Larsen And Toubro Wins Order Worth Rs 3028 Crore From GHIAL

The company will be engaged in execution and implementation of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for expansion of the Terminal Building and Airside Infrastructure Works at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, Telangana. The expansion project will increase the airport’s capacity to handle 34 million passengers per annum. L&T had constructed the existing Hyderabad International Airport. Also, recently, the company’s Power Business segment has won orders worth Rs 1,080 crore for two orders from NTPC for setting up Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems at its super-critical thermal power plants at Khargone, Madhya Pradesh and Lara, Chhattisgarh 

SEBI Aims To Make Mutual Funds More Cost Effective 

To make the mutual fund investments more attractive and affordable, market regulator is aiming to push for digitalization. SEBI will take measures to bring cost-effectiveness by promoting go green initiatives through online transactions. Recently, the market regulator has also taken measures to bring uniformity in various aspects of the mutual fund industry in the areas of the governance, risk management, due diligence process etc. Further, the market regulator is aiming to increase the penetration through technology-based initiatives as well as through various digital mediums. In the recent past, the market regulator SEBI reduced the additional expenses charged by mutual fund houses from 20bps to 5bps. One basis point is the hundredth of a percentage point. This move was aimed at reducing the cost of the mutual fund investment which in-turn meant lesser commission to distributors.

In its Annual Report 2017-18, SEBI had mentioned about promoting the go-green initiative for the mutual fund industry. During the year 2017-18, the Indian mutual fund industry witnessed an exceptional growth both in terms of inflows and asset base. The strong inflows into the mutual fund industry were led by a strong participation from retail investors. Also, an increased awareness about mutual funds has taken the total assets under management for the industry to new highs of around 23 lakh crore in the July 2018. 

Amara Raja To Invest Rs 700 Crore For Greenfield Plant 

The plant will be set up in three phases with a total capacity of 6.5 million units per annum. The company’s board approved the plan which will be funded through internal accruals.

First phase of the automotive battery unit is scheduled to be completed in 18 month. The company will decide on the remaining phases based on prevalent market demand. On completion of the project, Amara Raja’s existing capacity for four-wheeler battery will reach 17.00 million units per annum. 

The company reported results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 on Saturday. Net revenue for the quarter grew by 19 per cent at Rs 1,779 crore as against Rs 1,497 crore in Q1FY18. The company’s Profit after tax (PAT) was at Rs l13 crores Q1FY19 as compared to Rs 100 crores in Q1FY18, which is a growth of 13 per cent. 

Jet Airways Slumps Further On Deferment Of Q1 Results 

Aviation industry continues to feel the strain with major aviation stocks touching new lows. Jet Airways, in particular, has faced different headwinds pushing it to multi-year low. The company informed the exchange that it has deferred the matter of consideration of unaudited results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Audit committee did not recommend the consideration of results due to pending matters. 

This news led to further erosion of stock price by touching multi-year low of Rs 258 per share in the last three years. Previously, the company touched its 52-week low on media reports of company’s inability to operate beyond 60 days. 

Jet Airways is the second largest domestic carrier in the country after Indigo. 

Q1FY19 Result: State Bank of India Narrows Net Loss 

Country’s largest bank State Bank of India posted a consecutive net loss in the third quarter of Q1FY19. The bank’s net interest income for the quarter rose by 23.8 per cent yoy to Rs 21,799 crore in Q1FY19 as against Rs 17,606 crore in the corresponding quarter the previous year and Rs 19,974 crore in the corresponding quarter the previous year. The interest income for the quarter rose 7.1 per cent qoq to Rs 58,813 crore. 

In terms of asset quality, the bank showed improvement sequentially as GNPAs declined by 5 per cent qoq to Rs 2,12,839 crore in Q1FY19 as compared Rs 2,23,427 crore in the previous quarter. The GNPAs as a percentage to advances also contracted by 22 bps to 10.69 as against 10.91 per cent in the previous quarter. 

The provisions for the quarter also declined 31 per cent yoy to Rs 19,228 crore in Q1FY19 as against Rs 28,096 crore in the previous quarter. This led to a narrowing of net loss to Rs 4,875 crore in Q1FY19 as compared to Rs 7,718 crore in the previous quarter and net profit of Rs 2,005 crore in Q1FY18. While the bank’s advances for the quarter remained subdued with 3 per cent qoq decline and 4 per cent yoy increase. 

Q1FY19 Result: Bosch PAT Spikes 42 Per Cent 

Bosch Limited, a leading supplier of engineering and services, reported its results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 on Friday. The company’s standalone revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 3,212 crore, registering 13.5 per cent yoy increase. Bosch’s domestic sales increased by 21.7 per cent and export sales registered a growth of 7.4 per cent. The company’s Mobility solution business grew by 20.5 per cent yoy. While its Powertrain solutions business grew by 26.5 per cent yoy. 

EBITDA for the quarter rose by 43.2 per cent yoy to Rs 628.01 crore with a corresponding margin expansion of 406 bps. EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 19.6 per cent. The company’s PAT for the quarter came in at Rs 431 crore, yoy increase of 42 per cent. 

Bosch is a leading supplier of technology and services in the areas of Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. It enjoys almost 70 per cent market share. 

Mutual Funds Add 8.62 Lakh Folio Despite Market Volatility 

Indian mutual fund industry has registered an increase of the 8.62 lakh folios in the month of July 2018. This growth was led by the increased folios in the Liquid funds. 

Folios are the unique numbers designated to the individual investor accounts, however, one investor can hold multiple accounts. 

During the month of the July 2018, Liquid funds added 41,454 accounts and Diversified equity category added 7,30,754 investor folios, whereas the ETF category witnessed a decline of 85,898 folios. Except for Gilt funds, all other debt fund categories have recorded a growth in folios. Gilt funds witnessed a decline of 3.5 per cent in July, on the other hand, Income and Liquid funds had an increase of 20,683 and 41,454 folios, respectively. 

Market experts attributed this increase in folios to the recent surge and the optimistic environment in the equity markets. In the recent past, despite the volatility, Nifty and Sensex have managed to reach their all-time highs which have attracted more investors towards mutual fund investments. With the hope of positive returns from here on, investors are betting on the mutual funds. The market is still witnessing volatility, but the rise in folios suggest a maturing Indian mutual fund industry.