Morning Podcast: The Espresso Business Update News

Varun Beverages reported a strong first quarter performance for the calendar year 2024, with a profit of Rs 547.98 crore, marking a 24.9% increase from the same period last year. The company’s revenue from operations also saw a significant growth of 11.3% to Rs 4397.98 crore. The EBITDA stood at Rs 990 crore, up 24% year-on-year, driven by higher gross margins and increased realization despite rising fixed costs.

In the pharmaceutical sector, Cipla witnessed a surge in its shares by over 6% after reporting a 79% jump in net profit for Q4FY24. The company announced a net profit of Rs 939 crore, a substantial increase from the previous year, along with a 7% rise in revenue from operations.

VA Tech Wabag secured a repeat order worth $49 million from Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited in Nepal for the construction of three Waste Water Treatment Plants. The order includes design, build, operate services for treating 69 MLD of wastewater over 24 months, followed by a 5-year maintenance period.

In other news, Maharashtra reported 91 cases of the new COVID-19 Omicron subvariant KP.2, with Pune and Thane being the most affected areas. The state’s genome sequencing coordinator noted that there hasn’t been a significant increase in hospitalizations or serious cases due to the variant.

Biocon Limited signed a distribution agreement with Medix in Mexico for the commercialization of its drug product Liraglutide used in chronic weight management. Indegene made a strong debut on the stock exchange, listing at a premium of 45% to its issue price, while the benchmark equity indices opened in negative territory on Monday.