Indian stock market indices have shed some gains in the last two hours of the trade but are still trading in the green. Among the sectoral indices, Consumer Durable and Technology stocks witnessed maximum buying interest while Power and Auto stocks witnessed maximum selling pressure.
The BSE-Sensex is up by 14 points while the NSE-Nifty is trading flat. BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are up by 0.08% and 0.34%. The rupee is trading at 52.93 to the US dollar.
FMCG stocks are mainly trading in the green led by Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) and Marico. HUL has announced results for 4QFY12. The company registered a 21% YoY (year on year) increase in the bottomline. The growth in the bottomline was supported by growth across the segments. The net sales for the quarter were up 16% YoY. The domestic business volumes were up 10.1% YoY.
Gujarat Gas announced results for the first quarter ended March 2012. The company reported growth of 37% in sales on account of higher realizations. On a per day basis, the company sold 3.3 mscmd (million standard cubic metre per day). Overall, the gas sales volumes for the quarter stood at 304 mscm (million standard cubic metres) versus 303 mscm in 1QCY11. CNG segment registered a 13% YoY increase in volumes. The average realizations for the quarter stood at Rs 23.5 per scm from Rs 17.5 per scm in 1QCY11. Despite a hike in average realizations, the operating profits declined by 29.7% YoY on account of increase in gas sourcing costs (due to higher share of regasified liquid natural gas/RLNG). The bottomline declined by 9.6% YoY during the quarter mainly on account of increase in raw material costs. However, the decline was moderate relative to operating profit level as 'Other income' increased 2.9 times (YoY) due to lower effective tax rate. The net profit margins for the quarter stood at 9.0% versus 13.6% in 1QCY11. The stock was trading flat.
