Business News

Home appliances maker Orient Electric posted an over two-fold rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday, helped by strong demand for its fans and air coolers with the onset of summer. The company's profit rose to 312.6 million rupees ($3.66 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 128 million rupees a year ago. Revenue from operations grew 9.4% to 8.62 billion rupees during the quarter. For further earnings highlights, click KEY CONTEXT The fourth quarter was strong for consumer durables makers, driven by an early summer in India and channel filling for products like air coolers, refrigerators, and fans, according to analysts. India saw above-average temperatures from January to March, with both days and nights warmer than normal across most regions. Fans saw solid demand from summer stocking, with companies implementing modest price hikes. Revenue from Orient Electric's consumer durables segment, which includes fans, air coolers, and kitchen appliances, rose 7.9% in the quarter. The segment remains its main revenue driver. PEER COMPARISON Valuation (next 12 Estimates (next 12 Analysts' sentiment months) months) RIC PE EV/EBI Price/ Revenue Profit Mean No. of Stock to Div TDA Sales growth (%) growth rating* analyst price yield (%) s target** (%) Orient Electric 37.49 18.49 1.29 12.85 57.76 Buy 13 0.87 0.64 Havells India 54.85 37.13 4.16 13.96 20.24 Buy 24 0.89 0.62 Polycab India 36.08 24.90 2.90 17.40 21.27 Buy 25 0.85 0.53 Crompton Greaves 32.17 21.54 2.26 15.36 23.68 Buy 31 0.75 0.87 Consumer Electricals * The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT JANUARY- MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG -- $1 = 85.4400 Indian rupees

Dr Lal Path Labs, India's largest diagnostics firm by revenue, reported fourth-quarter profit above expectations on Friday as strong demand for its bundled test packages lifted growth amid rising health awareness in the country. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 83.2% year-on-year to 1.55 billion rupees (about $18 million) in the quarter ended March 31, beating analysts' average estimate of 1.02 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG. Dr Lal's shares, which were trading down 1.2%, jumped nearly 6% after results. A rising emphasis on preventive healthcare, along with the expansion of diagnostics firms like Dr Lal Path Labs into smaller cities, has fueled demand for medical tests, especially in urban India. Moreover, the company benefited from strong demand for its bundled tests offerings, which combine tests for multiple conditions, such as diabetes and thyroid, under one, analysts said. Dr Lal, which operates about 300 clinical labs across India, saw a 9.5% y/y rise in sample volume in the reported quarter, taking its total revenue from operations 10.5% higher to 6.03 billion rupees. Analysts expected revenue to come in at 6.04 billion rupees. Rival Metropolis Healthcare will report its March-quarter results in the coming weeks. ($1 = 85.4100 Indian rupees)