More Stories

Informist, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025

MUMBAI – Tweaks in income tax slabs last week and a cut in lending rate Friday mean that prospects for shares of fast moving consumer goods companies have started to look up. Recent policy changes are expected to relieve the burden of home loan paying customers, Onkar Kelji, research analyst at IndSec Securities, said.

Yet, the analyst expressed apprehension over consumers potentially prioritising other discretionary purchases apart from FMCG. Investors will now act upon the comments from management of FMCG companies, Kelji said. The foods sector is likely to perform better, benefiting stocks such as Marico Ltd., Dabur Ltd., and Hindustan Unilever Ltd., he said. 

A few FMCG majors are expected to take a price hike in coming quarters. In their analyst conference calls, some FMCG companies said they remain wary of the potential impact of anticipated price increases on volume amid a challenging demand environment. Britannia Industries Ltd. is planning a phased price increase of 4-4.5% by the end of this financial year, with 2% already implemented so far.

Nestle India Ltd., in its analyst call, said that when it comes to tepid demand conditions for discretionary items, India is not out of the woods yet. FMCG industry posted double-digit growth of 10.6% in the December quarter, its best in a year, according to a media report. In the same period last year, the sector recorded a growth of 6.5%. It witnessed a growth of 5.6% in the September quarter, up from 3.5% in the June quarter, the report said. 

The growth was aided by a sequential recovery in rural markets, festival demand, and higher prices of staples such as edible oil, palm oil, and packaged atta, the media report cited market research firm NielsenIQ India said in its latest FMCG quarter snapshot. 

Shares of Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Ltd. rose 0.2%, while those of Varun Beverages Ltd fell over 2.6% ahead of its earnings disclosure early next week. These are the last FMCG companies scheduled to announce their December quarter. Of the 14 Nifty FMCG constituents, 12 companies reported their earnings for the reporting quarter. Of these 12 companies, 67% of the companies' net profit rose on year.

TOP HEADLINES

* Earnings Review: ITC reports rising revenue, PAT Oct-Dec amid muted demand
* Earnings Review: Low tax, falling wages prop Britannia Oct-Dec PAT higher
* Zomato to change company name to Eternal, brand to remain Zomato
* Ramdev, Balkrishna move court to recall non-bailable warrants against them
* Bikaji Foods Oct-Dec consol PAT falls 38.7% YoY to INR 285.65 million
* CCL Products Oct-Dec consol PAT down a tad at INR 630.44 million
* Swiggy's consolidated net loss widens YoY to nearly INR 8 billion in Oct-Dec
* Analyst Concall: Nestle India to stick to core amid inflation, tepid demand
* Nestle India domestic volume growth unch in Apr-Dec amid high food inflation
* Earnings Outlook: Britannia consol PAT seen down despite growth in volume
* KPR Mill Oct-Dec consolidated net profit rises 8% YoY to INR 2.02 bln

Following are the resistance and support levels for the stocks for next week as per calculations by Informist based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

Reported by Simran Rede

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.