Bajaj Auto’s three-wheelers are on a fast track. The end of the permit raj for autorickshaws in Maharashtra has pushed the company’s three-wheeler sales to record highs in FY18 and this good run is expected to continue in FY19 too. Bajaj Auto has emerged as a major beneficiary of the end of the permit system in Maharashtra and issue of new permits in Delhi. There has been a recovery in three-wheeler exports as well, and the company is set to exceed its annual sales targets this year.

While core PPOP was largely in line (flat opex offset weak revenues), lower trading profit led to sharply lower bottom line. Net stressed assets declined to 8.7% of net customer assets. We hope top line growth revives with resolutions/ lower credit costs aiding RoA improvement. Retain Buy with PT of Rs 410.

Core PPOP: NIM at 3.14% was marginally better while fee income disappointed — management guides for double-digit growth on full year basis.

Q3 was strong on robust 38.2% Y-o-Y growth in Individual Rated Premium (IRP; market share further up to 13% vs 11.2% in FY17), improvement in persistency ratio (in majority of buckets), a gradual uptick in Value of New Business margin (VNB; up 40 bps q-o-q to 16%) and efficient cost management (calc expense ratio down 196 bps q-o-q to 10.9%). Consequently, PAT was in line at Rs 230 crore (up 20.9% y-o-y). VNB came in at Rs 930 crore and VNB margin at 16% in 9MFY18.

The Sensex lost over 1,000 points in opening trade on Tuesday on global cues to come down below 34,000-mark. While the 30-share index tanked 1,200 points in opening trade, it was trading at 33,866.27, below 890.89 points (2.56%), at 09:30 am.

The 50-share NSE Nifty is trading at 10,404.30, below 262.25 points or (2.46%).

In a strategy running contrary to trend of hardening of rates, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has slashed benchmark lending rate — Marginal Cost of funds-based Lending Rates [MCLR] by 10-25 basis points for tenors less than one year.

The lender has also decided to discontinue the computation and declaration of MCLR for tenors above one year.

Mumbai/New Delhi:Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) is facing a delay of at least a year in starting production from its biggest project, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The nation’s top explorer, which planned to produce gas from a deep water block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the country’s east coast from June 2019, won’t produce first gas until at least the second half of 2020, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Mumbai: Investigative agencies have turned their lens on bitcoin users after earlier surveying cryptocurrency exchanges. Last month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the income tax department (IT) jointly raided users of cryptocurrencies in a few locations suspecting money laundering, fraud and tax evasion, said people aware of the development.

The agencies surveyed bitcoin users in Ahmedabad and Surat last month, said an ED official on condition of anonymity.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to telcos Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone India Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd on a challenge by Competition Commission of India (CCI) to setting aside a probe against them on allegations of cartelisation

A bench headed by justice A.K. Sikri refused to grant an interim stay on the probe order and said that the matter would be heard on merits.

Hardayal Prasad has been appointed as Managing Director and CEO of SBI Card, the credit card issuer said in a statement today. Prasad takes over from Vijay Jasuja who retired on January 31. His appointment is effective February 1, 2018. Prasad joined State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer in 1983, gaining experience in many areas of banking. He has served in several locations spread across different circles and abroad, SBI Card said.

Tata Motors Ltd reported about a 13-fold rise in quarterly profit on Monday, driven by higher sales from its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business after a particularly weak quarter a year earlier.

Net profit for the quarter ended December 31 came in at Rs 12 billion versus Rs 937.7 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

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