Wipro, JFSL, TechM, ICICI GIC, SBI Life & IHCL: How these stocks are faring ahead of Q3 results

A number of largecap stock including Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Jio Financial Services, Indian Hotels Company, SBI Life Insurance Company and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company are set to announce their results for December 2024 quarter later today. Majority of these stocks were trading higher ahead of their Q3FY25 earnings.

IT major Wipro was among the counters trading in red, while its peer Tech Mahindra was trading in green. Shares of Wipro Ltd fell nearly 1.9 per cent to Rs 282.60 on Friday, with its market capitalization falling below Rs 3 lakh crore. Tech Mahindra inched up half a per cent to Rs 1,699 for the day. It total market capitalization neared Rs 1.7 lakh crore mark.

Equirus Securities is expecting Wipro's IT Services US sales to dip marginally by 0.1 per cent QoQ in CC terms. Recurring IT Services EBIT margins are expected to decline by 16 bps QoQ given balance wage hikes to be partly compensated by expected lower D&A QoQ and ongoing cost optimisation.

"We expect Wipro to guide for a decline of 0.5 per cent QoQ to growth of 1.5 per cent QoQ in IT Services' US sales in CC terms for 4QFY25E. Expect healthy order intake to continue," it added. Equirus has a 'reduce' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 270.

Elara Capital said that Tech Mahindra should sequentially drop due to furlough impact and unfavorable currency movements. Its margin may improve 40 bps QoQ due to cost rationalization, said Elara. HDFC Securities said that Tech Mahindra is expected to post 0.7 per cent QoQ CC growth, with a target price of Rs 1,465 and a 'reduce' rating.

All three-result bound financial counters- SBI Life Insurance, Jio Financial Services and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd- were trading higher during the day. SBI Life Insurance Company jumped nearly 1.65 per cent to Rs 1,538.80 during the day, while ICICI Lombard GIC gained more than 3 per cent to Rs 1,956.95 for the day. Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) gained about 1.7 per cent to Rs 281.40 for the day. All the three companies commanded an mcap between Rs 1.5 lakh crore- Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

The continued sluggish growth in SBI channel is being partly offset by a very strong 25- 30 per cent growth in the agency channel, said Emkay Global Financial Services. However, given that 2/3rd of individual new business comes from SBI, the retail growth is modest. The intense competition in Group Fund business has led to the company reducing its business in this segment.

"This has resulted in the overall APE growth being lower than Retail APE. Valuation has turned very attractive for SBI Life; however, for the stock to re-rate, clarity on bancassurance and Union Budget proposals are a must," Emkay said. It has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,750.

On ICICI GIC, YES Securities is penciling net earned premium growth assumption based on trends observed till November 2024, when it had displayed GDPI de-growth of 11 per cent for M2Q3FY25 (October and November 2024) over M2Q2FY25 (July and August 2024). Loss Ratio would be lower sequentially due to CAT losses in Q2 and seasonality, it said with an 'add' rating with a target price of Rs 2,200.

KR Choskey said that diversified lenders are expected to experience strong AUM growth, primarily driven by their retail loan portfolios and an expanding range of product offerings that help diversify segments and reduce concentration risks. However, challenges persist in the unsecured retail segments. It has a 'hold' rating on Jio Financial Services with a target price of Rs 345.

Indian Hotels Co Ltd also gained more than 1.5 per cent for the day to hit Rs 824 for the day. However, the stock took a 'U-turn' to slip into red to Rs 805.10, with a total market capitalization of Rs 1.15 lakh crore during the day.

Antique forecasted IHCL's standalone Revenue to increase by 9 per cent YoY led by ADR growth of 8 per cent YoY to Rs 19,500 and an occupancy increase of 100 bps YoY to 78 per cent. ARR growth is assumed at 10 per cent YoY. "We expect revenue to grow at 30 per cent YoY to Rs 25,500 crore. Ebitda margins may improve by 100 bps YoY to 38 per cent due to operating efficiencies. Overall rates continue to be strong led by strong growth across markets," it said.

Kotak is expecting consolidated revenues of Rs 2,100 crore and Ebitda margin of 36 per cent. "The earnings would be aided by 8 per cent YoY growth in ARRs (standalone), and marginally higher occupancy on a sequential basis," it said, with an 'add' rating and a target price of Rs 852 on the stock.