3rd May 2024 – 10th May 2024 | Another week in the markets
| S&P 500 | Nasdaq | VIX | DJIA | Russell 1000 | NYSE |
| 5,222.68 | 16,340.87 | 12.55 | 39,512.84 | 2,859.85 | 18,162.05 |
| 1.85% | 1.14% | -6.97% | 2.16% | 1.81% | 2.05% |
| Nifty 50 | Gold | Silver | Brent crude | USD-INR | EUR-INR |
| 22,055.20 | $2,366.90 | $28.39 | $82.78 | 83.55 | 90.02 |
| -1.87% | 2.46% | 6.01% | 0.00% | -0.20% | 0.31% |
Source: MarketWatch
Hello Saturday,
This week, Tesla plans on spending over $500 million on enriching its charging network, Tata Motors Q4 net profit jumps over three-fold to ₹17,407 crore and Asian Paints’ Q4 net profit rises 1.3% to ₹1,275 crore.
- Elon Musk-led Tesla will spend $500 million on building its supercharger network across the USA. The comment comes after the company laid off a large part of the Supercharger team. Musk signalled that the company still planned on expanding its charger base but at a slower pace.
- Tata Motors gave more reasons for its investors to cheer after it reported stellar Q4 figures. Powered by improved operating leverage, muted commodity prices and strong sales across segments, the results surpassed market expectations.
- Asian Paints posted a consolidated net profit of ₹1,275.3 crore in the last quarter of FY24. Both the revenue and the bottom line came in lower than estimates.
- France-based telecommunication manufacturer plans on expanding operations in India, aiming for a targetted revenue of €100 million or ₹898 crore.
Taking stock | Tesla “charges” ahead | In top gear | Asian Paints in dull colours | The French connection | Invest wisely | Another week in the markets
Taking stock
Markets are decisively putting the April turbulence behind them, with a boisterous start to May. All three major indices have advanced at least 3.7% so far this month. On Friday, the Dow rose 0.3%, effectively extending its longest winning streak of 2024. The S&P 500 moved up by 0.2% while the Nasdaq fell by 0.5%.
Tesla “charges” ahead!
Days after firing a large section of the charger team, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said that the company will be spending over $500 million on expanding its charging network across the US.
In a tweet on X, Elon Musk said that Tesla will spend “well over” half a billion dollars to expand its Supercharger network, which will include installation of new chargers this year.
“That’s just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher,” he added.
Tesla stock has been under a cloud, off-late. Shares are down almost 33% YTD. The company has also announced its intention to lay off 10% of its global workforce in a business environment that remains marked with customers turning away from EVs and Tesla having to face elevated competition threats from the likes of BYD.
Exacerbating the scenario further is the fact that the company reported its worst quarterly profit since 2021. However, Tesla has promised a pick-up in the bottom line with the anticipated launch of new and more affordable models.
Amidst the stock battering, the company took the surprising step of laying off much of its Supercharging team. Musk has said that while the company plans on expanding its network, it will be working on the expansion of newer sites at a slower pace, and will focus on fostering existing sites.
In its filings, the company has indicated that in addition to expanding its charging network, the company will invest in autonomous driving capabilities, other artificial intelligence projects, new battery cell technologies and other novel products. Tesla has projected its capex to touch the $10 billion threshold this year and will operate in the $8-$10 billion range in the coming two years.
In top gear
Tata Motors posted handsome Q4 figures, reporting an incredible 222% growth in the consolidated net profit to ₹17,407.18 crore. The car manufacturer’s net profit for the same period last year stood at ₹5,407.79 crore in the same quarter last year.
The company’s operational revenue jumped 13% to ₹1,19,986.31 crore for the last quarter of FY24 from ₹1,05,932.35 crore, a year back.
The revenue and the net profit exceeded market expectations. As per a Moneycontrol estimate of six broking firms estimates, the net profit was forecasted to climb up to ₹7,084 crore.
For the whole of FY24, Tata Motors’ net profit rocketed to ₹37,764.33 crore, an incredible 7,780% leap from FY23 net profit of ₹479.20 crore.
“It is pleasing to report the FY24 results during which Tata Motors Group delivered its highest-ever revenues, profits, and free cash flows. The India business is now debt-free, and we are on track to become net automotive debt-free on a consolidated basis in FY25. The businesses are executing well on their distinct strategies and therefore, we are confident of sustaining this strong performance in the coming years.” PB Balaji, Group Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors said.
Source: Google Finance
Asian Paints in dull colours!
Asian Paints investors will find little reason to cheer the latest Q4 results. For the quarter under review, the company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹1,275.3 crore, a rise of barely 1.3% from ₹1,258.41 crore posted in the same quarter in the last FY.
The company’s revenue also remained muted, dropping marginally by less than a percentage point to ₹8,730.76 crore from ₹8,787.34 crore in the last quarter. Both the revenue and net profit failed to beat market estimates.
EBITDA for the quarter at ₹1,692 crore was also down 9.3%. EBITDA margins have declined by 170 bps YoY to 21.1%.
The company board has suggested a final dividend of ₹28.15 per share, along with the interim dividend of ₹5.15 per share declared in October last year, taking the total dividend for FY24 to ₹33.30.
Managing director and CEO Amit Syngle said the company had crossed the ₹35,000 crore consolidated revenue milestone in FY24.
“Our decorative & industrial coatings combined delivered volume growth of 10% and value growth of 3.9% for the year with our industrial segment registering double-digit value growth. Looking ahead, we remain confident about a pick-up in demand conditions with a favourable monsoon forecast. We will continue to innovate with speed and invest in our brand, focusing on our consumers and keeping their interests at the forefront.” Syngle added.
The French connection!
French telecom manufacturing company Alcatel Lucent is targeting operational expansion in India and is looking to ramp up its revenue to €100 million or ₹898 crore in the next 3 to 5 years.
The target of €100 million represents a 40% upside to the current revenue base of the company’s operations in India. Headquartered in Paris, the company has a presence in more than 50 countries globally.
Within India, the company has around 250 employees, with an overwhelming 200 working at the R&D site. Alcatel Lucent has worked on several projects in India, most notably the Indian Digital Village project pioneered by the government of India.
“We have been actively working on the digital transformation aspect across 7,000 villages under the Digital Village Project. Also, most metro rail networks across the country are run on our network. In the defence sector, voice solutions are under the ALE infrastructure system.” Sandrine El Khodry, senior vice president for Emerging Europe, India, Middle East & Africa (EEIMEA) region, Alcatel Lucent Enterprise told Business Standard.
Sandrine told the business newspaper that Alcatel Lucent is actively seeking local manufacturing partners in India, and is looking to produce goods locally under the Make-in-India programme.
Invest wisely
Investing fundamentally is a test of your conviction as well as risk appetite. With alarming regularity, equity markets are battered with meltdowns and crashes, which kick off massive erosion of value and wealth. At such junctures, it is necessary that the investor, in question, resists the fear & panic triggered by the mass exodus of investors, and sticks by his hypothesis and conviction. With the deep research prowess of the Appreciate app at your disposal, you can zero in on the perfect stocks that can help you take on volatility storms and market meltdowns with quiet confidence.
Warm regards,
Another week
in the markets
