Page 7 - Icra

India's economic growth may have slowed to 3.5% in Q4 of FY22: Icra Ratings

The agency said the hiccups in the recovery of the contact-intensive services attributable to the third wave of Covid-19 in the country may have also affected the economic growth in the quarter

Domestic steel industry hit by moving train post govt's duty measures: ICRA

The domestic steel sector has been "hit by a moving train," ratings agency Icra said reacting to the duty-related measures taken by the government.

Fuel duty cuts likely to help ease retail inflation by up to 25 bps

But experts call for other fiscal measures too to bring inflation down

Small exporters feel the pain as Indian rupee slides to an all-time low

Weaker currency makes some customers to demand benefits or discounts, rue exporters

RBI to transfer Rs 30K cr surplus to govt for FY22; lowest amount in 8 yrs

Last year, the transfer of Rs 99,126 crore was for a nine-month period ended March 2021

Icra forecasts 12-13% growth in Q1FY23, sticks to 7.2% GDP for full fiscal

Citing the second highest business activity index reading in 13 months in April, rating agency Icra on Tuesday forecast the economy to grow 12-13 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal. However, Icra has maintained its annual GDP projection at 7.2 per cent for this fiscal citing worries over inflation and the resultant RBI tightening. "Our business activity monitor for April at 115.7 indicates that activity was roughly 16 per cent higher than the year ago (period) and pre-COVID levels in spite of the global headwinds," Icra Chief Economist Aditi Nayar told PTI. This high growth may persist in May, especially on an annualised basis, which should translate into a double-digit GDP expansion in Q1 at 12-13 per cent. However, this may not sustain and the annual growth in volume and activity may moderate, she said. According to her, higher input costs may dampen GVA growth to single-digits. "Therefore, we maintain our GDP growth forecast at 7.2 per cent for FY23". Citing .

Exports up 30.7% to $40.19 bn in April; trade deficit widens to $20.11 bn

India imported goods worth $60.3 billion, up nearly 30 per cent on year in April

Higher coal imports may push power supply cost for discoms by 4.5- 5%: Icra

The government measures to ease power supply constraints through higher coal imports are likely to increase cost of supply for discoms by 4.5-5.0 per cent in 2022-23, Icra said on Tuesday. On May 5, Ministry of Power (MoP) issued a directive under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, stating that all imported coal-based power plants shall operate and generate power at their full capacity to meet the growing demand, Icra stated. As per this directive, all states and power generating companies (gencos) based on domestic coal will have to import at least 10 per cent of their fuel requirement for blending with domestic coal and meet the growing demand for electricity. This directive by the ministry is valid till October 31, 2022. As the present power purchase agreements (PPAs) do not provide for a pass-through of the fuel cost for these projects, the tariff for supply from these plants under PPAs shall be worked out by a committee with representatives from the MoP, Central Electricity ..

Domestic air passenger traffic logs estimated 83% growth in April: ICRA

Domestic air passenger traffic is estimated to have logged an 83 per cent growth year-on-year at 10.5-million in April as Covid-19 infection cases waned, leaving a gap of just 5 per cent when compared to the pre-pandemic level, ICRA said on Monday. Indian carriers had flown around 11 million passengers in April 2019. However, the domestic airline operators saw the international passenger traffic marginally surpassing the pre-pandemic numbers (around 1.83 million), with total volumes standing at around 1.85 million, it said. It also said that rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices due to ongoing geo-political issues linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to evolve as a major threat to the recovery process. For April 2022, the average daily departures were at around 2,726, notably higher than the average daily departures of around 2,000 in the same month a year earlier and higher compared to around 2,588 in March 2022, said Suprio Banerjee, Vice-President & Sector Head, ..

State govts' borrowings to be lower by Rs 50,000 crore in Q1: ICRA

During Apr 1-May 2 FY2023, only Andhra Pradesh (Rs 44 billion), Maharashtra (Rs 40 billion), Punjab (Rs 25 billion) and Haryana (Rs 15 billion) raised through State Development Loans (SDL)

India's exports up 24% to $38 bn in April; trade deficit widens to $20 bn

The preceding month had witnessed record outbound shipments of $42.2 billion

Capital expenditure crucial as inflation may hit India Inc plans: Icra

Icra said it expected capacity utilisation to reach the critical threshold of 75 per cent required to trigger broad-based capacity expansion, only by the end of the current calendar year

General insurance industry's GDPI to grow by 10-12% in FY23: Report

The rise is led by higher growth in the health and commercial business segments with increasing awareness of medical insurance and uptick in economic activity, Icra Ratings said in a report

Hospital industry revenue growth likely to moderate in FY23: Report

The rating agency said the performance of its sample set of hospital companies remained strong in Q3 FY22 on the back of continued momentum of elective procedures and strong ARPOB

Two-wheeler demand remains weak as compared with last year: Icra

Demand for two-wheelers continues to be weak while that for passenger and commercial vehicles remains robust as compared with last year, a survey by ratings agency Icra has revealed.

Sugar shares rally up to 9% on hopes of strong operational performance

With favourable mix of ethanol towards B-heavy/juice (feedstock) coupled with higher sugar realisations; operating margins are expected at 12.7%-13.7% in FY22-FY23 (slightly higher than FY21 levels).

Indian tea companies smell opportunity as Sri Lanka crisis brews

Island nation largest orthodox tea supplier, exporting over 95% of its production, according to ICRA report

Domestic air traffic up 59% in FY22, 40% lower than pre-Covid level: Icra

It also expects elevated Aviation Turbine Fuel prices, aggravated by geo-political issues, to remain a near-term challenge for industry and will be a key determinant of profitability for the sector

Geopolitics could shape FY23 asset quality

Sectors that witnessed relatively high upgrades in the just-concluded fiscal include real estate, power, ferrous metals, textiles and pharmaceuticals

RBI monetary policy review: Revised HTM cap to aid govt borrowing

It is also expected to help in softening the blow from hardening bond yields, bankers and analysts said