some of the demand is intact and it is only getting accelerated. So, barring the short-term challenge, HCL Technologies will have good growth momentum. Mr. Vijaykumar thinks there could be a hit in the first quarter for sure. Industrial, auto, and aero have been impacted significantly, and non-grocery retail is also quite seriously impacted. But, almost 12% of revenue comes from Life Sciences and close to 20% of revenue comes from tech services. Both are strong verticals.
  • When asked about the kind of projects and wins expected after the recovery, he replied that Digital spends will (only) accelerate. Whatever transformation was expected to happen over the next two to three years, it’s almost going to get done in crisis mode, because for all the businesses, digital is the most viable channel to engage. He sees acceleration in cloud adoption, digital transformation, spend on digital workplace and cybersecurity. He believes the hospitals of the future will only have operation theatres and ICUs, everything else will be done through telemedicine.
  • He further informed that since work from home has been implemented, the productivity is much higher. They have tools to track productivity of every individual. Currently, there is a lockdown so obviously everybody is glued on to work, but how a large-scale work from home stacks up in a non-lockdown scenario needs to be seen in future.
  • He stated that HCL Technologies is very open to look into the opportunities to acquire companies, products, platforms or capabilities if there are attractive assets available. They have not only been acquisitive, but have made the acquisitions work.

 

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener)

  • The closing price of HCL Technologies was ₹ 519/- as of 8–May-20. It traded at 13x/ 11.5x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 40.2/45.1 for FY20E/ FY21E respectively.
  • Consensus target price of ₹ 580/- implies a PE multiple of 13x on FY21E EPS of ₹ 45.1/-

 

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

 

 

 

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15 Apr

Testing times with zero revenue and major fixed costs – Sandeep Kataria, Bata India

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Monday, the Nifty closed 1.3% lower at 8,993 amid reports that the 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the virus which ends on Tuesday might be extended. Pharma (+2.8%) and Metal (+1.9%) were the only sectoral gainers. Realty (-4.9%), Media (-3.3%), and Financial Services (-3.1%) were the top losing sectors. Among the stocks, the biggest gainers were Larsen & Toubro (+6.4%), Hindalco (+6.0%), and Bharti Airtel (+4.5%). Bajaj Finance (-10.3%), ZEEL (-8.4%), and Bajaj Finserv (-6.9%) led the losers.

Testing times with zero revenue and major fixed costs – Sandeep Kataria, Bata India

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Sandeep Kataria, CEO, Bata India published in Mint on 13th April 2020:

  • As per the Union and State government guidelines, Bata India has closed both, the retail and online stores and factories. As a result, they are looking at a zero-revenue situation for the entirety of the lockdown period.
  • In the short-term, the revenues will be impacted but will recuperate slowly once the markets are allowed to open. Should the lockdown continue, it would be a difficult time for the company as there are major fixed costs to be paid. A government stimulus is needed soon, else managing the costs without revenues would become very difficult.
  • They have refrained from layoffs and are ensuring timely payment of salaries. This cannot continue for a long time. Landlords and mall owners have their own problems too. Hence, Bata is requesting the government to allow a moratorium on its debts in the short term. This might help the landlords pass some relief to the company as well.
  • Second, they request a wage subsidy from the government. The leather and footwear industry employs approximately 4.5 million people and Bata wants to make sure that there is no job loss as a result of the crisis. Hence, they are seeking a job support subsidy at 50 percent of the minimum wages from the government for at least four months.
  • Additionally, the industry has sought relaxation of statutory payments such as the goods and service tax (GST), provident fund and income tax.
  • Bata India has started production of masks and face shields at their Batanagar factory in Kolkata and donates these to the local hospitals, Police authorities, and communities. Additionally, the washable shoe range can help essential services staff stay safe.
  • They request the policymakers to classify footwear in the essential category of items and allow them to operate e-commerce delivery, and stores for limited hours to begin with.
  • Bata employs more than 10,000 people and salary cuts and layoffs are something they are looking to avoid. They need government support to ensure it does not come to that.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener and investing.com websites)

  • The closing price of Bata India was ₹ 1,198/- as of 13-April-2020.  It traded at 40x/ 34x/ 29x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 30.1/ 35.4/ 40.7 for FY20E/ FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus average target price of ₹ 1,767/- implies a PE multiple of 43x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 40.7/-

 

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26 Mar

Business cannot take priority over the safety of people- Mr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday night, PM Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown for the next 21 days to fight against the spread of Covid-19. On Wednesday, NIFTY continued gains for the 2nd day and ended at 8,318 (+6.6%). This rally might be in the expectation that an economic package to counter economic disruptions might be announced soon.

Among the sectoral indices, Financials gained the most while no sector index ended negatively. FIN SERV (+9.7%), PVT BANK (+8.5%) and BANK (+8.4%), AUTO (+4.3%) were the top gainers. Out of the NIFTY50 stocks, RELIANCE (+13.8%), HDFCBANK (+12.4%) and KOTAKBANK (+11.9%) rallied the most. INDUSINDBK (-3.3%), IOC (-3.1%) and COALINDIA (-2.8%)  were among the few stocks that ended in red.

Business cannot take priority over the safety of people- Mr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr Pawan Goenka, Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra; dated 23rd March 2020. The interview aired on CNBC-TV18.

  • As a contribution to tackling the Covid-19 crisis, the Mahindra Group has taken certain steps. The Group has started work on how their manufacturing facilities can be used to make ventilators. They have put their projects team on standby to assist the government or the army in erecting temporary care facilities. In addition, Mahindra Holidays will offer their resorts as temporary care facilities.
  • The foremost consideration is given to the well-being of the group’s employees. Plants in Nagpur, Kandivali and Chakan have already shut down. Over the next few days, most plants will be shut down.
  • No one is in a mood to buy cars right now. Dealerships are also shutting down due to lockdowns. The automotive business is slowing down. Tractor business is also slowing down, although not to the same extent.
  • Mahindra Group is playing it by the day as things are very dynamic. It is difficult to predict how long the shutdown will last. If lockdown lasts only until 31st March, the business that has slowed down will come back in the next 2-3 months. If lockdown lasts longer than 31st March, the comeback will take much longer.
  • Need for tractors in agriculture cannot disappear. The tractor buying peaks in May-June period. If Mahindra does not miss out this season, then the tractor business will be fine. However, to tap that season, production will have to take place in April. But in the current scenario, the business will not take priority over the safety of the Group’s people and communities.
  • For the auto and tractor business point of view, the foremost responsibility of the company is to make payments to its suppliers and low wage earners-especially the contract workers and daily wage workers.
  • Mahindra Finance is closely watching the concern of liquidity in the market. There is a concern of EMI payments not happening but that will not happen immediately. The farmers have probably already received revenue from the previous cycle and so there might not be an issue.
  • The big unknown from the perspective of Mahindra Financial is what will happen to the financial cycle, i.e money coming into the NBFC from both borrowings and EMI payments. It is very important to get that cycle going. But right now, the sales pull will also be less hence the demand for financing will be less.
  • The group has an advantage in terms of business diversification.
  • Mr Goenka is of the opinion that although the Government is also under pressure and we should not expect too much, the government has to step in at this point. Mr Goenka has mentioned three things that he expects from the government at this point:
  1. For the auto industry, the immediate issue is the 31st March deadline to liquidate BS-IV inventory. It is not in the hands of the Government as it’s a supreme court matter. Mr Goenka is hoping that the court extends the deadline and gives extra time to liquidate the BS-IV vehicles. As no OEM is manufacturing BS-IV vehicles any longer, there is no problem of excessive dumping of those vehicles.
  2. The second area where Government intervention is needed is to help in the liquidity situation. If a moratorium of say 3 months is imposed on recognition of EMI non-payment as NPAs, NBFCs will be able to have a bit of a breathing room. The government needs to ensure that the financial cycle does not break down because it will take a long time to repair if broken.
  3. Thirdly, the Government must not delay any payments due to the industry as right now the industry needs funds.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener, investing.com websites)

  • The closing price of M&M was ₹ 274/- as of 25-March-2020. It traded at 7.2x/ 7.7x/ 6.7x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 38.3/ 35.4/ 40.6 for FY20E/ FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 651/- implies a PE multiple of 16.0x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 40.6/-
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