5 Stocks That Surged On Reaction To Q4 Earnings Today

Its Q4 earnings season and investors have been anticipating financial results of the quarter where some effect of the COVID-19 influenced lockdown was felt.

Shares of multiple companies were trading higher on Thursday as a reaction to their financial results for the March-ended quarter (Q4).

1. Bajaj Auto

Shares of the largest two-wheeler maker in the country rallied over 6 percent on Thursday to Rs 2,724.20, making the stock among the top performers on Nifty 50 on 21 May.

On Wednesday, the company reported a better than street estimates earnings for the March-ended quarter on strong export volumes of motorcycles and a favourable exchange rate helped offset the decline in the domestic market.

Its profit before tax (PBT) was down 8.2 percent and revenue from operations fell 8 percent for the quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

The company is optimistic about its recovery despite the ill effects of COVID-19 that has crippled the economy.

"We expect a smart recovery in the second half of the year," said Rakesh Sharma, executive director of Bajaj Auto.

2. Birlasoft

Shares of the IT company rose almost 15 percent on Thursday after it reported a 4.5 percent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 69 crore for the March 2020 quarter.

Its revenue from operations grew 15.1 percent to Rs 907.1 crore in the period under review, from Rs 788.3 crore in March 2019 quarter.

In 2018, Birlasoft and KPIT Technologies announced that they will merge and then split into two publicly-traded companies to create two specialised IT players.

"2019-20, being our first year of operations as new Birlasoft, makes me look back with great satisfaction. We have achieved industry-leading growth over the past two quarters and are closing the year strong, even in the midst of the turmoil of COVID-19," Birlasoft CEO and Managing Director Dharmender Kapoor said.

The firm's board recommended a final dividend of Re 1 per share, taking the total dividend for 2019-20 to Rs 2 a share.

3. Ajanta Pharma

Shares of the pharma company gained as much as 9.2 percent to Rs 1,572 apiece after it reported 45 percent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 129.16 crore for the March ended quarter from Rs 88.89 crore from the same period of the previous year.

The company reported robust sales in all markets. Its exports grew 43 percent to Rs 490 crore while sales in India saw a rise of 11 percent from the previous year.

4. JK Lakshmi Cement

Shares of the company surged 10.5 percent to Rs 217.80 on NSE as it reported more than two-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 98.63 crore for the fourth quarter ended on March 2020, helped by cost reductions.

"Company's concerted efforts in improving Product Mix, market optimisation, enhancing the premium products sales, reduction in logistic costs and improvement in plant efficiency parameters enabled the company to post better returns. Softening of Pet Coke prices also helped the company to improve its margins," JK Lakshmi Cement said in a statement.

5. Jubilant Foodworks

Share price of the master franchisee for Domino's Pizza in India gained over 6 percent on Thursday to Rs 1,615 despite a nearly 72 percent fall in its net profit for the March quarter as brokerage houses remained positive on the stock expecting a strong recovery.

CLSA maintained a 'buy' rating on the stock and raised its price target to Rs 1,850 from Rs 1,800 per share.

"The industry consolidation and efforts to improve unit economics are key positives. The company's numbers for quarter-ended March were impacted due to lockdown. Credible brand positioning with trend toward food delivery should aid market share," it said.