Business Standard - April 25, 2025

In this issue

April 25, 2025

HUL Q4 profit falls 3.7% amid margin squeeze

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India's largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, reported a subdued fourth-quarter performance on Thursday on the back of margin stress and moderation in urban demand.

1 min

Airtel dials DoT for conversion of dues

If firm's plea is accepted, govt will hold a stake in 4 telcos

2 mins

Will pursue terrorists to the ends of the earth: PM

Pakistan says any attempt to divert Indus water ‘an act of war’

4 mins

TCS Rolls Out Three Offerings for India

Software services giant TCS on Thursday launched three India-focused offerings, which include an indigenous and secure cloud for government and public sector enterprises.

1 min

AESL net soars 79% to ₹647 cr

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) on Thursday reported a 79 per cent on-year jump in its consolidated net profit (attributable to the owners of the company) at ₹647.15 crore in Q4FY25.

1 min

TechM profit rises 76.5% to ₹1,167 crore

IT services firm Tech Mahindra reported a profit of ₹1,167 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25.

2 mins

India in a good place: PepsiCo

Beverage major PepsiCo said it was bullish on its international business for the coming year, calling India a market that would perform well for the company, while announcing its results for the Q1CY25.

1 min

Nestle India net falls 5.2%

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Nestle India on Thursday reported a 5.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline in net profit to ₹885 crore in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), amid rising volatility in commodities, in line with Bloomberg estimates.

2 mins

India a land of opportunity for both mass & premium

Tata Consumer expects strong double-digit growth to continue in Q1FY26. In an exclusive interview, SUNIL D'SOUZA, managing director and chief executive officer, talks to Sharleen D'Souza about the company's two acquisitions and consumption patterns. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

ACC net down 20% despite volume growth

Cement manufacturer ACC on Thursday said its consolidated profit (attributable to the owners of the company) for the fourth quarter of FY25 (Q4FY25) declined 20.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹7,51.03 crore.

1 min

EV Car Policy May Be Tweaked Based on FTA Outcomes

The Centre is open to modifying its Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India (SMEC) on the basis of the outcomes of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US and other free trade agreements (FTAs), according to a senior government official.

2 mins

Govt hopes to add another 15K GPUs in second round of India AI mission

Graphics processing units (GPUs) in the country are expected to increase by 15,000 through procurement and supply in the second round of bidding, according to official sources.

1 min

Algorithmic management of work led to decline in job quality: ILO report

Algorithmic management (AM) in India has led to a decline in job quality, with \"clear\" evidence of increased monitoring, surveillance and work intensity, noted International Labour Organization (ILO) in its latest report.

2 mins

Delhi's minimum wage highest among neighbours

The Delhi government last week raised the minimum wages of workers in all the categories, and the new regime came into effect retrospectively from April 1, 2025.

1 min

Expect India to strike first trade pact: US Treasury Secy

Trump said India may reduce its high tariffs as part of the bilateral deal

2 mins

FPIs sell ₹10,234 crore in debt market in April

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have sold ₹10,234 crore worth of domestic debt on net basis in April so far as the yield spread between 10-year US Treasury bond and domestic benchmark 10-year bond narrowed to 190 basis points, lowest since September 2004, said market participants.

1 min

Outlook for next FY optimistic: Jawa

The FMCG major's revenue rose by 3 per cent Y-o-Y at ₹15,670 crore.

1 min

SBI Life Q4 profit at ₹813 cr

SBI Life Insurance's net profit growth for the January-March quarter was flat at ₹813.51 crore as compared to ₹810.8 crore in the year-ago period, owing to a surge in expenses and weak premium growth.

1 min

Axis Bank Reports Flat Profit

Higher loan loss provisions take a toll in Q4

2 mins

TMB to keep growing gold loan biz

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) will continue to grow its gold loan portfolio in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26), Salee Sukumaran Nair, managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of the bank, said on Thursday, adding that the focus will also be on growing retail and MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) books.

1 min

Pvt investment still slack in India, says IMF

Private investment in India remains a worry and continues to be muted in areas that can boost the economy's productivity, such as products and machinery, said Krishna Srinivasan, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at a press conference.

1 min

Net ECB inflows more than double in April-February

Highest tally in at least 5 years

1 min

Pak shuts down Wagah border

World leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called up Modi.

3 mins

Tit-for-tat: Expulsions of Pakistani diplomatic staff over the years

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India downgraded the already tenuous diplomatic ties with Pakistan. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday said India was declaring defence advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata and reducing the count of its own high commission in Islamabad to 30 from 55. Expelling officials has been part of diplomatic tit-for-tat. A look at expulsions over the years:

1 min

Navy test fires missile from INS Surat

Indian Navy's guided missile destroyer INS Surat successfully test-fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile.

1 min

Indian carriers chalk out plans as Pak shuts airspace

Devise alternative routes for flights that currently fly over Pakistan

2 mins

Indus Waters pact suspension may hurt Pak's food security

Ministry of External Affairs on Friday is believed to have held a series of meetings with officials from the ministry of Jal Shakti on the decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance as experts weighed in on long-term impact of the move on Pakistan's agricultural production, food security, and energy supplies.

2 mins

P&G Misses Q3 Revenue Estimates on Spending Cut

Pampers maker Procter & Gamble said on Thursday it would raise prices on some products to cover the impact on input costs from tariff war and lowered its annual forecasts, as consumers cut back spending due to economic uncertainty.

1 min

China Wants US To Revoke All Tariffs, Denies Holding Talks

China demanded that the US revoke all unilateral tariffs and denied there were talks on reaching a trade deal, maintaining a defiant stance despite President Donald Trump's recent easing of criticism of the country.

1 min

Boeing to Resell Jets as Tariffs Hit China Trade

Boeing is looking to resell potentially dozens of planes locked out of China by tariffs after repatriating a third jet to the United States rather than store it without willing buyers.

1 min

100 Days of DOGE: Lots of Chaos, Not So Much Efficiency

At the Social Security Administration, lawyers, statisticians, and other high-ranking agency officials are being sent from the Baltimore headquarters to regional offices to replace veteran claims processors who have been fired or taken buyouts from the Trump administration.

2 mins

Nestle, Unilever signal more price hikes for consumers

Unilever Plc and Nestle SA posted better-than-expected sales in the first quarter after pushing up prices to counter surging commodity costs.

1 min

Trump Urges Putin to 'STOP!' After Russian Strikes on Kyiv Kill 9

Zelenskyy calls attack one of Russia's 'most outrageous'

2 mins

Pakistan through the feminist lens

This book is a collection of 20 essays written by various lawyers, civil servants, human rights advocates, public figures, academics and influencers of Pakistani descent.

4 mins

Clear message

All options are on the table

2 mins

Grassroots governance

Development requires strong panchayats

2 mins

India's options amid uncertainty

Equity support by the government, reskilling, and housing for workers — some of the steps to assist investment in new sectors

4 mins

Breaking out of the 6% growth trap

In an aspirational India, which seeks to move from per capita per annum gross domestic product (GDP) of $2,800 to $20,000 by 2047 (the status of being a developed nation), the magnitude of growth is important.

3 mins

Nextiva Launches Its Biggest Unit Outside US in Bengaluru

Nextiva, the US-based unified customer experience management company, is ramping up its operations in India with the launch of a 35,000-square-foot innovation center in Bengaluru.

1 min

Gensol case: Now, NFRA joins probe against promoters

Authority looking into fund diversion allegations

2 mins

Qualcomm Sees Mid-Tier AI Mobiles in India in '26

Global chip design giant Qualcomm Inc projects that artificial intelligence (AI)-capable phones in India will be available in the mid-tier mobile phone segment within the next 12-18 months, and then in the value phone segment within another two years, as more use cases are developed for consumers.

1 min

Pakistan stock market tumbles amid mounting tensions

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty reversed their seven-day uptrend and settled lower on Thursday amid profit-taking and disappointing fourth-quarter earnings of Hindustan Unilever.

1 min

US economy to slow down sharply: Nomura

The sharp trade tariff hike will be inflationary for the US economy and could drag it to \"quite close to recession\", Nomura said on Thursday, while the brokerage also trimmed India's FY26 economic growth forecast to 5.8 per cent.

1 min

UBS Raises India View to 'Neutral'

UBS Group AG is abandoning its long-held bearish view on Indian stocks, upgrading the market to 'neutral' from 'underweight' as it realigns its strategy given global trade uncertainties.

1 min

Rerating for LTIMindtree hinges on revenue rampup, margin uptick

LTIMindtree (LTIM) reported revenue for the fourth quarter of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) at ₹9,770 crore, which was down 0.6 per cent on a sequential basis and in constant currency terms.

2 mins

Equity funds lag on risk-adjusted basis during 5-yr period

30% of equity schemes beat their benchmarks, show information ratios

2 mins

Mainboard transition: NSE tightens rules for SMEs

The bar has been considerably raised for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) wishing to migrate to the mainboard, as NSE on Thursday revised the eligibility criteria for such firms which included a minimum ₹100 crore revenue in the previous financial year and a positive operating profit for at least two out of three financial years.

1 min

Robust growth likely ahead for Tata Consumer

Brokerages expect margin recovery amid price hikes in key products

2 mins

DIVERSIONARY TACTICS

The Gensol saga is the latest in a list of corporate cases where promoters redirected funds at will and whim. It's yet another wakeup call

4 mins

Patent loss widens access to next-gen diabetes meds

The ₹20,700 crore anti-diabetic drug market in India is undergoing a churn.

1 min

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