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ET Intelligence Group: Sun Pharma, India's biggest drugmaker, did not disappoint its investors in the September quarter. Revenues grew 10.5% and net profit rose 28%.The ebitda margin improved 310 bps to 29.6% - in line with the raw material cost dropping 3.3% over the year ago level.Little wonder then that the Sun Pharma stock closed 2.2% higher following the results announcement.The India business, accounting for a third of the company's total revenues, grew at 11%. This is a volume-led growth aided by new product launches. Sun's India business grew higher than the Indian Pharma market growth. The company launched 14 new products during the quarter.114709711Company's US business - constituting a third of the total revenues - has grown 22% driven by the promising growth being charted by its specialty business. The underlying performance of Sun's specialty portfolio remains strong, and the company is aggressive in growing this business. For instance, Sun Pharma recently entered into an agreement with Philogen for commercializing late-stage candidate Fibromun, upon approval. The company is going to leverage its strong cash position to strengthen its pipeline with products that are close to market.While the emerging markets revenues grew 4.6%, the rest of the world sales dipped over 2% due to price cuts in the Japanese markets.Sun Pharma spent ₹792 crore towards R&D during the quarter - 38% of this was towards specialty drug portfolio. The R&D spend for the quarter stood at 6% of the sales - lower than the company's historical spending in the recent years. However, it is an exception as for the full year FY25, the company has guided the R&D spend to be in the range of 7-8% of sales.The Sun Pharma stock has gained 70% in the past one year - significantly outperforming the benchmark index as well as the sectoral pharma index.The company's strong September quarter performance comes on back of its market leadership in the domestic market as well as gains made by its global specialty business - a calculated bet that turned out right.As Sun Pharma is transforming from being a generic drug major to specialty drug major, investors need to brace themselves for the company incurring higher expenses towards ramping up its specialty business as well as towards R&D. Right now, Sun's efforts to build its specialty business is the most exciting aspect to watch out for.

Mumbai: The multi-year bull run in automobile shares is losing its steam as investor appetite for the sector is waning amid concerns over elevated stock valuations and sluggish vehicle demand. The Nifty Auto index has declined over 11% in the past month as against the 5.7% decline in the benchmark Nifty. Analysts said the Auto index could drop at least 10-15% from the current levels."Post-Covid, auto shares have experienced a bull run, and despite some adjustments over the past six months, valuations remain stretched," said Krishna Appala, senior research analyst, Capitalmind Research. "If earnings growth doesn't hold up, corrections of around 10-15% are likely, as share prices have already surged over the last three years."Since April 2020, the Nifty Auto Index has surged 430% as against the 201% up move in the Nifty. Among auto shares, Maruti Suzuki gained 186%, Tata Motors soared 1,250%, Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 892%, Bajaj Auto rose 390% and Hero Motocorp advanced 212%.The elevated valuations in auto shares after the run-up in the share prices prompted Hyundai Motor India to launch the country's largest IPO of ₹27,870 crore. The mega Hyundai IPO might have signalled a top for auto shares, reflecting in the stock making a weak debut on the bourses on October 22. The stock is currently 7% below its issue price."The Hyundai IPO earlier this month marked the peak of valuations in the sector, with Hyundai trading at 27 times price to earnings (PE) ratio, while market leader Maruti Suzuki is trading at 24 times PE," Appala said.Analysts said signs of a slowdown in automobile demand is weighing down sentiment.114709644India's largest two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto guided for lower two-wheeler sales growth in its second-quarter results. The company's shares plunged 13.1% post the result s - the largest single-day fall since March 2020- - with the pessimism rubbing off on its peers, Hero Motocorp and TVS Motor, which fell over 3% each. "The momentum in two-wheeler stocks was strong ahead of Bajaj Auto's guidance on weak festive demand," said Mumuksh Mandlesha, Research Analyst, Anand Rathi Institutional Equities.The auto sector peaked in November 2023 in volumes, followed by a small uptick in April this year, said analysts. Since then, auto sales have declined, and the sector is currently amid a sluggish phase in the cycle.Appala noted that vehicle inventories have risen to around 77,000 units, compared to an average of 67,000, indicating a slowdown."The sector has been facing slow growth since Q1, initially overshadowed by election uncertainty," said Krishna Appala, senior research analyst at Capitalmind Research. "However, the sluggish growth persisted in Q2 as well. Bajaj Auto's commentary also indicates a slowdown."A Buying Opportunity?Auto shares are expected to remain under pressure over the next two to three quarters, he said. The near-term catalyst for the auto sector could be an overall uptick in consumption, driven by interest rate cuts.Mandlesha said that the corrections in auto shares could be a buying opportunity for investors. He expects two-wheeler shares to do better than those in Passenger Vehicle and Commercial Vehicle segments"Given that the demand is subdued in the PV segment and high valuations, Hyundai has witnessed corrections after the IPO, but it remains a structurally strong player in the sector."

At a time when numerous multinational companies are seeking to enter or expand their presence in India, domestic law firms are establishing practices abroad to support these companies while exploring new opportunities in international markets.Indian law firms are increasingly competing in the global arena for cross-border deals, international arbitration, and fundraising. They are now setting up offices in international financial hubs like Singapore and Dubai, with some also forging formal collaboration or partnerships with firms in Europe and Africa.114702897Cyril Shroff, managing partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM), said, "Opening offices in foreign locales demonstrates our commitment to these jurisdictions and enhances cooperation. It also allows us to tap into new markets with an India connection."In March, CAM opened its second overseas office in Abu Dhabi, following the launch of its first international office in Singapore in December 2021.114533493"Expanding overseas helps globalise the practice of law - especially in terms of learning about and incorporating global best practices and ensuring service offerings are up to an international standard. It also furthers the notion of 'bringing India to the world'," said Shroff.Investment fillipAccording to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a body under the commerce ministry, foreign direct investment inflows reached $71.35 billion in FY23, with provisional figures for FY24 standing at $70.95 billion. These investors will need Indian legal advisors.Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner at Khaitan & Co, said the law firm's expansion into Singapore was a carefully considered strategic move, given its prominence as a key hub for India-related legal work. "We will continue evaluating the potential of new markets, be mindful of our clients' global aspirations, and remain agile in our approach," said Khaitan.114651447"As the landscape evolves-especially with the potential entry of foreign law firms into India-global offices may also serve as a hedge against any loss of referral work." In March 2021, the over 113-year-old Khaitan & Co opened its first overseas office in Singapore.Strategic tie-upsLast month, New Delhi-based law firm Areness Law entered a strategic partnership with Polish firm Dudkowiak, Kopec & Putyra to offer cross-border legal services. In March, the firm also signed a memorandum of understanding with German law firm Schmidt, von der Osten & Huber.Mumbai-headquartered firm Vertices Partners is considering opening its first overseas office in the Middle East in the coming months and is exploring potential expansion into Africa."We are at a size and stage where we are 'large enough to be significant, yet nimble,' making us adaptive to the needs of clients and collaborative partners," said Vinayak Burman, managing partner at Vertices Partners."As a result, several firms are in conversation with us and so are we in talks with firms in other geographies. The firm is actively discussing opportunities in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, as well as major hubs like London, Paris, and Frankfurt," he addedIn recent years, Jaipur-based Capstone Legal has entered into collaboration agreements with Nigerian law firm Olisa Agbakoba Legal and Singapore's Vanilla Law.While several Indian law firms are now venturing overseas, some have been operating abroad for several years. Nishith Desai Associates has offices in Silicon Valley, New York, and Singapore, while Kochhar & Co operates in Dubai, Chicago, and Toronto.Rohit Jain, managing partner at Singhania & Co, said it was the first Indian law firm, "way back in the 1990s, to open a London office when even the concept of a national law firm was nascent in India". "Also, sensing the growth opportunities in the UAE, we opened an office in Dubai last year and plan to increase focus on the Middle East and African regions," he added.