Stocks in news: HDFC, Electrosteel Steels, USL, Petronet

Petronet LNG Q4-Net profit up 85.2 percent at Rs 300.7 crore versus Rs 162.4 crore (QoQ)-Total income down 36 percent at Rs 7,162 crore versus Rs 11,198 crore (QoQ)-EBITDA down 35 percent at Rs 221 crore versus Rs 341 crore (YoY)-Operating margin at 3.1 percent versus 3 percent (QoQ)-Other income at Rs 57.6 crore versus Rs 26.8 crore (QoQ)Petronet LNG to CNBC-TV18-Q4FY15 numbers below expectations-Trying to mitigate issues raised after sudden drop in crude prices-Company's long-term volumes reduced significantly in Q4-75 percent of capacity is under long-term contracts-Expect to see the improvement in next two months-Buyers not taking quantities due to fall in crude prices will pay penalty-Penalty is paid on yearly basis, not on quarterly basis-Crude price fall affected customers’ ability to buy-Improvement in margins will depend on offtakes

Siemens Q2-Net profit up 83.4 percent at Rs 162 crore versus Rs 88.3 crore (YoY)-Total income down 2 percent at Rs 2,653 crore versus Rs 2,706 crore (YoY)-EBITDA up 34.3 percent at Rs 250 crore versus Rs 186 crore (YoY)-Operating margin at 9.4 percent versus 6.9 percent (YoY)-Siemens says got fresh orders worth Rs 2,669 crore in Q2

Cholamandalam Investment Q4-Consolidated net profit up 47.8 percent at Rs 136.6 versus Rs 92.4 crore (YoY)-Consolidated income from operations up 11.6 percent at Rs 941.7 crore versus Rs 844 crore (YoY)

Hinduja Ventures Q4-Net profit at Rs 17.8 crore versus Rs 20 crore (YoY)-Total income at Rs 22.5 crore versus Rs 33 crore (YoY)

Sequent Scientific Q4-Consolidated net loss at Rs 21.6 crore versus loss of Rs 80 crore (YoY)-Consolidated total income at Rs 132.9 crore versus Rs 106.6 crore (YoY)

Pitti Laminations Q4-Net profit at Rs 4.6 crore versus Rs 2 crore (YoY)-Total income up 56.5 percent at Rs 103.9 crore versus Rs 66.4 crore (YoY)

Puravankara Projects-Enters into private equity partnerships for new acquisitions-Acquires 31.69 acres in Chennai with developmental potential of 3.3 msf-Acquisition cost of Chennai land stands at Rs 110 crore-Chennai project likely to generate revenue of Rs 1,500 crore

JM Financial, Leela jointly invite bids for Goa and Chennai properties: Sources-JM Financial, Leela seek Rs 1300-1500 crore valuation for both hotels-JM Financial has been buying Leela's debt via ARC-Inviting bids a good way for price discovery even if hotels not sold-Proceeds from asset sale to be used to pare debt

While filing returns, FPIs can claim treaty benefit under respective DTAAs: Govt sources-Tax officers will raise a ‘nil demand’ if investor eligible for treaty benefit on MAT notice-Tax officers to finalise assessment orders within a month on FPI returns claiming treaty benefitGovt sources on MAT:-FII MAT issue blown out of proportion; liability may not exceed Rs 6000-7000 crore-70-80 percent of cases might be eligible for relief under treaty benefits-Rs 603 crore is the amount where assessment has been completed-Rs 603 crore involved 68 entities where assessment has been completed-Assessment pending for several cases where notices issued-Government did not corroborate Rs 40,000 crore rumoured liability

Infosys (in a press conference) says-Expect operating margin at 30 percent by 2020-Expect to touch USD 20 billion in revenues by 2020-Finacle growth been substantial up by 14.2 percent-Biz transfer of finacle to Edgeverve will help create larger value proposition-Wanted to increase base of shareholders & create more liquid stock-Board approved bonus issue, will seek clearance from shareholders-FY16 guidance significant keeping volatility of FY15 in mind-Attrition rate has come down by more than half over 8 months-Impact of cross currency for FY15 at 380 bpsInfosys to CNBC-TV18-Confident of achieving industry leading growth rates by FY17-Reshaping business towards automation, bringing about efficiency-Idea is to become competitive through automation-Volumes being lower than what we expected a bit of a worry-Have delivery structured along service lines effective April-Restructuring already started across the board-Had explored options for buyback but did not go through with it-Shelved plans for buyback based on consensus for now-Will continue to look for acquisitions-Looking for acquisitions largely in digital space, but open to traditional services too-Thrilled with current attrition rate; will try to maintain at current levels-Expect to maintain margin in range of 24-26 percent

Suzlon Group chairman says-Welcome RBI’s move to include renewable energy under priority sector lending-Move will help contribute to renewable energy portfolio & achieve energy security-RBI notification will boost investments from SME sector in renewable space-Company committed to provide sustainable & affordable energy for all

United Spirits board asks Vijay Mallya to step down as non executive chairman: Sources-Move follows submission of investigation report by PwCVijay Mallya says-I do not intend to resign as a  director of United Spirits-Shall pursue contractual obligations with Diageo Plc-Decision of USL board taken at April 25 meet based on PwC report of March 24-PwC report deals with past transactions entered into by United Spirits between 2010-2012-PwC made no effort to contact then USL board members to seek clarity-Diageo-appointed MD of USL prepared his report parroting PwC peport-PwC report based on half truths & twisted facts against previous management

USL says-Investigation revealed USL funds were diverted to certain UB Group companies including Kingfisher Airlines-Diverted amount included as part of provisions made by company in FY14-Transactions undertaken to show lower exposure of USL to United Breweries Holdings-United Breweries Holdings dues amounting to Rs 1,337 crore were consolidated into single loan agreement-Transactions undertaken indicates various improprieties, legal violation-Board directs co to report matter to concerned authorities-Directors lost confidence in Vijay Mallya as director & chairman-Board to recommend removal of Mallya as director if he refuses to step down-Will ask Diageo to review contractual obligations if Mallya doesn't resign-To take action against staff involved in transactions mentioned in report

PwC says-The report being referred to has been done by company’s forensics team for Diageo Plc-It stands by the work done & believes it to be of the highest professional standards

Other stocks and sectors that are in news today:-FIIs raise stake in HDFC to record 80 percent: BS-Wipro creates a Fellow Programme for distinguished employees: ET-Financial Technologies says – Ketan Shah’s complaint based on PwC is baseless: ET-Coal block auctions – ministry looking at ‘one group, one bid cap’: BL-Government allows investing 5 percent of EPFO corpus in stock markets-Bank Of Baroda cuts interest rates on term deposits by 15-30 bps w.e.f. April 27-REC transfers equity shares of Gadarwara (A) Transco & Gadarwara (B) Transmission held by REC Transmission to Power Grid-NTPC signs PPA with AP Power Utilities for ultra mega solar power project (250 MW) in Andhra Pradesh-Infosys Innovation Fund invests in air quality monitoring pioneer, Airviz-Infosys says record date for proposed bonus issue will be reconfirmed upon shareholder approval-Mirc Electronics to issue up to 3.25 crore warrants on preferential basis-LIC buys additional 37.88 lakh shares in Axis Bank from April 20-24, now holds 12.19 percent stake-Ratan Tata picks up stake in Chinese handset maker Xiaomi: PTI