Daily Pulse India: Airtel’s Earnings Worry, Nestle Prepares For Maggi Launch, Bihar Jitters

Bharti Airtel put up a respectable show in its third quarter results, but investors are still worried. Net profit grew 10 percent year on year, the all important ARPUs (average revenue per user) rose to 193 rupees from 151, but the shares fell 2 percent, extending last week’s 7 percent drop. A closer peek at the numbers shows that realizations from users has dropped even though their usage is still rising – the price cuts are beginning to pinch. This even before the much-hyped launch of Reliance Jio. All telecom operators are gearing up for the big boy’s entry by locking customers into lucrative plans, which is now beginning to hurt the bottom line. Now that Reliance has deferred its launch by a quarter, what are they going to do next?

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Pumped up by the results of its lab tests, Nestle has kick-started production of the popular Maggi Noodles snack at three of its five plants as it prepares for its relaunch. There are three more tests to be completed before Maggi gets a clean chit from the court, but Maggi’s doing the groundwork already. But, the Maharashtra state government is in no mood to relent. It now plans to petition the Supreme Court to continue the ban. Maggi lovers, your wait is by no means over! 

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Let’s not forget the Bihar elections that are underway. Prime Minister Modi has put his personal weight behind the elections and the outcome has grave implications for both sides. For Modi and the NDA, it is a clear vindication of their stand that even Bihar, the most caste-ridden state politically, would still vote for growth and employment, especially as NDA’s national mandate is also economic reforms. A win here will also give the NDA government more muscle to push through reforms at the centre, according to this analysis.

And for a number-wise breakdown, there’s this one from Newslaundry.

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 One of the biggest election issues this time is the rising prices of cereal. State governments have begun to sell dals at fixed lower prices (read subsidized rates) to dissipate the chaos around prices. 

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Ticketing portal Makemytrip is taking a leaf out of Flipkart’s book and launching an app-only sale. Flipkart did that with the Big Billion Sale and its fashion business Myntra is completely on mobile. Could this be related to reports that MakeMyTrip and Flipkart are working together to launch a ticketing platform?

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Indigo Airlines’ IPO opens today and the company has raised 8.32 billion rupees from anchor investors. These are typically institutions that are offered shares at the IPO banker’s discretion before the sale opens. The airline is targeting a total collection of 30 billion rupees, and it remains to be seen whether the reports of unusually high dividends to the promoters before the IPO has any effect on investor appetite.

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Benching was once a common phrase in the IT services world. It referred to engineers who are kept on the payroll awaiting a project. Companies had begun to cut down on benched employees as they sought to reduce costs. But, with hopes of a revival in the services business, benches are back. But this is mainly for digital talent as that’s where they see the business coming from.

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Cover Image: A damaged car hit by a tree branch in Srinagar after a powerful earthquake struck northern Afghanistan. Click here for details. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/ Getty Images)

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