The growing strengths of ITC again aided by a price hike in tobacco products in this quarter, gave cause to investors and market makers inthe stock to push northto unheralded levels a sthe rally from infracos receded almost as expected after the bid to 5650 bbecame stronger in the afternoon trades this Friday. 

ITC toplines ( excluding Excise) finally seemed to gro respectably after getting pflatlined for a few quarters around the $1 B mark with a $1.2 B mark at INR 71 B helping PAT grow another fifth, breaking the jinxed 2-3 quarters for India Inc as well hich have almost straitjacketed India Inc to GDP growth and IIP groth levelsand consisstent downgrades on earnings.

While the retail lifestyle consumption groth still did not herald the breaking of the "Limited Feature" score of $1B in Consumer Brand Valuations that seem to cripple most Discretionary and Non discretionary branding stores, the significant growth provides hope to those entering India as investors in the Consumption story that indeed Multi billion brands are possible to be built despite the experiences of HUL, P&G, Dabur, Marico, Britannia and now even McDonalds and Pizza Hut in India's prolific competitive spaces filled ith 85% unbranded/commodity plays or the hitherto Mom & Pop space that seems to hit these brands like airbags deploying early on crossing a specific speed 

Bajaj Finserv growth and the resurgence of Insuranc e and NBFC consumer loans stories also underrite the same hopes with Bajaj FinServ posting a INR 10 B income and INR 2.2 B PAT

ITC Net Sales were INR67 B a linked/sequential quarter ago in June and seem to have grown more than 6% sequentially as well. Slower increases in COGS and Trading goods purchases coupled with good cycling of current inventories have been growing ITC margins in the last two quarters and the same seemed to have stood ITC in good stead as will be cleared on detailed segment results being avalable on the earnings call/ review

 

Posted via email from The India Investment Post