Business, Editorials, Equities, Markets, Research - September 16, 2022

Tarsons Products earned Rs. 29 crores in net profit.

Tarsons Products earned Rs. 29 crores in net profit.

On the high COVID-led base for Q1FY22, revenues fell 0.4% year on year. The total revenue was Rs 85 Cr and the net profit was Rs 29 Cr on a consolidated basis. The company reported a standalone revenue of Rs. 69 crore and a net profit of Rs. 20 crore.The operating profit was recorded at Rs. 44 Cr., with a pre-tax income of Rs. 39 Cr.

Margins shrink.

Domestic business fell around 6% YoY and 20% QoQ. The sequential decline was due to seasonality, with Q1 tending to be the weakest quarter. The company took a price hike in Q1FY23, which will begin to reflect in the next few quarters. The export business grew 11.1% YoY. This, coupled with elevated raw material prices, resulted in dragging gross margin down by 280bps YoY to 79.1%. The SG&A expenses grew 20.7% YoY, led by higher freight and promotion expenses. As a result, the EBITDA margin fell 760 basis points year on year (-680 basis points quarter on quarter) to 45.4%. The company expects to maintain healthy margins in the coming years thanks to improved product mix, increased contribution from new products, and in-house sterilisation, partially offset by higher costs associated with the start-up of new plants.

The PCR has received a good response from the customers in terms of quality. Specialised resin prices have stabilised, whereas packaging and paper costs have started declining. The revenues will be driven by growth in both domestic and export markets. We expect the company to maintain healthy margins in the coming years. The increased market share and strong growth in end-user industries will benefit the company. The major risk for the company is intensified competition and disruption in the distribution network.

Valuations:

The EPS was Rs. 5.54. The ROCE and ROE were at 35.3% and 27.4%, respectively. The stock was trading at a P/E ratio of 46x. The debt-to-equity ratio was 0.04x, whereas the asset turnover ratio was 0.72x. The interest coverage ratio stood at 33x. The scrip was trading at Rs.870, up by 1.02% on Thursday.

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Business, Editorials, Equities, Markets, Research - September 16, 2022

Control Print declared a strong set of Q1FY23 results.

Control Print declared a strong set of Q1FY23 results.

The key highlight for the quarter was higher gross and EBIDTA margins YoY and QoQ on account of better product mix. The revenues grew by 19.7% YoY to 65.1 crore. Gross margins expanded QoQ by 440 bps to 63% vs. 58.7% in Q1FY22, which was mainly on account of a higher share of consumables in the overall revenues. which also led to EBIDTA margins coming in at 27.3% in Q1FY23 vs. 23.7% QoQ and 21.7% YoY. The PAT came in at 11.7 crore, up 105% YoY.

Strong financials:

The company, as of FY22, has an installed base of more than 15,000 printers. The consumable goods saw good traction during the quarter, while building materials, pharmaceuticals, and bearings also expanded their base. The company suffered a bit due to chip shortages and supply chain issues, but things will get back to normal in the coming 1-2 quarters. Dairy, healthcare, packaged food, cable, and FMCG also provided good contributions to business. The company is now focusing on developing software for customers so they can provide customized support to them. Telecalling is also helping companies acquire new customers. Imported raw materials account for 25-27% of total imports.The company has sold around 756 printers, of which CIJ printers are dominating the quantity with over 55–65% of the total share. The company is enjoying a higher installed base for printers as during COVID, printers’ sales were good. They offer seven different types of printers, of which CIJ and TIJ are the most common. The higher percentage of consumables in revenue resulted in higher gross and EBITDA margins. The current utilization level stands at 55-60 companies per hour. Capacity can be increased as needed.

Valuations:

The EPS was 7.40 rupees. The ROCE and ROE were at 18.8% and 15.3%, respectively. The stock was trading at a P/E ratio of 18.5x. The asset turnover ratio was 0.84x. The interest coverage ratio stood at 47.7x. The scrip was trading at Rs.486, up by 1.06% on Thursday.

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Business, Editorials, Equities, Health, Markets, Research - September 16, 2022

Krishna Institute reported a net profit of Rs. 79 Cr.

KIMS reported a net profit of Rs. 79 Cr., and decrease from Rs. 83 Cr. in March 2022 and Rs. 92 Cr. year on year. The revenue in Q1 FY22-23 increased to Rs. 459 Cr from Rs. 372 Cr in March 2021 and Rs. 473 Cr in June 2021. The operating profit was Rs. 137 in the current quarter versus Rs. 114 Cr. in the March quarter.

The expansion will be done using a cluster-based approach.

KIMS has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Kingsway Hospitals, Nagpur. This is one of the largest private multi-specialty hospitals in Nagpur, promoted by the Sancheti family and a few eminent doctors. The hospital was commissioned in 2019 with a 334-bed capacity, expandable to 500 beds. KIMS will pay upfront Rs. 800 crore for its 51% stake, which will be used to repay existing debt. After this infusion, the JV will still be left with Rs 150 Cr of debt.

Acquisition cost works out to be Rs 90 lakh/bed.

The acquisition cost works out to be Rs 90 lakh/bed. The acquisition will be completed by Sept. Assuming the operating leverage plays out, Kingsway hospital will have 250 operational beds with a 53% occupancy. For FY22 and FY23 (4 months), Kingsway generated Rs. 1700 Cr. and Rs. 47,500 Cr. of revenues, respectively. ARPOB stands at Rs 29,000/day and has turned EBIDTA positive within 3 years of operation.

KIMS management intends to enhance occupancy from current levels, as well as bring operational efficiencies and synergies. The Kingsway hospital’s COGS stands at 28-29% of sales versus KIMS’s 22% of sales. The management sees profitability scaling up from current levels and reaching 15-20% OPM over the next 2-3 years. KIMS currently has net cash of Rs 200 Cr. and thereby, the Kingsway acquisition will be funded through internal accruals. Currently, the payor mix stands at 80%, comprising of cash plus insurance.

The management, in its cluster-based approach, is looking forward to replicating the AP and Telangana models in the Maharashtra and Karnataka regions. KIMS plans to commercialise 1500 beds over the next 4–5 years across Maharashtra and the Karnataka region. The expansion will be a combination of inorganic and greenfield expansion. More importantly, the company will partner with local doctors and consultants in specific micro-markets to generate better footfalls and achieve a faster breakeven. KIMS will have full control of decision-making in such a partnership.

Valuations:

In June 2022, the EPS was Rs. 8.74, compared to Rs. 10.08 in June 2021. The ROCE and ROE were at 14.8% and 15.6%, respectively. The stock was trading at a P/E ratio of 31.7x. The debt-to-equity ratio was 0.18x, whereas the asset turnover ratio was 0.99x. The interest coverage ratio stood at 29.5x. The scrip is trading at Rs.1241, down by 0.2% on Wednesday.

Dr. Lal Pathlabs reported a net profit of Rs. 58 Cr.

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Apollo Hospitals Boosts Digital Oncology with Acquisition

Business, Editorials, Equities, Health, Markets, Research - September 16, 2022

Dr. Lal Pathlabs reported a net profit of Rs. 58 Cr.

Dr. Lal Pathlabs reported a consolidated net profit declined 57% to Rs 58 crore for the first quarter June 30. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 134 crore in the April-June period of the last fiscal. The revenue from operations declined to Rs 503 crore in June 2022 from Rs 607 crore in June 2021. In Q1FY23, DLPL served 69 million patients and collected 180 million non-Covid-19 samples. The company declared an interim dividend of Rs. 6/share.

The diagnostic sector will experience tremendous growth.

Dr. Lal PathLabs reported healthy core business performance, driven by increased penetration, digitalization, enhanced testing facilities, and increased home sampling. Swasth fit contributed to 21% of total revenue; packaged tests accounted for 30% of sales. The company targets pre-Covid-19 level growth of 13-15% over the year and strives to double its volumes over 2-3 years.

The Indian diagnostic sector holds significant growth potential, as was evident by the industry’s response to the pandemic, and organised national brands have met these challenges without raising prices. The industry has seen the entry of many new competitors and the growth of the organised sector, both due to overall market growth as well as an accelerated shift from the unorganised to the organised segment.

The customers appreciate the certainty of quality and effectiveness that Dr. Lal PathLabs provides, which the unorganised players will not be able to successfully deliver. In the future, they will build and drive growth through organic expansion of lab and collection centre infrastructure, inorganic expansion, use of technology to improve customer experience, and provision of value-added services at one level while driving internal process efficiencies at another level to achieve productivity. On the organic front, the initiative of the creation of Hub Labs has started yielding good results, especially in the northern part of India. This will also give the capability to go deeper into Tier-II and Tier-III towns in large states like UP, Bihar, etc.

Valuations:

Dr. Lal Pathlabs, EPS was at Rs.6.2 in June 2022, down from Rs.15.74 in June 2021. The ROCE and ROE were at 29.4% and 25.1%, respectively. The stock was trading at a P/E ratio of 73.4x. The debt-to-equity ratio was 0.35x, whereas the asset turnover ratio was 1.04x. The interest coverage ratio stood at 12x. The scrip is trading at Rs.2389, down by 1.89% on Wednesday.

Everest Kanto reported a total revenue of Rs. 380 Cr.

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Kaveri Seeds reported a net profit of Rs. 240 Cr.

Business, Editorials, Equities, Food, Markets, Research - September 16, 2022

LT FOODS reported an operating profit of Rs.166 cr.

LT Foods (LTF’s) declared its Q1 FY22-23 results with revenue rising 32.8% YOY to Rs 1,611 crore. The operating profit was up by 27.7% to Rs 166 crore and net profit went up by 23.28% YOY. Its profit margins recovered sequentially but contracted YOY. The net profit stood at Rs. 95 Cr, compared to Rs. 76 Cr. in June 2021. The revenue growth was on account of accelerated brand investments across various segments.

Margins under pressure:

The gross margin improved by 110bps YoY, aided by an improvement in product mix and higher realisation. However, EBITDA margin fell by 40 basis points year on year to 10.0% due to higher freight costs and additional brand investments.LTF has a strong focus on a value-added portfolio, which will support margin improvement in the long-term. The Health & Convenience product segments, which include ready-to-eat products, contributed 2% in FY22, an improvement from 1.5% in FY21. The company targets a 150 bps expansion in EBITDA margin through product mix, operational efficiency, and scale.
The green energy initiatives by the company will provide production efficiency. We anticipate that EBITDA margins will moderate in the near future due to higher costs, but will gradually improve thereafter. LTF’s consistent efforts on brand strengthening and distribution network expansion, as well as region and product diversification via organic and inorganic routes, have been the growth strategy.The recent acquisition in the Jasmine rice segment will strengthen market share. The re-opening of HoReCa channels is also aiding growth, while LTF’s strong focus on value-added products will improve margins.

Valuations:

LT Foods’ EPS was at Rs. 2.80 in June 2022, up from Rs. 2.27 in June 2021. The ROCE and ROE were at 14.8% and 15.6%, respectively. The stock was trading at a P/E ratio of 9.47x. The debt to equity ratio was 0.66x, whereas the asset turnover ratio was at 1.28x. The interest coverage ratio stood at 7.55x. The scrip is trading at Rs. 91.6, up by 2.92% on Monday.

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Devyani International Q1 FY26 Results: Revenue Growth Amid Profit Challenges

Business, Editorials, Equities, Markets, Research, Uncategorized - September 6, 2022

dalmia-bharat-posted-a-net-profit-of-rs-280-cr-in-the-june-quarter

Dalmia Bharat posted a net profit of Rs. 280 Cr. in the June quarter.

Dalmia Bharat’s revenue from operations increased 27.44 percent to Rs 3,302 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 2,591 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 280 crore during the April-June quarter a year ago, Dalmia Bharat said in a regulatory filing. Dalmia Bharat’s total expenses rose 37.7 percent to Rs 3,072 crore in Q1 FY 2022–23 from Rs 2,231 crore a year ago.

In the April-June quarter, sales volume increased by 26.53 percent to 6.2 million tonnes, up from 4.9 million tonnes in Q1 FY2021-22.The net debt/EBITDA stood at 0.59x. The cost of borrowing was 5.7% for the current quarter compared to 5.3% in June 2021.

Key highlights for the quarter:

The continuous efforts and resilience of teams have enabled them to deliver good performance again on the back of strong volume growth and continuous cost leadership. The company did capacity additions and commenced commercial production of a 2.9 Mn Tonnes Murli Cement plant in Maharashtra. The firms’ total cement capacity increased to 35.9 MNT and their total clinker capacity stood at 18.9 MNT. In FY22, CO2 emissions were reduced further to 489kg/ton of cement, with a water positivity of 12.5x. They doubled renewable power capacity to 62.6 MW and signed an MoU with FLSmidth A/S, a leading supplier of technology for the cement industry, to develop a breakthrough innovation to support sustainability in the cement industry and a completed restructuring of the refractory business. The company will divest its IEX investment as and when it requires additional funds for CAPEX.

The management aims to save power and fuel costs as it commissions 41MW/69MW of WHRS/solar power units in FY23, taking the total renewable capacity to 173MW in FY23 from 105MW in FY22. The management is optimistic about demand and expects it to rise in FY23, led by government spending on infrastructure and housing. The major risks for the company to watch are lower demand and higher costs.

Valuations:

The EPS stood at Rs. 10.46 for June 2022, which was at Rs. 31.76 in March 2022 and Rs. 12.13 in June 2021. The stock has a ROCE of 7.09% and an ROE of 7.47%. The P/E ratio is now 26.6x, up from 25.1x five years ago. EBITDA is at 12.8x and the return on assets is 4.71%. The interest coverage ratio is 6.54x and the asset turnover ratio is 0.49. The share is trading at a price of Rs.1531, down by 0.37%.

Tarsons Products earned Rs. 29 crores in net profit.

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Currency, Market News, Markets - July 28, 2022

How are Exchange Rates are Determined?

What determines Exchange Rates?

Exchange Rate is the value of one country’s (nation) currency against another nation’s currency. In simple terms, it is a relative value between two currencies. Usually exchange rates are free floating depending on demand and supply in market. But there are exchange rates which have restrictions and are not based on floating rate. The other factor apart from demand and supply that determines exchange rate are interest rates, speculation and market sentiment , inflation rates, etc.

Type of Exchange Rate:

Currency Peg – Sometimes a particular country’s currency peg to that of other countries currency. For example – Hong Kong’s dollar pegs to US dollar in range of 7.65 to 7.80, than value of Hong Kong’s dollar will remain between the ranges of 7.65 to 7.80.

Free floating – This rate actually fluctuates due to the change in foreign exchange market. So, if there is any fall or rise in the foreign exchange market, it will affect free floating exchange rate.

Restricted currencies – This is not applicable to all the currencies, as only some countries have restrictions which limit their exchange to be within the country’s border and have value which is set by government.

Spot and forward – Spot price is basically current market value which is also known as cash value. Similarly, exchange rate have Forward rate, which are based on the expected currency rise and fall. Forward rate changes as expected change in market value.

Onshore and Offshore – Sometimes, exchange rate differs in their own country which is because of onshore and offshore rates. This situation occurs between country’s border versus outside its borders and fluctuates accordingly. For example, Chinese government has own structure and controls the currency. By setting a midpoint value for the currency, which allows the Yuan to trade in a band of 2% from the midpoint.

Quotation – Quotation is basically an exchange rate which is quoted using an acronym for the national currency which they represent.

What determines currency exchange rate ?

Other currency determined price of one currency. Therefore various factors mainly Fixed Exchange rates, Floating Exchange Rates and Managed Exchanged rates influences Currency rate. Floating exchanges rates and Fixed Exchanges rates are most commonly used to determine rate as Floating rate actually fluctuates due to the change in foreign exchange market. So, if there is any fall or rise in the foreign exchange market, it will affect free floating exchange rate. Demand and supply are the main factor to determine it in open market operation.

If fixed rates are used by economy than this is not applicable to all the currency, as only some countries have restrictions, which limit their exchange to be within the countries border and have value which is set by government. Countries choose to peg where, a particular countries currency peg to that of other countries currency. For example, Hong Kong’s dollar pegs to US dollar in range of 7.65 to 7.80. Than the value of Hong Kong’s dollar will remain between the ranges of 7.65 to 7.80 usually done to maintain stable rates.

Major factors which determines exchange rates are:

Government – When there is too much volatility in Forex market, then government or regulatory body of that country may intervene and buy opposite currency to control downfall. For Example, if Rupee is depreciating against Dollar with a high difference, than RBI may come forward and buy Dollars.

Imports and Exports – Imports and exports play major role in exchange rates. Therefore, government always try to maintain balance between them. For example, if imports are increasing, it create more burden on that particular country’s economy resulting in rate fluctuation.

Interest Rates – Interest rates on government bonds attracts investors, but rate should be high enough to cover foreign market risk so that investor’s money is safe and credit ratings are stable. This will result in flipping rates in particular countries exchange rate.

Speculations and Market Sentiment – When the markets are moving, there is a lot of speculation about the expected changes into the currency rates which results in investments, redemptions of foreign investors. Through speculations, investors try to earn more profit.

Inflation Rates – Any change in inflation rates results change in exchange rates. Usually, country’s which have low inflation rate have seen appreciation in their exchange rate and vice versa.

Other factors that contribute in fluctuation of exchange rates are country’s political stability, debt holdings and overall performance of economy.

Importance of Financial Literacy. Why it is a must have today

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REC Board Greenlights ₹1.55 Lakh Crore Bond Fund!

Business, Uncategorized - July 28, 2022

How Green Bonds Work?

How Green Bonds Work?

Stakeholders around the world are worried that the Earth’s biodiversity is being destroyed irreversibly. People have a shared conviction that the natural world on Earth has been irreversibly harmed. This is true that we are all affected by climate change. It’s also true that the planet will soon vanish from dwindling natural resources, such as oil and other fossil fuels. It is therefore imperative that corporations begin to invest in environmentally friendly ventures. Business people all over the world are worried about future returns from investing in green projects. The green bonds idea has thus been implemented to help organizations, without exerting excessive pressure on their budgets, and control their push towards sustainability. After all, businesses prefer to be cost-effective rather than environmentally friendly.

What is it?

A green bond is mainly a debt financial instrument. It is not financially very different from other bonds. In this debt financial instrument, there is fixed income and pays as per coupon rate. These bonds are unique as they are used exclusively to finance green projects and green initiatives. This can be a new green project built from scratch or an existing project turned into environmentally friendly standards. In 2007, the European Investment Bank opened the world in issuing green bonds. At first, the major problem was issuance size as these bonds issuance size was very small. More investors and organizations have shown attraction in this financing instrument over a period of time. As a result, these bonds now have a healthy primary and secondary market.

Benefits:

Worldwide investors queue to purchase green bonds. All these can be seen by the fact that almost all the green bond issues till today’s date observed an over-subscription. The most obvious benefit of green bonds is that they provide financing at relatively small levels for environmentally friendly projects. Secondly, as part of corporate social responsibility, investors are willing to invest in these ventures. They could even point out that they have invested in improving the environment that gives them excellent goodwill in the local community and local market.

Finally, it is easy to track all the green projects that are carried out worldwide. This makes reporting easier in all global summits and provides data and by this world leaders can make choices rather to invest in these ventures or not. Investment in these ventures is subject to various tax cuts. These tax exemptions vary from country to country. However, almost every country that has signed environmental agreements such as the Paris Agreement tends to get tax benefits.

Issuance Process:

The first step in issuing green bonds is to identify the project. It is important that a third party examines and certifies the project. This ensures that the project is based on low emissions of carbon. The bond issuer has to define projects that obtain funds from the issuance of green bonds clearly. Things must also ensure that even activities that are not directly linked to the project and are not in any manner polluting the environment. The projects list must then be forwarded to a third party verifier. These companies are usually world-renowned credit rating agencies.

They test the details provided by the issuer and then confirm that the ventures/projects are indeed environmentally friendly. This certificate is required for bonds to be referred to as green bonds. The developer will keep track of the environmental effects of the project continuously. Even if the project in the middle of its operation is not compliant, the same must be reported to the standard board. In the absence of these details, legal action against the misrepresentation by investors can be undertaken.

Challenges:

Firstly, even though the issuer can receive funding at a lower interest rate, it needs to make a substantial investment at an early stage. Issuance of green bonds have long and tedious process. Multiple parties have to participate in the issuance process and all these parties must therefore be paid. This offsets the perks of financial support for smaller projects and small ventures. Green bonds can therefore be used cost effectively only if the project have a massive scope and bond issuance size is very big.

Furthermore, there is no simple grading scheme that determines project is completely green. For these problems, different agencies have multiple interpretations. A series of standard guidelines and terminologies is needed to develop green bonds. Bonds that provide greater environmental benefits will have greater tax benefits and less financing costs. Only then, the big companies and investors can invest funds enormously in these projects and ventures.

In a nutshell, green bonds are a revolutionary concept in order to fund environment friendly ventures and projects. Nevertheless, they are still in an evolving stage and must be further recognized.

Credit risk funds. Should you invest?

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India, Singapore Sign Landmark Green Shipping & Aviation Pacts

Business, Economy - May 17, 2020

Goods exports decline in April

Goods exports decline in April

India’s export is reduced by 60.28 percent in the month of April, due to the lock down imposed by the government which is equivalent to $10.36 billion. However, in March country’s export was declined by 34.57 percent. On the other side, the country’s import is also affected. There was a 58.65 percent decline in imports in April which amounted to $17.12 billion. However, India’s Imports have decreased by 28.72 percent from previous year making it $31.16 billion in March 2020. This is the lowest percent that India has seen since August of 2016. Overall trade deficit in April is $6.76 billion which was $15.33 billion in April 2019. This year’s trade deficit is lowest since May 2016 which was $6.27 billion.

Sector and commodities wise:

There is decline in 30 major import sectors such as gold, silver, coal, fertilizer, machinery, transport equipment and machinery. All these sector have reported negative growth in the month of April. Since the first day of the countrywide lock down, oil imports have seen a drop by 15 percent and non-oil purchases dropped to 33.78 percent. Imports of electronic items have dipped down by 29.09 percent. Lastly gold have plunged by 62.64 percent in March. In April, non-oil imports is reduced by 58.5 percent to $12.46 billion and Gold imports stood at $2.83 million which was $4 billion last year. However, other Oil imports was at $4.66 billion, which is 59.03 percent lesser than last year for the same period.

Commodities wise, export of rice declined by 28.28 percent, cereals export saw decline by 33.42%, tea exports fell by 33.74 percent, organic and inorganic material export reduced by 32.88 percent, ready-made garments fell by 34.91 percent and plastic and linoleum declined by 35.67 percent. Imports of commodities is also affected due to lock down, import of precious stone declined by 53.46 percent, electrical and non-electrical machinery fell by 31.72 percent, electric good import fell by 29.09 percent and coal, coke and briquettes declined by 23.54 percent.

However, gems and jewellery shipments fell by 98.74 percent, leather shipments fell by 93.28 percent, and petroleum products declined by 66.22 percent, chemical shipments fell by 42 percent and engineering goods declined by 64.76 percent. Only pharmaceutical and iron ore reported positive growth during last the 2 months.

Impact on foreign reserves:

One big reason for this surge in foreign exchange reserves is temporary closure of imports to India as this has blocked the outflow of foreign exchange reserves, keeping it intact. The reserves showed a surge of $113 million to $479.455 billion in mid-April. The forex reserves show an all-time high of $487.23 billion in early March, after it lofted by $5.69 billion. During FY20, the nation’s forex reserves ascended by nearly $62 billion. In the week of April 27, 2020, a significant part of the overall reserves which is the foreign currency assets (FCA), hiked by $1.752 billion to $443.316 billion.

Government measures:

Due to the lock down, major industrial units are closed. There is restriction for movement in the goods and various other issues such as job loss, 70-80 percent cancellations in orders and increasing non-performing assets is already been noticed. Therefore, government has announced various measures and packages to cope up this situation. For Agri-infrastructure, the government has allocated Rs 1 lakh crore so that farm gate infrastructure such as cold chain are strengthened and Rs 500 crore for operation greens has implemented, for better price realization for farmers.

Government will amend essential commodities act and allow market force to deregulate price. The government will intervene if any emergency situation arises such as drastic hike in price or any other crisis. These announcements will help government to achieve their target of $100 billion Agri exports.

Mutual funds make limited borrowing from RBI’s credit lines

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Everest Kanto reported a total revenue of Rs. 380 Cr.

Business - May 16, 2020

Negative crude oil price leads to multiple legal battles

In late April 2020. for the first time in history crude oil prices dropped below zero. To avoid storage cost sellers are paying buyers to take the consignments as oil demand has crashed globally.

This was the historic crash in prices of crude oil in US. Due to this. the oil contracts of April which are executed by the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) are settling at negative ₹2,887 per barrel. This gave rise to multiple court cases in India.

Legal battles in India due to negative crude oil price:

Altogether, there are 5 cases floating across 3 jurisdictions in India. There are 3 cases in Bombay High Court and the rest two are from Rajasthan High Court and Delhi High Court.

The first lawsuit:

The first case is filed by PCS Securities Ltd, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, and Religare Securities. On 22nd April 2020, they jointly filed a lawsuit in Bombay high court against Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). They appealed to the Bombay high court that, do the commodity exchanges in India including Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) have any provision to execute the trade of commodities in negative value? They further added, negative values cannot calculate any risk and margins for future contract using any software.

The Second lawsuit:

The second case is again filed by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd on Dhanera Diamonds. Dhanera Diamonds is the trading client of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. This case was filed in Bombay High Court in which Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd appealed in court to secure the dues from Dhanera Diamonds. The dues amount to ₹80.74 crore. The outstanding dues was on its settlement obligations for trades in crude oil contracts from Dhanera Diamonds.

The Third lawsuit:

In retaliation, Dhanera Diamonds filed a case against Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd and Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) demanding ₹56 crore due. They appealed that commodity exchanges in India including Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) do not have any provision to execute the trade of commodities in negative value, so there is big question how these contracts are settled?

The Fourth lawsuit:

Ganganagar Commodity Limited filed a case against Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) in Rajasthan High Court. Ganganagar Commodity Limited laid the same allegation on Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) that how negative trading is executed when they do not have any facility to allow negative trading. The fifth lawsuit was filed at Delhi High Court which is similar to fourth lawsuit.

New laws can be implemented:

All these court cases are pending. When all these court cases close, this will not only settle the obligation but also set new supersede on contract law. The big question revolves around contract law is whether exceptions should be made to established norms and regulation for unexpected situations.

Effect of fall in crude oil price on Indian economy:

Even in the midst of chaos, falling crude oil prices can reduce India’s economic pain. India went under lock down due to COVID-19. This resulted in gradual slowdown of Indian economy, but on the contrary helped the government to accomplish their various annual target. India can raise oil-related taxes due to negative crude oil prices, which can help to offset other losses. The sudden fall in crude oil prices may help India to control inflation and boost tax revenues. Decrease in oil price can be beneficial for India as money paid will be less to buy oil from abroad as approximately 80% of crude oil requirements are imported in India. But some drawbacks are that India does not have adequate oil storage space.

India has an estimated over 15 million tons of oil assets. The maximum storage space available is just 5.33 million tonnes. The rest of the capacity is not prepared at this point. The current corona virus shutdown in India indicates that there is no substantial demand for oil from the industry. Indian refiners also have current stocks. Agriculture sector may enjoy the fall in price as the cost of fertilizers which are directly or indirectly related to oil may decline. Indian oil companies are unlikely to improve in near future.

Second tranche of economic package focuses on migrant workers, small farmers

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