Stocks to Watch: Paytm, Godrej Properties, RattanIndia, Protean eGov, Finolex

Paytm: One97 Communications, parent company of Paytm, saw its UPI market share fall to 9 percent in March, as per NPCI data. This is the lowest it has been in the last four years. This downturn is linked to the regulatory constraints placed on its associate, Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In February, before the payments bank issue arose, Paytm's UPI market share had already fallen to 11%, from 11.8% in January. In other news, domestic retail investors have increased their stakes in Paytm by 1.68 percent. According to the most recent shareholding pattern for the quarter ending March 2024, retail investors now hold a 14.53 percent stake in Paytm, up from 12.85 percent previously, while utual funds held a 6.15 percent stake in Paytm for the quarter ending March 31, up from 4.99 percent in the previous quarter, as per the filings.

Godrej Properties: The Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Gurugram has denied the extension application for the Godrej Air Phase 4 project, a group housing project being developed by Godrej Properties in Sector 85, Gurugram. The rejection was due to persistent non-compliance with the Real Estate (Regulations & Development) Act 2016. Despite numerous reminders, the project's promoter failed to correct the application's deficiencies, including license renewal and discrepancies between the bank balance details provided in the Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) and the CA certificate.

RattanIndia Power: Ankur Mitra has stepped down from his role as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel of the company, effective from April 9. On the same date, the board has named Manish Ratnakar Chitnis as the new CFO. Additionally, Gaurav Toshkhani has been appointed as the Company Secretary (CS) and key managerial personnel with immediate effect, succeeding Lalit Narayan Mathpati.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail: The company has established a new entity, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands to facilitate the proposed separation of the Madura Fashion and lifestyle businesses from the parent company, as announced earlier.

IndusInd Bank: IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL), the promoter of IndusInd Bank, has entered into a definitive agreement with Invesco India Asset Management to establish a joint venture. As part of this agreement, IIHL will secure a 60 percent stake in Invesco India Asset Management, while Invesco Limited will maintain a 40 percent stake in the newly created joint venture. Both IIHL and Invesco will hold the status of sponsors in this venture.

Protean eGov Technologies: The IT-enabled solutions company is reportedly preparing to initiate a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), according to informed sources. The QIP offering is set to include a base issue size of ₹170 crore along with a green shoe option of ₹75 crore, reported CNBC-TV18. Equirus has been selected as the banker for the transaction.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance, PB Fintech: On April 9, the general insurance company announced its strategic alliance with Policybazaar, a digital insurance platform. This collaboration aims to combine ICICI Lombard's diverse product portfolio with Policybazaar's extensive reach, to offer accessible insurance solutions to approximately 1 crore customers. The collaboration will provide customers access to a broad spectrum of insurance products, including motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, home insurance, and business insurance, as stated in a joint statement by the companies.

Lupin: The pharmaceutical firm has introduced its inaugural generic variant of Oracea (Doxycycline capsules, 40 mg) in the United States, following the receipt of approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). These Doxycycline capsules, utilized exclusively for treating inflammatory lesions (papules and pustules) of rosacea in adults, have recorded an estimated annual sales figure of $128 million in the US, according to IQVIA MAT data as of February 2024.

Shyam Metalics and Energy: The metals manufacturing firm has revealed plans to set up a new facility for the production of stainless steel hot rolled coils (HRC) at its existing plant in Sambalpur, Odisha with an investment of ₹650 to ₹750 crore, the company said in an exchange filing on April 9. As part of the company's expansion strategy approved by the board on July 27, 2023, the new facility will have an annual production capacity of 0.3 million metric tons. It will focus on the production of 200 and 400 series stainless steel HRCs.

Exide Industries: The battery manufacturer announced on Tuesday that it has purchased a 26% stake in Clean Max Arcadia Private Ltd for ₹5.34 crore. Exide disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has entered into an agreement to acquire this stake in Clean Max Arcadia, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established and promoted by Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd for the production and supply of solar power, with an aim to become a captive consumer of solar power. Exide aims to reduce its power expenses and boost operational efficiency at its factory in Bawal, Haryana with this acquisition.

Paisalo Digital: The company reported that its Assets Under Management (AUM) saw a 32% growth, reaching ₹4,622 crore by the end of the March FY24 quarter. In the same period, disbursements rose by 38% to ₹3,588 crore, and co-lending loan disbursements doubled to ₹1,128 crore. The customer base also expanded significantly, from 1.50 million at the end of the March FY23 quarter to 4.29 million at the end of the March FY24 quarter.

Finolex Industries, Adani Enterprises: PVC pipe manufacturer Finolex Industries has sold its leasehold rights for a 25-acre land parcel in Pimpri, near Pune, to Terravista Developers, a company of the Adani Group. The deal, worth ₹470 crore, was confirmed by documents obtained by CRE Matrix, a firm specializing in real estate data analytics. The land, initially leased to Finolex Industries by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), is planned to be developed into a large data center by the company, led by AdaniConneX, a joint venture between Adani Enterprises and US-based EdgeConneX.

Patel Engineering: The Mumbai-based EPC firm anticipates that its order book will increase to approximately ₹25,000 crore in FY25, up from ₹19,134 crore as of December 2023 (Q3FY24), according to the company's CFO, Kavita Shirvaikar, reported Moneycontrol. She said that the company's order book stood at ₹20,806 crore in March 2023 (FY23) and ₹19,134 crore in December 2023 (FY24). She expects the order book to grow to around ₹25,000 crore in FY25 due to a surge in work in the sectors they serve.

PB Fintech: On April 9, PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar, a digital insurance platform, declared the setting up of its fully-owned subsidiary, PB Pay. The incorporation of PB Pay, established to operate as a payment aggregator, was approved by the promoter of PB Fintech last month, with a paid-up capital of ₹27 crore.