Maggi compliant with latest FSSAI norms, no ash added: Nestle after UP fine

FMCG major Nestle India said on Monday that Maggi complied with the latest guidelines of food safety regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and it does not add any ash to its popular noodles.

District administration of Shahjahanpur, UP, had slapped a fine on Nestle India and its distributors last week after Maggi had allegedly failed to pass the lab test and found ash content above the permissible limits for human consumption.

"Nestle wishes to categorically state that we do not add ash in any form whatsoever during the manufacturing process of its Maggi noodles," Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan told reporters here.

Speaking on the sidelines of a CII event here, he said the company has received the order of the district administration and will decide on the future course of action after studying it.

"We are fully compliant with the latest FSSAI guidelines which were issued in August-September this year..." he added.

He declined, however, to comment further saying that "the matter is sub-judice".

In June 2015, Nestle India withdrew Maggi noodles from the market. It had relaunched them in November after it went off the market for five months due to a ban by FSSAI over alleged presence of lead beyond permissible limits.  

Gujarat Assembly elections 2017: BJP's Muslim outreach worries Congress

GUJARAT ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2017 - As the Congress embraces “soft” Hindutva in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reached out to the Muslim community of the state.

In Bharuch, Modi accused the Congress of stoking a Hindu-Muslim divide. He said Bharuch and Kutch, two districts with significant Muslim populations, are economically the fastest growing districts of Gujarat. The PM went on to say how during the Congress rule, celebrating festivals comes with the apprehension of violence.

The PM’s comments come on the heels of a finely-tuned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outreach campaign among the minority as well as the majority communities in Gujarat, which has the Congress worried.

According to Congress workers as well as activists, the feedback is increasingly that several in the Muslim community, even if they do not vote for the BJP, might not turn up in adequate numbers to vote for Congress candidates.

Of the 43.3 million people eligible to cast their votes in the state in the forthcoming Assembly polls, Muslims make a bit over nine per cent of the electorate. The state will see elections on December 9 and 14.

According to internal estimates of political parties, Muslims comprise more than 10 per cent of the electorate in 65 of the 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat. Of the 65, Muslims comprise almost a fifth of the electorate on 20 seats.

Auto ancillary shares in focus; Fiem Ind, SSWL, Steco Automotive up over 5%

Shares of auto ancillary companies, mainly mid and small-sized firms, were in focus and traded higher by up to 15% on the back of positive corporate announcements.

Setco Automotive hit a 52-week high of Rs 48.40, up 15% on the BSE in intra-day trade on back of heavy volumes. The company reported nearly 14-fold jump in its standalone net profit of Rs 13.76 crore in September quarter (Q2FY18), on back of healthy operational performance. It had profit of around Rs 1 crore in the same quarter last year and a net loss of Rs 11.89 crore in June 2017 quarter.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin improved to 13.9% in Q2FY18 from 12.6% in Q2FY17.

The company said improvement in margin on account of increase in operating volumes, implementing price increases with all customers, improvement in operating efficiency and control over fixed costs.

“Increase in volumes by around 15%, coupled with operational efficiencies and control over operating and fixed costs, is expected to improve EBIDTA margins in H2FY18 by 200 BPS. The company’s standalone cash flow and balance sheet will significantly improve with redemption of entire preference shares of Rs 34.65 crore during the year,” Setco Automotive said in a statement.

The trading volumes on the counter, up by nearly five-fold with a combined 11.76 million shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE till 12:44 PM.

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Infosys rally likely to be short-lived; tender shares in buyback: analysts

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STOCK MARKET - Infosys rallied 3% to Rs 988 levels on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in intra-day trade on Monday, after the its board appointed Salil S. Parekh as its chief executive officer and managing director (CEO & MD) for a period of five years effective January 2, 2018.

While markets gave a thumbs-up to the development, analysts say Infosys still has a long road to recovery. Parekh, they say, has his task cut out in terms of turning around the business at a time when the information technology (IT) sector is undergoing a transformation. That said, the appointment does end the market’s anxiety as to who the new CEO, but the strategies he adopts will take time to reflect on the financials, they say.

“The markets will heave a sigh of relief that the wait for a new CEO has not been too long. The overhang for the stock as regards this concern will be over. Going ahead, one needs to understand the business strategy that the new incumbent will unveil to put Infosys back to industry growth rates before taking a long-term view on the stock,” says Ajay Bodke, CEO and chief portfolio manager (PMS) at Prabhudas Lilladher.

Bengaluru headquartered Infosys had reported a 3.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in its September 2017 quarter net profit to Rs 3,726 crore, but cut its FY18 growth guidance in constant currency terms to 5.5 – 6.5% from the earlier forecast of 6.5 – 8.5%.

Analysts at Antique Stock Broking, too, believe with the announcement, things will return to normalcy for Infosys and the focus will be back on growth. Infosys needs stable leadership with steady growth trajectory to bridge the almost 20 – 25% price-to-earnings (P/E) valuation discount with TCS, it says.

“Though Infosys may still have to manage with some leadership churn with the CEO appointment, we believe Mr. Parekh's appointment will bring an end to the feud between the founders and the board and the subsequent changes,” analysts at Antique said in company update note. 

Nifty outlook and key trading ideas for Monday's trade by Devang Shah

STOCK MARKET

CLOSE- 10121.80 (01.12.17)
Market witnessed a sharp selling pressure and closed the week in a negative territory at the end of trading session. It made a low of 10,108.55 levels on Nifty and 32,797.78 levels on Sensex so far in this correction. It closed near a very crucial support/ reversal levels at the end of weekly trading session. One should watch out market behavior at these levels for short term. If Nifty holds above these levels, it will confirm further extension of rally on upside in short term or else there will be a sharp price wise correction in short term.

Stock Picks:

DCB BANK- BUY
CLOSE – Rs 181.15
TARGET – Rs 195-210
DCB BANK closed the week in a negative territory. It is consolidating in bullish triangular consolidation. It is trading near crucial support of 200-DMA. Risk reward is favorable to buy at current levels. One can buy with a stop loss of Rs 165 for the target of Rs 195-210 levels in short term.

TATA CHEM-BUY
CLOSE – Rs- 712.15
TARGET – Rs 765-800
TATA CHEM closed the week in a negative territory. Its consolidating in range in short term. It managed to hold support of 40-DMA. Risk reward is favourable to buy at current levels. Its weekly momentum indicators are in BUY. One can buy with a stop loss of Rs 666 for the target of Rs 765-800 in short-term.

DABUR INDIA- BUY
CLOSE – Rs- 341.30
TARGET – Rs 355-360
DABUR closed the week in a positive territory. It is consolidating in range for short term. Risk reward is favourable to buy at current levels. Its weekly momentum indicators are in BUY. One can buy with a stop loss of Rs 324 for the target of Rs 355-360 in short-term.