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Shares of Tejas Networks surged 20% to hit the upper circuit at Rs 1,427.55 in Monday's trade on the BSE, following the company’s return to profitability in the second quarter of FY25. Tejas Networks reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 275 crore, compared to a net loss of Rs 13 crore in the same period last year.The company's consolidated revenue from operations saw a six-fold increase, reaching Rs 2,811 crore in Q2FY25, up from Rs 396 crore during the same quarter last year.Tejas Networks also posted a profit before tax of Rs 411 crore in Q2FY25, compared to a loss of Rs 18 crore in Q2FY24.In Q2, the company’s revenue mix was primarily driven by the private sector in India, contributing 93% of total revenue, a 13.7x year-on-year (YoY) increase, largely due to BSNL’s 4G-related shipments to TCS. The government segment contributed 4%, reflecting a 5% decline, while international revenues made up 3%, down by 3%, mainly due to lower shipments to Africa and South Asia.Tejas ramped up 4G/5G RAN shipments for BSNL’s pan-India network, having shipped equipment to over 58,000 sites. The company also received additional orders to densify existing 4G sites in select circles. Internationally, it saw strong demand for its GPON and DWDM products, securing new customer wins in the Americas and Africa, including an initial order for network modernization in the US.As of the end of the September quarter, the company’s order backlog stood at Rs 4,845 crore, with Rs 4,627 crore from India and Rs 218 crore from international markets, according to its Q2 investor presentation.Looking ahead, Tejas Networks is focusing on growth opportunities across both wireless and wireline segments. In wireless, it expects to benefit from BSNL’s 4G expansion and the eventual upgrade to 5G. The company is also targeting projects like the Indian Railways’ Kavach system, a collision avoidance technology, and private 5G applications for large enterprises.In the wireline space, Tejas plans to capitalize on Bharatnet Phase 3 and the expansion of DWDM backbone networks in the utilities sector. The company is also pursuing Fiber to the Home (FTTH) and network modernization contracts in the EMEA region and the Americas.At 10:45 am, the scrip was trading 13.4% higher at Rs 1,349 on BSE. Its shares have surged 54% in 2024 to date and 104% over the past two years, with the company currently holding a market capitalization of Rs 23,051 crore.Tejas Networks, part of the Tata Group, designs and manufactures high-performance wireline and wireless networking products for telecommunications, internet service providers, utilities, defense, and government entities across 75+ countries. Panatone Finvest, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, is its majority shareholder.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Shares of Tata Consumer Products fell 9.4% on Tuesday to their day’s low of Rs 991.50 on the BSE, as an 8% jump in net profit for the quarter ended September 2024—to Rs 364 crore (attributable to shareholders)—failed to impress D-Street investors. The profit figure was Rs 338 crore in the year-ago period.Revenue from operations for the reported quarter stood at Rs 4,214 crore, up 13% from Rs 3,734 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.The company's India beverages segment grew by 3%, with tea volumes declining by 4% year-on-year, while India Foods revenue grew by 28% (+9% organic), according to the company filing. Volume growth was 1% for the reported quarter.Post the Q2 results, brokerages expressed disappointment and cut their target prices for the stock. Here is what analysts said:Jefferies: Hold | Target Price: Rs 1,170Jefferies maintained a Hold rating on the stock and cut the target price to Rs 1,170 from Rs 1,190.“Another quarter, another miss,” stated Jefferies. Tata Consumer experienced another weak quarter, especially in the India business, both in terms of revenue and margins. Like-for-like EBITDA was down sharply by 23%, primarily due to significant input cost inflation in the tea business. The tea segment also witnessed a volume decline, with NourishCo experiencing modest trends. Salt was a modest performer with near-flat volumes. However, acquisitions were bright spots, generating higher-than-expected revenues.Morgan Stanley: Overweight | Target Price: Rs 1,273Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on Tata Consumer while cutting the target price to Rs 1,273 from Rs 1,344.Q2 was a miss across domestic businesses; however, the international business delivered. Organic revenue growth was weak at 5%, with a volume decline in tea. Growth businesses' organic growth was weaker at 15%, while the non-branded/international segments continued to perform well. Market share remains the key focus, as rural recovery is gradual while urban demand has softened.Nuvama: Buy | Target Price: Rs 1,350Nuvama retained a Buy call on the stock but cut the target price to Rs 1,350 from Rs 1,390.The India beverages segment was impacted in Q2 by weather and competition from Campa (-4% YoY LFL), while tea volumes also saw a decline of 4% YoY. Growth businesses accounted for 29% of the India business and grew by 15% YoY (LFL). Inflationary tea and salt costs remain a concern, leading Nuvama to cut FY25/26/27E EPS by 4%/1.2%/3%. They also reduced the P/E multiple for the India business to 60x (from 65x).(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Mumbai: The sharp swings in the stock market of late have not dimmed individual investors' appetite for taking borrowed bets on shares.The money borrowed under the brokers' margin trading funding (MTF) facility - a system allowing investors to borrow to buy shares they cannot afford - swelled by 50% jump last week from March 31, as interest rate cuts on loans for trading in the market recently has encouraged individuals to use more of this funding product.The total MTF book stood at ₹84,800 crore on Friday, against ₹57,101 crore as of March 31. On June 30, it stood at ₹73,577 crore.The average MTF interest rates of brokers have dropped from 18% to below 15% in the past month."The steady increase in retail participation, a sustained market rally, and lower interest rates have significantly contributed to the sharp growth in the MTF book over the past few months, even amid recent corrections," said Gourav Munjal, chief financial officer at 5Paisa Capital. "These factors have fostered a favourable environment for retail investors, driving higher leverage and more margin trading activity as investors are eager not to miss out on the rally."114408268In margin funding, investors buy stocks by paying up only part of the total value, while brokers fund the rest of the purchase and charge interest on the loan. For instance, if an investor buys a share worth ₹100 under the MTF facility, she would need to bring in only 20% of the transaction value or ₹20, while the remaining 80% or ₹80 is covered by the brokers. MTF is also collateralised by pledging investors' existing shares.Last year, the total MTF book was around ₹25,700 crore as of March 31, 2023, and about ₹7,100 crore in February 2020.The bigger appetite for this facility is from younger individuals, especially those who have entered the market after 2020.

Mumbai: Overseas investors sold Indian equities worth ₹71,502 crore across 17 sectors in the first 15 days of October, according to data from NSDL.Financial services bore the biggest brunt of foreign selling, with investors pulling ₹23,274 crore out of these shares after buying a similar amount in September. From January to September, overseas investors sold ₹37,732 crore in the sector.Since financials form a large portion of the Nifty 50's weight (33%), shares of sectoral players are sold off the most by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the event of a risk-off sentiment."The fact that the second-quarter results for financials could be under pressure due to scramble for deposits and heightened competition would also have weighed on the minds of FPIs," said Dhiraj Relli, CEO of HDFC Securities.114408245Bank Nifty fell 3.2% in the past month while the benchmark Nifty 50 tumbled 3.6% in the same period."Foreign investors have a huge holding in financials and this time around they sold across baskets. However, the sector has witnessed a similar amount of inflows in September which indicates that they might have squared off their recent positions," said Hemant Nahata, co-lead for strategy at Yes Securities.Foreign investors have pulled ₹77,000 crore out of Indian equities so far this month (as of October 18) - their highest selling in a month in recent years - as a rebound in Chinese equities has lowered their appetite for local stocks.Oil & gas and power sectors were the other themes that witnessed higher foreign outflows in this period. While oil & gas shares saw selling worth ₹12,371 crore primarily due to the uptick in crude oil which rallied to $81.13 per barrel earlier this month on account of the conflict in West Asia, power sector shares witnessed outflows to the tune of ₹2,678 crore."Apart from being a heavyweight on the benchmark index, Reliance is a heavyweight within the oil & gas sector since FPIs have no major holdings in the other PSU names," said Nahata. "The recent selling in the oil & gas space could be largely due to FPIs selling in Reliance Industries."The incessant foreign selling extended to defensive sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and healthcare, which had received foreign inflows in September. Foreign investors offloaded shares worth ₹6,818 crore from FMCG stocks and ₹2,376 crore from healthcare stocks in the first half of October.As sentiments toward Indian markets have turned mildly negative from the FPI side due to valuation concerns, they have been aggressive sellers, said Relli."So even defensives like healthcare and FMCG have come under selling pressure as their valuations continue to be on the higher side," he said.Construction, telecommunications and construction materials were among the sectors which saw a reversal of trend with overseas investors turning sellers worth over ₹1,000 crore in the first fortnight of October.Overseas investors infused ₹5,202 crore into six sectors in the first half of the month. The sector earmarked as 'others' received the highest inflows worth ₹4,271 crore while chemicals and metals & mining received ₹552 crore and ₹222 crore, respectively."FPIs still have major holdings in Indian equities, further selling cannot be ruled out albeit at a slower pace as markets have corrected," said Nahata."The selling in India was initially triggered due to the China-India trade-off but the earnings disappointment by consumption-based names are further dampening the sentiment."Relli said that as the selling is India-market specific, all sectors could face selling pressure in proportion to the holding by FPIs. However, sectors like IT, power and real estate could see lower selling pressure than others.