A surprising phenomena occurred in the December quarter: over 60 enterprises continued to prosper and reported a net profit for the fourth consecutive quarter. Prominent organizations from various industries, such as banking, oil and gas, railroads, information technology, pharmaceuticals, cement, food delivery, and textiles, have surfaced in this esteemed list, and observers of the market are optimistic about a few of them.
ICICI Bank is in the lead, having earned the highest position in Q3FY24 with a net profit of Rs 11,052.60 crore. In the quarter that ended in September 2023, the private sector lender reported a profit of Rs 10,896.13 crore, while in the quarter that concluded in December 2022, it reported a profit of Rs 8,792 crore. According to Julius Baer Equity Research, ICICI Bank is a buy, with a revised target price of Rs 1,240 (up from Rs 1,180). Julius Baer Equity Research stated that the bank is "strongly positioned to continue delivering on growth, asset quality, and key profitability metrics, backed by strong digital assets and superior execution."
For the fourth consecutive quarter, a rise in net profit was also reported by Bajaj Finance, Union Bank, IndusInd Bank, Indian Bank, Bajaj Holdings & Investment, IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, L&T Finance Holdings, Manappuram Finance, IIFL Finance, Karur Vysya Bank, Five-Star Business Finance, Equitas Small Finance Bank, and Aptus Value Housing Finance India.
Systematix Institutional Equities reports that Five-Star Business Finance's 33QFY24 operational performance was strong and exceeded expectations from the consensus. "We think the superior asset quality across cycles and its distinct position in the market, along with best-in-class ROA, will support the premium valuation multiple compared with peers," the brokerage stated. For the quarter that ended in December 2023, Five-Star Business Finance reported a whopping 44% YoY increase in net profit at Rs 216.76 crore.
said the search. LTIMindtree has consistently grown over the last four quarters, as have KPIT Technologies and L&T Technology Services. Revenues for LTIMindtree's Q3FY24, Q2FY24, Q1FY24, Q4FY23, Q3FY23, and Q4FY24 were Rs 1,168.90 crore, Rs 1,161.80 crore, and Rs 1,151.70 crore, respectively.
In addition, a number of businesses have reported impressive growth in their bottom lines for the fourth consecutive quarter, including Lupin, IIFL Finance, JK Cement, Birlasoft, PCBL, Zomato, Spandana Sphoorty Financial, Fusion Micro Finance, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Elecon Engineering Company, Computer Age Management Services, Action Construction Equipment, CMS Info Systems, and Ramkrishna Forgings.
Notably, Zomato's recovery from a Q3FY23 loss of Rs 347 crore to a Q3FY24 profit of Rs 138 crore highlights the food delivery industry's tenacity. It reported a profit of Rs 2 crore for the June quarter and Rs 36 crore for the consecutive quarter that ended in September 2023. Companies are considered for the article if their net profit for the December quarter was more than Rs 10 crore.
Zomato posted a very successful quarter in Q3, as most headline metrics were either in line or ahead of projections, amidst adverse macros, according to brokerage JM Financial, which maintained a "Buy" recommendation on the company's Q3 results. JM Financial set a target price of Rs 200 for Zomato. Zomato's stock increased by 1.18% to Rs 145.70 in early trading on February 9.
HBL Power Systems, Home First Finance, ITD Cementation, Titagarh Railsystems, Anant Raj, Triveni Turbine, Balmer Lawrie & Company, MAS Financial Services, Happiest Minds Technologies, Steel Strips Wheels, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Garware Hi-Tech Films, Responsive Industries, Arman Financial Services, Black Box, Aurionpro Solutions, Rossari Biotech, Pricol, Ugro Capital, Ajmera Realty & Infra India, Shilchar Technologies, Balu Forge Industries, Venus Pipes & Tubes, Talbros Automotive Components, SG Finserve, Kitex Garments, Windlas Biotech, AGI Infra, and GPT Infraprojects were among the other names on the list.
Titagarh Railsystems is likewise viewed favourably by Systematix Institutional Equities, which has a target price of Rs 1,258 (up from Rs 1,202). The company will benefit from its planned capacity enhancements to capture robust sector demand because of its manufacturing capacity of 8,400 waggons per year, 30,000 mt steel foundry, largest market share in all tenders from FY20–23 (roughly 25–30%), presence of factories in France and India (through Firema), and partnerships or consortiums with MNCs.
“The business has consistently shown excellent margin and return ratios (18.5%/18.8% RoE/ROCE in FY26E), with EV/sales and EV/EBITDA in the same year at 1.8 and 16, respectively. For FY23–FY26E, we project a robust PAT and EBITDA CAGR of 42.3% and 52.8%, respectively. Systematix Institutional Equities stated in a report, "We have revised our target price upward and maintain our 30x valuation of the stock," Systematix Institutional Equities said in a report.
