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[ad_1] ECB executive board member talks about current state of digital euro CBDC research [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Hit by the Omicron wave, sharp increase in raw material prices, shortage of components and subdued demand in rural markets, corporate profits for the March 2022 quarter will be a mixed bag. A robust showing by banks on the back of good top line growth and lower loan provisions, higher realisations for upstream oil companies and large gains for downstream oil players will boost aggregate earnings. However, profits of a clutch of key sectors –auto, cement, consumer staples – would be subdued. In fact, if banks, oil & gas and the consumable fuels sector were to be excluded, the growth in the Sensex’s earnings, analysts say, could slip into high single digits. While corporate India’s balance sheet has been deleveraged over the past couple of years, and most are in good shape, there are some signs of stress. One study of 1,789 companies (excluding financials) showed that 51% of this universe reported a fall in the interest cover for the nine months to December 2021. These businesses were primarily in sectors such as communications, gems and jewellery, sugar, paper and textiles. With the economy opening up, some of this stress should abate. Meanwhile, inflation in commodities will hurt gross margins for FMCG players, leaving a modest profit growth even as revenues for the sector are estimated to grow in high single digits. Interestingly, most companies have either taken price hikes or are contemplating them, suggesting they are confident volumes won’t fall too much. For the March quarter, revenue growth would be led largely by price hikes and volumes should either stay flat or increase marginally. Demand for consumer staples is understood to have been particularly muted in rural India. Against this backdrop, an update from Marico showed demand had held up reasonably well in the fourth quarter on a high base that would leave volume growth marginally better. A tepid show from Titan – recurring sales of jewellery were flat year-on-year in the March quarter – has been attributed to sharp rise in prices of gold in March. Godrej Consumer Products expects to deliver a double-digit sales growth in the quarter led by better pricing. The shortage of chips and high raw material costs will pressurise profit margins of automobile manufacturers. Revenues could remain flat, despite better realisations as production volumes would be hurt especially in the passenger volume segment. Data shows two-wheeler sales have been weak primarily due to high ownership costs. However, there has been some recovery in the commercial vehicle segment. A relatively dull demand environment, tougher with elevated fuel and power costs, would leave profits of makers of construction materials somewhat subdued. Producers of metals should report strong revenues but profit growth could be less exciting – in single digits — partly due to a base effect and partly due to higher coal prices. However, indicative volumes from realty suggest they have done fairly well. Although demand remained strong, driven by spends on digital needs, analysts believe IT services companies may have realised only modest price increases in the fourth quarter. Consequently, the higher-than-usual wage hikes – both onsite and offshore – , lateral hiring as well as the hiring of freshers in large numbers, could leave ebit (earnings before interest and tax) margins of IT services firms under pressure. That’s despite help from a weaker rupee. In a typically weak season for the industry, analysts estimate ebit margins could fall by 170-350 bps y-o-y and 10-70 bps sequentially for the top tier firms. Given the roughly 50% increase in crude oil prices since the December 2021 quarter, inventory gains would likely outweigh the marketing losses of oil marketing companies. For upstream oil companies, the higher crude oil prices would boost profitability as would strong refining spreads. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] EU could revisit renewable targets in push to quit Russian energy -Timmermans [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] The launch of 5G services by private operators later this year may open up a revenue stream for the state-run, loss-making BSNL. The company is looking at leasing its 68,000 telecom towers, 65% of which are fiberised, to private mobile operators who would need more capacity.According to sources, the company has already leased out 13,500 telecom towers earning an annual revenue of more than Rs 1,000 crore, which is consistently increasing. “5G deployment by operators will require a greater number of sites and BSNL is in a better position to lease out fiberised sites,” said an official.The percentage of BSNL’s fiberised towers is much higher than the industry average of 34%. Fiberisation of mobile networks is essential for providing 5G services as well as to cater to the digital connectivity needs of smart city administration like CCTVs, sensors and other public address systems. Since, the data load on 5G networks will be much higher as compared to 3G and 4G, a fiber backhaul is necessary for seamless connectivity. The strategy to monetise tower and fiber assets has been yielding results. In FY21, the company raised around Rs 1,800 crore by securitising tower rentals. It leased around 200,000 km fiber network to earn annual revenue of Rs 392 crore. BSNL has informed the government that it has around 800,000 route km of optical fiber cable, of which 25% can be monetised. As per its internal assessment, the approximate value of OFC which can be monetised is Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 5 lakh/km). BSNL, which is preparing to launch 4G services soon, along with MTNL has been trying to monetise their assets, which include real estate, fiber assets and towers. Apart from the monetisation, the companies are seeking government support worth Rs 1.6 trillion, of which `36,260 crore would be cash support for BSNL/MTNL over the next three years. Although the merger of BSNL and MTNL is not happening in near future due to high debt of MTNL, there are synergies between the two firms.Going forward, BSNL will be offering services in Mumbai and Delhi. BSNL aims to become profit making company by 2025-26. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] NYC mayor Adams tests positive for COVID, only symptom is 'raspy voice' – spokesperson [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] The bank or NBFC will do a purity test on the gold before lending you money [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Space station's first all-private astronaut team welcomed aboard orbiting platform [ad_2] Source link