Dear Reader,
Monday brought a varied earnings slate, with forgings, telecom, recruitment, copper and metals all making their way into the day’s mix. Vodafone Idea returned to a loss after an exceptional gain had boosted the previous quarter, while Lloyds Metals more than tripled its profit and Info Edge delivered a strong quarter.
Bharat Forge, Vodafone Idea and Hindustan Copper lead the day’s earnings
Bharat Forge’s June-quarter margins slipped to 24.9% from 27.1% a year ago, largely on the back of a 160-basis-point rise in energy costs. But Chairman and Managing Director Baba Kalyani told CNBC-TV18 that the company expects to recover those costs from customers and sees margins returning to 27-28% as early as the September quarter. He also expects the standalone business to grow 20-25% through FY27, backed by investments across aerospace, defence, semiconductors and data centres. Separately, the company has approved a fund raise of up to ₹2,500 crore, with the structure yet to be finalised.
Vodafone Idea reported a ₹3,754 crore loss in Q1 FY27, reversing the ₹51,970 crore profit in the previous quarter, which was boosted by a large exceptional gain. The underlying picture was steadier, with revenue, EBITDA and ARPU all improving sequentially. ARPU rose to ₹195 as the telco continued its 5G rollout.
Hindustan Copper also reported a strong quarter, with profit more than doubling to ₹353 crore and revenue jumping over 81%, helped by higher global copper prices. The stock, however, could not hold its early gains and ended lower.
Lloyds Metals & Energy delivered the sharpest numbers of the day. Profit nearly tripled to ₹1,726 crore, while revenue more than tripled and margin expanded to 37.82% from 33.80% a year earlier.
A few names had a tougher quarter
Jubilant Pharmova’s profit fell 45.1% even as revenue grew more than 17%, with margins narrowing to 11.1% from 15.2% a year ago. Dilip Buildcon saw declines across both profit and revenue, with profit down 51% and revenue falling 9%, while margin slipped to 18.1% from 19.9%.
KEC International rounded out the softer set. Profit fell nearly 42%, even as revenue remained broadly flat from a year ago, with margin easing to 6% from 7%.
What we heard beyond the results
Quality Power told CNBC-TV18 it remains comfortable with its 20% margin guidance, with performance expected to improve from the second half. The company also pointed to several data-centre bids currently under negotiation that could translate into order wins by the third or fourth quarter.
Godrej Consumer expects the September quarter to look much like June, with the benefit of lower commodity costs likely to come through only from the second half. The company said it is better prepared for volatility after taking a 5% price hike in the first quarter, with a similar increase expected going forward. It also flagged its Speedboat business as an increasingly important growth lever, expecting it to contribute meaningfully to margins within two years and eventually account for as much as a third of overall sales.
Oil India’s Chairman and Managing Director Ranjit Rath said the company remains on track to hit its 4 million-tonne crude oil production target for FY27, after output rose more than 11% in the past quarter. The company plans to nearly double the number of wells drilled this year, while a newly approved pipeline should help ease gas evacuation constraints.
And BEML’s Shantanu Roy expects around 30% revenue growth this year, with the company targeting close to ₹20,000 crore in order inflows. Rail and metro demand, steady defence orders and improving execution are expected to support the momentum seen in the first quarter.
That’s Monday. Follow all the live updates on Q1 earnings and everything else moving the market here.
