Shares of telecom major Vodafone-Idea slumped as much as 2.3% to hit a low of ₹8.33 on Thursday, whereas the two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp plunged 1.9% to hit an intraday low of ₹2,574, a day after both companies reported weak earnings for the July-September quarter.
Vodafone-Idea shares opened a tad lower at ₹8.53, against the previous closing price of ₹8.57 on the BSE. During the session so far, the stock declined 2.3% to hit intraday low of ₹8.33, driven by strong volume trade.
The stock witnessed a surge in selling activities as 306.50 lakh shares changed hands over the counter as compared to two-week average volume of 242.49 lakh stocks. The market capitilsation dropped to ₹26,883.48 crore at the time of reporting. The stock hit a 52-week high of ₹16.79 on December 20, 2021, while it hit a 52-week low of ₹7.75 on May 20, 2021.
Similarly, Hero Motocorp belled the day in negative terrain at ₹2,625, against Thursday’s closing price of ₹2,646.15 on the BSE. The stock tumbled as much as 1.9% to hit an intraday low of ₹2,574 during the session, while m-cap slipped to ₹51,652 crore. The auto major delivered a negative return of 3.5% in a year, while it rose 4.4% in the calendar year 2022. In the past six month, it rose 7.3%, while it dipped 1.4% in a month.
On Friday, the BSE-Sensex opened flat at 60,698 points. At 2:03 pm, the Sensex was down 119 points or 0.20% at 60,717, whereas the Nifty 50 index advanced 21 points or 0.85% at 18,051.
Vi shares fall as Q2 loss widens
Vi's loss widened to ₹7,595 crore in the September quarter, down 6.49% against ₹7,132 crore in the same period last year, on higher expenses. Its revenue from operations was ₹10,615 crore.
Sequentially, its profit slipped 4% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) vs ₹7,296 crore in the April-June quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dipped 5.33% from ₹4,097 crore in Q2 against ₹4,328 crore in Q1.
Net sales, however, grew 12.84% at ₹10,614 crore in Q2 against ₹9,406 crore in the year-ago period.
Hero Motocorp skids on weak Q2
Hero's profit, too, dipped 9.85% to ₹716 in the September quarter against ₹794 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 7.3% to ₹9,158 crore in Q2 vs ₹8,538 crore in the same period last year.
EBITDA stood at ₹1,038 crore during the quarter.
Sequentially, profit declined 46.6% against ₹1,341 crore in Q1, while revenue slumped 49% against ₹17,468 crore in the previous quarter.
The overall revenue for the first half grew by 25.3%, and EBITDA margins improved sequentially from 11.2% in Q1 to 11.4% in Q2. Net sales in H1 FY23 dipped 17% YoY to 4,54,582 units against 5,47,910 in the same period last year. Of this, 4,42,825 units were sold in the domestic market, while exports accounted for 11,757 units.
Niranjan Gupta, chief financial officer (CFO), Hero MotoCorp, said: “A healthy festive period demand across most categories and specifically in the auto sector has demonstrated the underlying propensity to spend has gone up. Consumer confidence is coming back, which augurs well for growth momentum moving forward.”
He said the global macro headwinds may keep the playfield a bit uncertain. "However, as the commodities cool off, and the rate cycle reaches its peak, the medium-term outlook for the Indian auto industry appears quite encouraging.”
