☀BSC Exclusive Today's Top News☀
1. Air India Stake Sale
Having failed to draw buyers for India’s most ambitious privatisation effort in 2018, the Modi administration sweetened the terms in its fresh bid to sell debt-laden Air India by easing eligibility criteria and allowing sale and leaseback of aircraft.
🔹It comes more than a year after not even a single buyer bid for Air India, the nation’s third-largest carrier by market share, that has nearly $8 billion in debt.
🔹Interested investors have to submit their interest by March 17 and EY is the transaction adviser.
🔹To make Air India more lucrative this time, the government has invited bids for its entire stake in Air India, including a 100 percent ownership in overseas budget carrier Air India Express Ltd. and a 50 percent stake in ground handling unit Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd.
2. Dr. Reddy’s Surprise Loss; HDFC, IndiGo: Profits Spike
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. posted a surprise loss in the quarter ended December on account of impairment costs.
🔹The drugmaker’s loss stood at Rs 570 crore in the October-December period against a profit of Rs 485 crore a year ago, according to an exchange filing. A consensus of analysts tracked by Bloomberg had estimated a Rs 492-crore profit.
🔹Total impairment charge stood at Rs 1,320 crore during the quarter—Rs 1,113.7 crore towards the generic of Nuvaring (a vaginal ring to prevent pregnancy) and Rs 206.3 crore towards other product related intangibles.
🔹Revenue, however, rose 14 percent to Rs 4,384 crore.
🔹Its operational performance beat estimates.
Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.’s quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates aided by a one-time fair value gain resulting from the merger of its arm, Gruh Finance Ltd., with Bandhan Bank Ltd.
🔹Profit rose 3.96 times year-on-year to Rs 8,372.49 crore in quarter ended December.
🔹During the quarter, HDFC accounted for a fair value gain of Rs 9,020 crore on conversion of its shareholding in Gruh Finance to shareholding in Bandhan Bank.
🔹Core net interest income, excluding rental fee and other income, rose 13.6 percent to Rs 2,957.8 crore.
🔹Net interest margin for the nine-month period ended December 2019 widened to 3.3 percent from 3.08 percent over last year.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.’s quarterly profit rose, beating estimates, on better yields and higher passenger growth.
🔹Profit of the operator of India’s largest airline, IndiGo, rose 2.6 times year-on-year to Rs 490 crore.
🔹Yields—a measure of average fare per passenger per kilometre—rose to Rs 3.9 per kilometre from Rs 3.8 a year ago.
🔹Higher passenger load factor—a measure of seat occupancy—and lower fuel prices also aided the carrier’s bottom line.