India News

Railway minister hints there may not be any cut in train fares

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today hinted that there may not be any cut in train fares in spite of the fall in diesel prices.

“Actually, the Railways recover only 50 per cent of the passenger cost they bear. So, there is already a huge element of subsidy (and passengers are getting benefits as passenger fare is subsidised),” Prabhu told reporters here.

Buy rating on HDFC Bank, target Rs 1,255: Jefferies

We maintain a ‘buy’ rating on HDFC Bank and raise price target to Rs 1,255 (earlier Rs 1,240). The stock trades at 5x adjusted book value (December 2014) and 21.4x 12-month rolling earnings (Dec 15). Our target implies a forward book multiple of 4.4x and 20.0x earnings versus last eight-year averages of 3.9x and 19.8x, respectively.

BSE Sensex hits another peak of 29,844.16; NSE Nifty at 8,996.60

The BSE Sensex continued its record setting spree and hit a new peak of 29,844.16 and the NSE Nifty inched towards the 9,000-level in early trade today on robust fund inflows and sustained optimism over the upcoming Budget.

The 30-share index rose by 162.39 points, or 0.54 per cent, to hit a new peak of 29,844.16 (intra-day), breaking its previous record of 29,786.32 touched on January 28.

Why Ashok Leyland’s sharp jump in profit failed to impress

Ashok Leyland Ltd reported an abnormally high jump in profit for the December quarter, although investors were not impressed. In the year-ago December quarter, it reported an operating loss amounting to 5% of revenue. Last quarter, operating profit rose to 7.1% of revenue on the back of a 72% jump in net revenue.

But analysts had estimated an ever higher profit margin of 7.4%, more or less in line with the margins the company had reported for the September quarter. Besides, Ashok Leyland trades at steep valuations of 10 times enterprise value to Ebitda, based on estimates for 2016-17. Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, is a key measure of profitability.

NTPC shortlists acquisition targets

New Delhi: India’s largest power producer NTPC Ltd has shortlisted two plants, one owned by Gautam Thapar’s Avantha Group and another by Adhunik Group, for potential acquisitions as it seeks to add capacity to meet future demand for electricity—a rare instance of a state-run entity purchasing domestic private sector assets.

The projects are Avantha Power and Infrastructure Ltd’s (APIL) 600 megawatt (MW) Jhabua Power Ltd (JPL) in Madhya Pradesh and Adhunik Thermal Energy Ltd’s 540MW Jamshedpur project in Jharkhand.