Month: March 2023

McDonald’s India franchisee Westlife Foodworld Q2 profit drops 29.1% to Rs 22.37 cr on higher costs, revenue up 7.4% YoY

Posted on 2023-03-09 by admin

Westlife Foodworld Limited (WFL), formerly known as Westlife Development and the owner-operator of McDonald’s restaurants across west and south India, on Thursday announced its Q2 earnings with profit at Rs 22.37 crore. The Q2 profit dropped by 29.1 per cent on-year in comparison to Rs 31.54 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 614.73 crore, up 7.4 per cent as against Rs 572.42 crore during the second of FY23.

Westlife Foodworld’s operating EBITDA grew 7 per cent YoY in H1FY24. Despite the lower operating EBITDA margin on account of higher G&A costs, gross margins improved by 93 bps YoY in Q2, thanks to an improved mix and cost-saving initiatives, whereas input costs remained mostly in line with the company’s expectations.

Westlife Foodworld said that its on-premises as well as off-premises businesses grew by 7 per cent YoY, with the off-premise contribution remaining stable at 41 per cent. “The group continues to focus on digital transformation with self ordering kiosks and mobile apps, with digital sales growing by 30 per cent YoY and contributing 67 per cent to the top line,” it said.

Despite ongoing market challenges, the company added, it delivered a 3 per cent Same Store Sales Growth (SSSG) in H1FY24, marking an 11 per cent YOY growth in revenue compared to H1FY23. Q2FY24 sales grew by 7 per cent YoY, demonstrating the company’s ability to sustain growth and profitability. SSSG in Q2 was 1 per cent YoY.

“Our second quarter results, amidst challenging market conditions, reflect consistently strong execution of our long-term strategic playbook aligned with our Vision 2027. The resilient Q2 FY24 performance and sales growth affirm that Westlife Foodworld’s strategy of omnichannel, menu innovations, and prudent network expansion is working. While macroeconomic challenges persist, we continue to invest in our new stores and our other growth drivers to create value for all our stakeholders,” said Amit Jatia, Chairperson, Westlife Foodworld.

In terms of its network presence, as of September 2023, Westlife Foodworld is present in 370 restaurants across 59 cities. The company added 9 restaurants during Q2FY24 and is on track to add 40-45 stores in FY24. It aims to reach 580-630 restaurants by 2027.

Westlife Foodworld has a total of 71 drive-thrus and the company added 2 during the second quarter of FY24. It has 327 McCafés and Q2 saw an addition of 11 more by the company. Westlife also has a total of 237 EOTF stores and it added 13 more in Q2FY24. “This expansion underscores Westlife Foodworld’s commitment to catering to a broad market segment across various dayparts. It also fortifies its unique business model of combining quality food offerings with innovative dining experiences, thereby establishing a strong foothold across the geographies of West and South India,” the company said in a statement.

Sensex, Nifty fall over 1 pc on selling in banking, auto shares

Posted on 2023-03-09 by admin

Key stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined over 1 per cent at close on Monday due to heavy selling in banking, auto and FMCG shares amid weak global market trends and continued foreign fund outflows.

Reversing its previous session’s gains, benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled 638.11 points or 1.11 per cent to settle at 56,788.81. During the day, it tanked 743.52 points or 1.29 per cent to 56,683.40.

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Among Sensex stocks, Maruti fell the most by 3.16 per cent, Hindustan Unilever by 2.77 per cent, IndusInd Bank by 2.55 per cent, ITC by 2.32 per cent, Bajaj Finance by 2.26 per cent, State Bank of India by 2.15 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank by 2.03 per cent.

Dr Reddy’s, NTPC, Bharti Airtel and Wipro were the winners.

Sensex had surged by 016.96 points or 1.80 per cent to settle at 57,426.92 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 276.25 points or 1.64 per cent to end at 17,094.35.

“Markets started the week on a feeble note and lost over a per cent, tracking weak global cues,” Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 1.24 per cent and smallcap index fell by 0.54 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, power fell by 3.24 per cent, utilities by 3.14 per cent, auto (2.11 per cent), FMCG (2.05 per cent), commodities (2.01 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.26 per cent) and realty (1.24 per cent).

Healthcare and telecommunication ended in the green.

Global markets are expected to stay under pressure due to the confluence of an unfavourable economic outlook and investor risk aversion, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

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“Global markets were in pain as economic data forecast to shed lower as indicated by high-frequency indicators in European regions like UK PMI is consequently down below 50 showing contraction in economy.

“As demand slowed, India’s manufacturing PMI declined slightly to 55.1 in September. As a result, all the key sectors were pressured by selling, except pharma & Oil stocks,” Nair added.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Hong Kong settled lower, while Tokyo ended higher.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading lower in mid-session deals after oil prices rose by more than USD 3 per barrel amid dire warnings over energy shortages in Europe. The US markets ended in negative territory on Friday.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 3.90 per cent to USD 88.46 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 1,565.31 crore on Friday, according to data available with BSE. Foreign investors turned sellers in September, pulling out Rs 7,600 crore from Indian equity markets.

US stocks: Wall Street posts fourth straight day of gains ahead of CPI report

Posted on 2023-03-09 by admin

Wall Street extended its winning streak on Monday, rallying to a sharply higher close as investors awaited crucial inflation data that could provide clues about the duration and severity of the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy. Energy and technology shares helped the three major U.S. stock indexes touch two-week highs and notch their fourth straight session of gains, in which growth stocks were slightly favored over value.

The Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI), expected before Tuesday’s opening bell, is this week’s main event, and will be scrutinized for any signs regarding the number and size of future interest rate hikes from the Fed.”CPI is expected to see a little bit of a decrease,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. “The market is hoping that news translates into smaller rate hikes after the Sept FOMC meeting.” “Because of that, you’re seeing a risk-on type of mentality today,” Pavlik added.

On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell affirmed the central bank remains “strongly committed” to tackling decades-high inflation, and that it would “keep at it until the job is done.”Economists polled by Reuters expect monthly CPI to have contracted 0.1% in August from July, edging down to 8.1% year-on-year, mainly due to the recent cool-down of commodity prices.

Financial markets have currently priced in a 92% probability that the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will implement its third straight 75-basis-point interest rate hike at the conclusion of next week’s policy meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. “The market has now fully priced in 75 basis points for September,” Pavlik said. “The market is hoping the next one is 50 basis points and that we’ll see a slight decrease in rate hikes after that, and Wall Street can live with that.”

Also read| Wall Street cautious ahead of US inflation data

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 229.63 points, or 0.71%, to 32,381.34, the S&P 500 gained 43.05 points, or 1.06%, to 4,110.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 154.10 points, or 1.27%, to 12,266.41. All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 closed green. Energy companies, boosted by rising crude prices, enjoyed the biggest percentage gain. Economically sensitive transports outperformed the broader market, while market-leading megacaps provided the most lift.

A 3.9% jump in Apple Inc shares gave the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq their biggest boost, days after the gadget maker unveiled updates to its iPhone and Apple Watch. Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 3.1% following the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of its psoriasis drug late on Friday. Rival Amgen Inc, maker of psoriasis drug Otezla, slid 4.1%.

Twitter Inc ended the session down 1.8% amid its legal wrangling against Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk for scrapping a deal to acquire the social media platform. Car selling platform Carvana Co hopped 15.5% higher following Piper Sandler’s upgrade of the stock to “overweight. “Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.37-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.78-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 47 new highs and 59 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.63 billion shares, compared with the 10.22 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

FPIs infuse Rs 12,000 cr in Indian equities in Sep on hopes of slow rate hikes

Posted on 2023-03-07 by admin

Foreign investors pumped Rs 12,000 crore into the Indian equity market so far this month on hopes that global central banks, particularly the US Fed, may go slow on rate hikes as inflation starts to cool off. This comes following a net investment of staggering Rs 51,200 crore in August and nearly Rs 5,000 crore in July, data with depositories showed.

FPIs turned net buyers in July after nine straight months of massive net outflows, which started in October last year. Between October 2021 till June 2022, they sold a massive Rs 2.46 lakh crore in the Indian equity market.

According to data with depositories, FPIs (foreign portfolio investors) pumped a net Rs 12,084 crore into Indian equities during September 1-16. They were net buyers on hopes of continued growth momentum, even as global and domestic data prints were adverse with elevated inflation reported across major economies, Chouhan said.

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“Foreign investors continued to invest into Indian equities on expectation that global central banks, particularly US Fed, may go slow on rate hikes as the inflation starts to cool off,” Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director – Manager Research, Morningstar India, said.

Additionally, given Indian equities would be an attractive investment destination as inflation cools off and the economy embarks on growth trajectory, FPIs would have preferred to stay invested than losing out on that opportunity, he added. Also, Indian equities went through a correction phase making them relatively attractive on valuations. This provided them a good buying opportunity to hand-pick high quality companies.

The sustained FPI buying that started in July and gathered momentum in August and continued in September too, supported the recent rally in the Indian market.

However, they turned sellers in last few days of the current month on fears of global economic slowdown. FPIs are likely to wait and watch before resuming their buying in India, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Morningstar India’s Srivastava said the recent CPI data in the US disrupted the trend of cooling inflation, thereby dashing hopes that the US Fed could take breather after September and ease up on its interest rate hikes. The August US inflation edged 0.1 per cent higher from the preceding month to 8.3 per cent. Compared to the year-ago period, it eased from 8.5 per cent.

Apart from equities, FPIs infused a net Rs 1,777 crore in the debt market during the month under review. In addition to India, Indonesia and the Philippines witnessed inflows, while Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand witnessed withdrawals during the period under review.

Petrol, Diesel Price Today, 15 Sep 2022: Fuel cost static; check rates in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, other cities

Posted on 2023-03-06 by admin

Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been kept steady on Thursday, 15 September 2022, keeping costs steady for more than three months now. Petrol and diesel in Delhi is priced at Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.27 per litre. The last country-wide change in price came on 21 May 2022, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre, and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Since then, Maharashtra is the only state to have cut rates. The Maharashtra government had announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July.

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Petrol, diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, Gurugram

Mumbai: Petrol price: Rs 106.31 per litre, Diesel price: 94.27 per litre

Delhi: Petrol price: Rs 96.72 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 89.62 per litre

Chennai: Petrol price: Rs 102.63 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 94.24 per litre

Kolkata: Petrol price: Rs 106.03 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 92.76 per litre

Bengaluru: Petrol: Rs 101.94 per litre, Diesel: Rs 87.89 per litre

Lucknow: Petrol: Rs 96.57 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.76 per litre

Noida: Petrol: Rs 96.79 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.96 per litre

Gurugram: Petrol: Rs 97.18 per litre, Diesel: Rs 90.05 per litre

Chandigarh: Petrol: Rs 96.20 per litre, Diesel: Rs 84.26 per litre

Public sector OMCs including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise the fuel prices daily in line with international benchmark prices and foreign exchange rates. Any changes in petrol and diesel prices are implemented from 6 am every day. Retail petrol and diesel prices differ from state to state because of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.

Mcap of BSE-listed firms at all-time high of Rs 282.66 lakh cr

Posted on 2023-03-06 by admin

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms reached an all-time high of Rs 282.66 lakh crore on Thursday, helped by a rebound in equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 659.31 points or 1.12 per cent to settle at 59,688.22 after falling in the previous two trading days.

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“A solid rebound was the order of the day at Dalal Street as stocks simply zoomed in today’s session. The credit for the rally can be given to overnight positive Wall Street cues and also to the fact that crude oil prices continued to tumble. Crude oil prices are trading at their lowest levels after February,” Prashanth Tapse – Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints emerged as the biggest gainers among Sensex stocks.

Tata Steel, Titan, NTPC, Nestle and Power Grid were the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.60 per cent and midcap index ended higher by 0.29 per cent.

A total of 2,062 stocks advanced, while 1,402 declined and 125 remained unchanged.

In Asia, markets in Seoul and Tokyo ended in the green, while Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower.

Equities in Europe were trading on a mixed note during the mid-session deals. The US markets had ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.49 per cent to USD 87.57 per barrel.

BSE, NSE, MSE to provide market data of listed securities as early as possible

Posted on 2023-03-05 by admin

Leading bourses — BSE, National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Metropolitan Stock Exchange (MSE) — on Friday decided to provide daily price related information of the listed securities on their websites as early as possible after the markets close.

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“In view of the larger interest of investors and various market participants who use the daily price related information like open price, day’s high, day’s low, closing price etc. of securities for their downstream processes, the exchanges have jointly decided to provide such information on their website as early as possible after the close of markets,” BSE, NSE and MSE said in a joint statement.

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The three exchanges provide platform for trading in capital market, Futures & Options (F&O), interest rate derivatives, currency derivatives and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Petrol and Diesel Price Today, 9 Sep 2022: Fuel cost steady; Check rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, other cities

Posted on 2023-03-05 by admin

Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been kept steady on 9 September 2022, keeping costs steady for more than three months now. Petrol and diesel in Delhi cost Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.27 per litre. The last country-wide change in price came on 21 May 2022, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre, and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Since then, Maharashtra is the only state to have cut rates. The Maharashtra government had announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July.

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