Indian stock market and companies daily report (January 06, 2012, Friday)

Indian markets are expected to open range-bound following mixed cues from the global markets. Asian stocks are currently trading down on concerns of European debt crisis which has outweighed forecasted gains in US employment.
Indian shares erased early gains on Thursday, as weak Asian and European cues amid fresh concerns about the state of Europe's banks and lingering worries over potential euro-zone sovereign downgrades overshadowed rising expectations that the domestic central bank will cut interest rates at the upcoming policy review meet on January 24.
The US markets traded lower early in the day but ended in the green following release of some upbeat U.S. employment data. The early weakness on Wall Street was due in large part to a negative reaction to the results of a French bond auction, with the sale of 7.96 billion Euros worth of long-term French bonds drawing a higher yield than a month ago. Investors worldwide would keenly watch out for the US nonfarm payroll data and monthly unemployment rate data due for release today.

Markets Today
The trend deciding level for the day is 15,882/4,753 levels. If NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 15,955 – 16,053/4,776 – 4,803 levels. However, if NIFTY trades below 15,882/4,753 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 15,784 – 15,711/4,727 – 4,704 levels.

Cement Dispatches – December 2011
ACC’s cement dispatches for December 2011 stood at 2.09mn tonnes, up bystrong 8.9% yoy. For CY2011, the company’s dispatches reported 11.4% growth  to 23.58mn tonnes, though on a lower capacity base of the previous year. The company added ~3mtpa of capacity in CY2011, post which its overall capacity stands at ~30mtpa. Decent growth in dispatches reported by ACC and UltraTech in December 2011 hints at higher dispatches to the southern region, as both the companies have a decent exposure to the southern region. We continue to remain Neutral on ACC.

Maruti Suzuki to raise product prices next week
Maruti Suzuki (MSIL) has announced that it is planning to increase its product prices from next week to mitigate the impact of INR depreciation on input costs. While the company has not divulged any details on the quantum of the price increase, media reports indicate that the price hike will be in the range of 2-3%. The recent price hike comes on the back of price increase of Rs.10,000 carried out in November 2011 on all its diesel models.
MSIL, which has a substantial exposure to Yen (direct as well as indirect imports and royalty payment constitute ~27% of net sales), is likely to be severely impacted by the continued appreciation of Yen vs. INR (~12% qoq in 3QFY2012 and ~30% YTDFY2012). While the company has hedged its direct imports for 2HFY2012 for JPY/USD part of the leg at a rate of JPY79/USD, USD/INR part is still unhedged, which will have a negative impact on the company’s profitability in 2HFY2012. Meanwhile, MSIL has unveiled a new vehicle XA Alpha, a concept for compact SUV at the 11th Auto Expo being held at New Delhi. With the launch of the new concept vehicle and unveiling of MPV Ertiga on January 6, MSIL plans to expand its presence in the utility vehicle segment (UV), which is currently dominated by Mahindra and Mahindra.
At the current price of Rs.933, MSIL stock trading at 12.4x FY2013E earnings. We believe the recent correction in the stock price (~20% post 2QFY2012 results) factors in the impact of demand slowdown and labor problems on FY2012E volume growth and concerns regarding the adverse currency movement on  margins. Thus, we continue to maintain our Accumulate rating on the stock with a target price of Rs.1,051.

Economic and Political News (edited)
- Weekly food inflation plunges to negative 3.36%
- Inflation may fall below 7% by March 2012: PM advisory panel
- Interest rates have peaked as inflation slows: RBI
- No threat to cancel license of any airline: DGCA
- Government to reach out to consumer bodies for FDI in retail

Corporate News
- RIL gas output dips below 39mmcmd in the week ended December 25, 2011
- M&M to invest Rs.800cr in Korean arm, SsangYong Motors, to develop products
- M&M to launch SUV Rexton in India in the next six months
- ONGC finds gas reserves off Daman

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Share Market Update on Central Bank of India for 1QFY2012

Share Market Update on Central Bank of India for 1QFY2012 with a Neutral recommendation.

For 1QFY2012, Central Bank of India posted a 16.6% yoy decline in its net profit primarily due to higher provisions. However, results were above our estimates on lower-than-estimated operating expenses. A sharp sequential dip in NIM and high slippages despite the pending switchover to system-based NPA platform were the key highlights of the results. We maintain our Neutral view on the stock.

NIM dips on lower yield on investments; slippages remain elevated: The bank’s business momentum slowed during the usually lean quarter. Advances declined by 2.8% qoq (up 17.2% yoy) and deposits increased by 3.6% qoq (up 20.3% yoy). CASA deposits growth moderated to 14.7% yoy, resulting in a 259bp qoq decline in CASA ratio to 32.6%. Bulk deposits and CDs constituted a relatively higher ~33% of total deposits. The reduction in CASA ratio and the higher interest rate environment resulted in a sharp 72bp qoq rise in cost of deposits to 6.8%. The yield on advances went up by 77bp qoq to 11.4%. Reported NIM declined sharply by 48bp qoq to 3.0% primarily due to fall in yield on investments (fall of 73bp qoq). The sequential decline in NIM was exacerbated by the benefit of interest on income tax refund of ~`130cr in 4QFY2011. Overall asset quality of the bank deteriorated during the quarter, with annualised slippage ratio remaining elevated at 1.8% (1.1% in 1QFY2011) and net NPAs rising by 27.7% qoq. Slippages remained elevated at 1.8% as compared to 1.1% in 1QFY2011. Provision coverage ratio including technical write-offs declined to 65.2% from 67.6% in 4QFY2011. The bank is yet to switchover to the system-based NPA recognition platform, which could result in a substantial rise in slippages given the bank’s rural branches (37%) and a relatively large agri (16%) portfolio.

Outlook and valuation: At the CMP, the stock is trading at cheap valuations of 0.8x FY2013E ABV compared to its trading range of 0.5–1.5x with a median of 1.1x since listing in 2007. However, due to near-term asset-quality concerns because of system-based NPA recognition, we remain Neutral on the stock.

Share Market Update on Bhushan Steel for 1QFY2012

Share Market Update on Bhushan Steel for 1QFY2012 with a Neutral recommendation.

Strong top-line growth: During 1QFY2012, Bhushan Steel’s (BSL) net sales grew by 62.6% yoy to `2,232cr mainly on account of higher volumes of flat products. Flat products sales volumes grew by 80.2% yoy to 388,790 tonnes, while long product sales volumes grew by 7.6% yoy to 100,664 tonnes in 1QFY2012. Long product average realisation increased by 18.2% yoy to `42,915/tonne, while flat product average realisation decreased by 3.2% yoy to `49,294/tonne.

Depreciation and interest costs mute net profit growth: During 1QFY2012, EBITDA increased by 62.1% yoy to `661cr, representing EBITDA margin of 29.6%, compared to 29.7% in 1QFY2011. EBITDA/tonne increased to `13,505 (US$300) in 1QFY2012, compared to `13,186 (US$293) in 1QFY2011. Depreciation expense increased by 182.4% yoy to `151cr due to increased capacity, while interest expense increased by 173.8% yoy to `216cr because of higher debt. A sharp increase in depreciation and interest costs resulted in net profit growth of only 2.0% yoy (despite 62.1% growth in EBITDA) to `210cr.

Outlook and valuation: At the CMP, the stock is trading at 8.1x FY2012E and 7.1x FY2013E EV/EBITDA, a significant premium over its peers. Although we expect sales volume growth of 24.8% over FY2011–15E, we believe it is too early to play the volume growth story of BSL as strong volume growth is expected only post FY2013. Further, although BSL uses a combination of BF-EAF technology to produce steel, rising prices of iron ore and coal will affect its margins. Moreover, BSL’s debt-equity ratio remains high. Further, we believe the increase in the stock price in the past three months fairly discounts the growth prospects of BSL. Hence, we maintain our Neutral view on the stock.

Stock Market Update on SUN TV Network for 1QFY2012

StockMarket  Update on SUN TV Network for 1QFY2012 with a Buy recommendation and a Target Price of `371 (12 months).

We remain positive on Sun TV’s (STNL) business. However, we have downgraded our P/E multiple to 16x (discount to its industry peer Zee Ent.) due to uncertainties’ surmounting the company. We maintain our Buy view on the stock.

Key highlights of the quarter: STNL posted muted top-line growth of 3.1% yoy and a qoq decline of 1.4%. Earnings recorded modest growth of 9.8% yoy but declined by 9.9% sequentially. Apart from ad income and subscription income from analogue, rest all revenue streams delivered double-digit growth on a yoy basis. For the quarter, revenue contribution from both analogue and DTH subscription increased on a yoy and qoq basis. The company plans to launch 5–6 channels during FY2012. STNL witnessed a dip of 111bp yoy in its operating margin due to higher other expenditure and increased staff costs. Management expects the radio business to be EBITDA positive in FY2012.

Outlook and valuation: We expect STNL to post a CAGR of 15%, 9.3% and 9% over FY2011–13E in its advertisement revenue, EBIT (post amortisation) and earnings, respectively. The recent not-in-favour incidents in which the company has got engulfed has resulted in the stock taking a beating. Nevertheless, we remain positive on the company’s business, considering its vast dominance in the markets in which it is present. At the CMP, the stock is currently trading at 13.1x FY2013E (below its median of 23x). We maintain our Buy view on the stock with a revised target price of `371, based on 16x revised consolidated EPS of `23 (a discount to its industry peer Zee Entertainment).