Top Stocks in Focus: ABFRL, Infosys, RIL, Airtel, Vi, Sanofi, HAL, Aurobindo Pharma

Top Stocks in Focus:

1. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) is considering splitting its Madura Fashion & Lifestyle division into a separate publicly traded entity, according to a filing with the stock exchange on Monday. The proposed split aims to create two distinct publicly traded companies, each serving as an independent growth platform with unique capital structures and opportunities for value creation, ABFRL stated. The company’s board has authorized management to explore the feasibility of vertically separating the Madura Fashion & Lifestyle division from ABFRL into a standalone publicly traded firm, the statement disclosed.
2. Infosys reported on Monday that it has received a tax demand of ₹341 crore for the assessment year 2020-21 from the Income Tax department, as of March 31, 2024. The company is evaluating the impact of this demand on its financial statements for the quarter and fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024, and is considering the option of appealing against the demand.
3. Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea: Reliance Jio, the leading telecom company in India and a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, added 41.78 lakh mobile subscribers in January 2024, expanding its total mobile user base to 46.39 crore. During the same period, Bharti Airtel, led by Sunil Mittal, saw growth, gaining 7.52 lakh wireless subscribers, bringing its total mobile count to 38.24 crore. Conversely, Vodafone Idea lost 15.2 lakh wireless users, resulting in a mobile subscriber base of 22.15 crore, as per TRAI data.
4. Sanofi India: Rodolfo Hrosz, managing director of Sanofi India, highlighted in an interview with Mint the company’s focus on India and its extensive plans to reinforce its presence in the region. Sanofi intends to introduce new products in India, including Soliqua, a pre-mix insulin drug, and Xenpozyme, a treatment for late-onset Pompe disease, among others. Additionally, Sanofi aims to improve access to its existing portfolio, which includes drugs like Lantus, Clexane, Targocid, Allegra, Enterogermina, Combiflam, Cardace, and Cerezyme.
5. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) announced on Monday that it has achieved a provisional and unaudited revenue from operations exceeding ₹29,810 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24, representing approximately 11% growth compared to the previous fiscal year. As of March 31, 2024, HAL’s order book stands at over ₹94,000 crore, with expectations of significant additional orders in the fiscal year 2024-25. During the fiscal year 2023-24, HAL secured new manufacturing contracts worth over ₹19,000 crore and Repair and Overhaul (ROH) contracts exceeding ₹16,000 crore.
6. Aurobindo Pharma inaugurated four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities for Penicillin-G, 6-Amino Penicillanic Acid (6-APA), Injectable products, and Granulation, managed by its fully owned subsidiaries. The Penicillin-G facility, located in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, has an annual production capacity of 15,000 tonnes and an additional 1.8 lakh tonnes of glucose. The 6-Amino Penicillanic Acid plant can produce 3,600 tonnes annually. Commercial production is expected to begin following trial production in April and subsequent production ramp-up during the second quarter of the fiscal year.
7. NTPC announced on Monday that it has augmented its power generation capacity by 3,924 MW in the fiscal year 2023-24, raising the total installed capacity to approximately 76GW. This includes the inauguration of the second unit in Bangladesh and the first-ever capacity addition by its subsidiaries, NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) and NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL), during the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024.
8. Alembic Pharmaceuticals received provisional approval for its generic Ribociclib tablets, used in breast cancer treatment, in the quarter ending March. The US Food & Drug Administration granted tentative approval for Ribociclib tablets with a potency of 200 mg. The medication is prescribed for the treatment of a specific type of advanced or metastatic breast cancer in adult patients, typically in conjunction with other drug therapies.
9. South Indian Bank released its fourth-quarter business update on Monday, revealing increases in gross advances and total deposits. Gross advances rose to ₹80,337 crore, up from ₹77,786 crore in the previous quarter, while total deposits reached ₹1.02 lakh crore, compared to ₹99,155 crore in the previous quarter. The bank’s Current Account Savings Account (CASA) demonstrated a positive trend, with an 8% increase to ₹32,654 crore from ₹31,529 crore in the previous quarter. The bank noted that the above data is provisional and subject to audit by its statutory auditors.
10. AU Small Finance Bank successfully merged Fincare Small Finance Bank into itself on April 1, 2024, marking the first such consolidation in the sector. The all-stock merger, initially announced on October 29, 2023, saw Fincare SFB shareholders receive 579 AU SFB equity shares for every 2,000 they held in Fincare SFB. The Reserve Bank of India granted final approval on March 4, 2024, and the merger took effect on April 1, 2024. The merger is expected to expand AU SFB’s reach into South India, significantly enlarging its distribution network.