Daily Brief India: LT Foods Ltd, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Azure Power Global Ltd, Cipla Ltd and more

• India’s rice export ban triggers global market chaos, leading to panic buying and uncertainty in rice supply, affecting both India and Thailand.
• El Niño’s drought threatens Thailand’s rice production, adding to the crisis. Other Asian nations impose export bans, raising inflation concerns.
• Global rice prices rise, impacting vulnerable nations and sparking fears of a repeat of the 2008 rice crisis due to protectionist policies.

• As highlighted in our prior notes, HDFC Bank (HDFCB IN) has been able to maintain its ROA and ROE despite NIM compression post merger.
• As the excess liquidity (related to the merger) recedes over the next 3-4 quarters, ROA and ROE should further normalize.
• HDFCB has been able to clock 5%ish QoQ growth across deposits and loans, allaying growth concerns on a larger base post merger.

Bharti Airtel’s Q2/23-24 results were robust in our view, with solid revenue and earnings growth across the Indian and African businesses. Operational stats were healthy, with strong increases in user bases and ARPU (particularly the 5G customer base). The financial risk profile remains stable. Liquidity is adequate.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• Azure Power Global Ltd
• Evergrande
• Japfa Comfeed Indonesia
• Medco Energi
• Zhenro Properties Group

• In Q2FY24, Cipla Ltd (CIPLA IN) clocked record-high quarterly revenue at INR66.8B (+15% YoY), and EBITDA margin of 26%, driven by double-digit growth across India, North America, and South Africa.
• U.S. business reported highest ever revenue of $229M. India revenue is up 10% YoY, driven by continued market beating performance in branded prescription and trade generics businesses.
• Cipla raised FY24 EBITDA margin guidance from 23% to 23% to 24% with bias towards the higher end. The company started FY24 with an EBITDA margin guidance of 21–22%.