COVID 19 trips Bharti Airtel’s user growth, pricing pressure seen

Despite the extreme disruption caused by the COVID-19, Bharti Airtel reported a decent set of numbers for the Apr-Jun period, though the pandemic clearly slowed down the growth of Airtel’s 4G service and exerted pressure on realizations. PANDEMIC FREEZE While the company has been reporting strong increases in the number of 4G users in recent […]

COVID not driving buyers to cheaper models: Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto, one of India’s biggest motorcycle manufacturers, said it is yet to see any down-trading or change of behavior among motorcycle buyers in India due to the COVID pandemic, and that demand is already at 80-85% of normal levels. Speaking to investors and analysts after the company’s quarterly results last week, executive director Rakesh […]

No COVID impact: Fertilizer maker Coromandel posts strong quarter

Coromandel International Limited, which makes the famous GROMOR brand of fertilizers, reported strong financial performance for the Apr-Jun quarter, indicating that farming activity in South India continued apace even during the COVID-19 lockdown. The company reported a whopping 51% jump in its revenue for the Apr-Jun quarter compared to the same three months of 2019. […]

HUL Q1 ad spend down a third, merger protects top line

Hindustan Unilever, the biggest advertiser in India, protected its profit margins during the Apr-Jun period by slashing its advertising budget by about 32%. Given that this is after merging GSK’s consumer healthcare business with itself, the actual decline in advertising is likely to have been in the 35% range. Even after adding GSK CH numbers, […]

Sun TV Network’s non-subscription revenue down 41%

Sun TV Network, which operates television channels such as Sun TV, Udaya TV and Gemini TV, saw a 41% fall its revenue from advertising and other non-subscription sources during the three months from January to March 2020. The company, which owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team, was hurt by the impact of Coronavirus on the […]

Amara Raja reports ‘continued demand slowdown’

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd, India’s biggest manufacturer of lead acid batteries, reported a modest increase in revenue, and said it continued to face a demand slow down in its key markets of automobiles and telecom. “The automotive sector is facing challenges of demand uncertainty due to social, regulatory and technological changes,” said Vice Chairman and […]

Ramco Cements faces demand slowdown in Q3, profit slips

Ramco Cements, one of India’s biggest cement manufacturers, reported poor demand for cement during the three months ended December. The Chennai-based company, which gets most of its revenues from South India and Eastern India, reported a revenue growth of just 6% for the third quarter, compared to a growth of 12.6% for the first half […]

TRAI tariff order, slowdown maul Zee Entertainment’s results

Zee Entertainment, the second-biggest broadcasting company in India, continued to bleed under the combined impact of a slowing economy and the company’s decision to increase channel prices under the new TRAI tariff order. While the slowdown in the economy has resulted in companies cutting down on advertising, this has been exacerbated by Zee’s decision to […]

Havells India hit by slowdown, sales down 10%

Havells India, one of the country’s top cable makers, reported a 10% fall in its revenue, blaming an overall slowdown in economic activities in the country. The company, however, managed to maintain margins through cost cuts. “The deterioration in economic macros, sectoral liquidity challenges and slowdown in infrastructure segment has disproportionately impacted demand for industrial […]

What slowdown? Polycab sales continue to zoom

Polycab, one of India’s biggest makers of electrical wires, reported an exceptionally strong set of results for the October-December period, despite widespread reports of a slowdown in the economy, including the construction sector. Polycab India Ltd reported revenue of Rs 2,507 cr from its operations, up from 2,242 cr in the preceding three months and […]

Reliance Jio users cut down on data, voice usage after price hike

Users of Reliance Jio’s 4G service have started cutting down on their data and voice usage the company implemented price increases in December, thus limiting the benefits of the price hike from fully flowing through to the company. The average data consumed by a Reliance Jio user fell to 11.1 GB per month during October-December […]

TRAI Tariff Order helps lift Hathway into profit

Hathway Datacom, one of India’s top cable feed providers (MSOs) finally posted a profit after remaining saddled with losses for several years. The company was able to post a profit due to various factors, including a sharp fall in pay channel costs thanks to TRAI’s new tariff order and a reduction in its cable TV […]

TV18 ad revenue continues to fall, margins improve

TV18 Broadcast Ltd, one of India’s top three broadcasting companies, reported yet another quarter of declining advertising revenue, but the company’s profits zoomed due to cost cuts. Non-subscription revenue — which is mostly composed of advertising sales — fell by Rs 181 cr (16%) in October-December of 2019 compared to the same quarter of 2018. […]

Vodafone Idea says it can continue only if Govt provides relief

Vodafone Idea, one of the top three telecom players in the country, warned that it will be able to continue as ‘a going concern’ only if it is able to obtain relief from the government. Going concern refers to a company that has the ability to continue to operate and does not face the threat […]

Royal Enfield sales down 22% in July-September

Royal Enfield, the country’s most popular premium motorcycle brand, reported a 22% decline in its September quarter motorcycle sales, even as revenue for parent Eicher Motors fell 9%. Royal Enfield sold 1.63 lakh motorcycles during the three months, down from 2.10 lakh motorcycles sold over the same period in 2018, even as it invests heavily […]