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Shares of FMCG company Marico shot up 9.3% to an intraday high of Rs 687.30 on the BSE after the company on Tuesday reported a 20% in consolidated net profit to Rs 433 crore for the September quarter.It had posted a net profit of Rs 360 crore in the July-September quarter a year ago.Its consolidated revenue from operations was up 7.6% to Rs 2,664 crore during the quarter under review. It was at Rs 2,476 crore a year ago.Additionally, Marico's total income, which includes other income, was up 9.22% to Rs 2,746 crore.Post the Q2 earnings, here is what the analysts across various brokerages commented on the company’s performance:Nomura: Buy | Target price: Rs 760Nomura has maintained a buy rating on Marico and cut the target price to Rs 760 from Rs 780.Nomura stated Marico’s results as a silver lining amidst a gloomy quarter as the company’s demand improved and there was no impact from weakness in urban areas as it caters to premium and mass. Sharp price hikes improve the growth outlook. Foods, Premium Personal Care and Digital brands showed a healthy growth trajectory.Jefferies: Buy | Target price: Rs 800Jefferies maintained a buy view on Marico and hiked the target price to Rs 800 from Rs 780.The legacy FMCG is transforming into a successful consumer digital play. Q2 was inline with the India volume growth at 5%, led by the rural segment. With inflation coming back, Marico is set to see revenue growth accelerating to double digits. The management outlook on growth appeared to be positive for coming quarters as well as the medium-term. Marico is back in Jefferies’ top picks.Also read: Maruti Suzuki shares rise 3% despite Q2 profit miss. Should you invest or steer clear?HDFC Securities: Buy | Target price: Rs 760HDFC Securities maintained its buy rating on the stock while cutting the target price to Rs 760 from an earlier Rs 775.The target price and rating have been assigned given the expected revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 10%/11%/11% over FY24-27. This outlook is supported by the strong performance of the domestic business, significant improvement in the profitability of the fast-growing foods and digital-first business (20% of domestic sales) and a sustained double-digit constant currency revenue growth momentum in the international business as the currency headwinds subside. However, in 2HFY25, the operating margin will likely remain under pressure due to higher raw material costs, particularly for copra and the edible oil basket.Nuvama: Buy | Target price: Rs 740Nuvama has retained it buy call on Marico with a target price of Rs 740, down from Rs 780.Marico’s revenue and EBITDA were exactly in line with the estimates. Factoring in higher copra and edible oil prices, Nuvama has cut the FY25E/26E/27E EPS by 4.2%/5.1%/4%. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Mumbai: Shapoorji Pallonji Group's flagship infrastructure engineering and construction company Afcons Infrastructure's ₹5,430-crore IPO was subscribed 2.63 times on Tuesday, its final day of bidding. The retail investor category was subscribed 0.94 times while the qualified institutional investors category was subscribed 3.79 times. The non-institutional investors or high net worth investors category was subscribed 5.05 times. The IPO comprised a fresh issue of up to ₹1,250 crore and an offer of sale up to ₹4,180 crore by promoter, Goswami Infratech.

State Bank of India (SBI) is “now cautious” about lending to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), respecting the concerns raised by the regulator, and expects renewables and real estate to drive corporate loans, said the managing director in charge of corporate advances at the country’s biggest mass lender.“NBFCs continue to have a credit demand but we are cautious and selective,” Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director (Corporate Banking and Subsidiaries), SBI, told ET in an interview. “There’s too much interconnectedness, with one NBFC lending to the other, then to microfinance institutions (MFI) so there’s no clarity on who you are finally lending to.”NBFC lending is then growing slowly at SBI, which has chosen to lend only to “better quality” NBFCs, he said. “On the ground, we are seeing some delinquencies in MFIs. Sometimes, it is a leading indicator, so you have to be cautious.”On October 17, the Reserve Bank of India barred Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv and three other NBFCs from sanctioning and disbursing loans on grounds of excessive pricing and evergreening of loans.SBI’s portfolio, which has a corporate loan book of Rs 11 lakh crore, is focusing on renewables and real estate. The loan book is growing at 15-16% this year, compared to 18% last year. Lending to renewables is also growing at 15-16%.Outstanding loans to the power sector stood at about Rs 2,03,000 crore at the end of June, according to SBI analyst presentation, which didn't provide split for renewables. It grew 9.5% year-on-year during the quarter and accounted for 6.2% of total domestic advances.The real estate sector is doing well as “all the major developers are coming up with good projects,” Tewari said, adding that SBI is only lending to “good developers” especially in lease rental discounting (LRD) on office space. Cement and steel sectors are buzzing with activity but not borrowing much from banks, he said.SBI is focusing on SME rooftop solar and “large” solar panel makers. “Large-scale grid-based solar is getting difficult because land is not available. What we are looking at is SMEs’ rooftops, along with individual rooftops but this is much smaller than the grid scale,” he said.Several domestic companies have got into solar module and cell manufacturing. “We will fund larger companies in this field. For smaller players, it’s still early days,” he said. SBI has recently supported one aluminium-air battery project but it’s “early days” for batteries, Tewari said.“Repayment is faster in renewables. Solar projects get executed in a year. The moment they go live, they refinance it from the bond market or PE funds,” he said. A lot of money is finding its way into the Indian renewable energy sector but the share of debt in it is “not large,” he said.Thermal power is also seeing some pickup and SBI is funding some of the major thermal generation projects, he said. “All the power plant accounts that had gone bad earlier are being sold at good prices due to rising power demand,” he said, referring to multiple thermal projects that went to bankruptcy courts in the last decade.“Everyone had underestimated thermal or thought that solar can fully replace it. Being intermittent, solar requires a storage solution,” he said, adding that SBI was offering to fund emission-reduction technologies at thermal projects keeping in view India’s energy security requirements.For renewable projects, it’s important to have power purchase agreements (PPAs) and optimal fund allocation for maintenance of plants, Tewari said, adding that EPC players would be better placed if they developed backward linkages with equipment suppliers. “Solar energy generation has become commoditized,” said Tewari, referring to the declining project risks.Inexperienced companies getting into renewables, rapid evolution in technologies and poor health of power distribution companies do present some risks to the lenders, he added. “When we started, solar plant load factor (PLF) was 20% or lower and now it’s going to 30%. The newer ones are more efficient. So, will the utility buy from the less efficient ones?” he asked, explaining the emerging risks in the green sector.

Bengaluru: As the country gears up to celebrate Diwali, running into an extended four-day weekend, demand for temporary staff is lighting up the job street.Demand has jumped 15-20% year-on-year — going up to as much as 30-40% for ecommerce and quick commerce — on the back of increased consumer spending, positive rural sentiments and small cities and towns emerging as drivers of growth, said staffing services providers and recruitment portals such as Quess Corp, Randstad, Adecco, TeamLease Services, Manpower and Gigin Technologies.Mainly, the festive demand comes from ecommerce/logistics, retail, consumer, BFSI / NBFC, telecom clients. In some cases, it’s for managing short-term demand spikes, the firms said.Demand during this period surges mainly due to consumer spending in both urban and rural markets, said Lohit Bhatia, president of workforce management at Quess Corp. “In urban, it (higher spending) is primarily after the appraisals that happen in June/July months and bonuses that are generally in September/October/November months; it also coincides with seasonal spending increases, post-summer buying increases and overall festival environment.”“The growth is largely consumption driven,” said Prashant Pandey, president at Manpower India, “We have observed that the overall consumer sentiment is improving year-on-year.”This Diwali, urban markets are targeted for premium products and rural for volumes, said Balasubramanian A, senior vice-president, TeamLease Services. “Overall, there has been a 20% expansion in seasonal workforce. A significant part of this growth is attributed to Diwali, with over 70% of the expansion geared toward the festive window, which spans from the second week of October to the first week of November this year,” he added.Quick commerce, in particular, is expected to see a substantial expansion of 30-40%, driven by the rising consumer demand for fast deliveries during the festive period, he added.Agrees Manu Saigal, director – general staffing at Adecco. “New segments, such as quick commerce, sustainable products and luxury goods align with the mindset of Gen Z, as they want everything quickly; hence, there is a surge in demand there as well.”With Zepto scaling up its operations especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, there is even greater demand for gig workers, said the quick-commerce firm’s chief operating officer, Vikas Sharma.Incentives on the riseAttendance bonuses, ranging from 15-25% of workers’ monthly salary; performance-based incentives including daily bonuses, particularly for workers in warehouses, retail and sales roles; and other employee engagement programmes are among initiatives being rolled out by companies to encourage regular attendance and motivate employees to meet/exceed daily targets, said Adecco’s Saigal.“We are ramping up our efforts with targeted campaigns and incentives for new gig workers. Additionally, we have streamlined our training processes to ensure that new members are quickly and effectively integrated,” said Zepto’s Sharma.To attract talent, many employers are offering competitive incentives, including higher pay rates, flexible working hours and performance bonuses, said Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer, operational talent solutions at talent company Randstad India.“Such measures are crucial for maintaining workforce morale and ensuring operational efficiency during this peak season,” Giri said.Gigin Technologies chief executive Surinder Bhagat said companies offer bonus payouts, flexible shifts and transport facilities to deal with changing weather conditions and the increased workload. In some cases, health insurance and accident covers are also being offered to ensure worker safety during the busy festive season.Most frontline employees earn handsome incentives that can go up to 50-100% of their monthly earnings during this time, against the average 10-25% incentive of monthly earnings, said Bhatia of Quess. “In some cases, the incentive during these two months can even touch the combined incentives earned across the rest of the year.”