Rounaq Bakshi notes

  Jubilant Ingrevia H1 Profit After Tax surged by 34% Markets Update: Across the broader Chemicals Industry, witnessing a steady recovery in volumes, even as pricing remains under pressure across all segments.  At the same time, many global players, especially players in Europe are reporting deteriorating financials due to weaker demand, continued pricing pressure and elevated energy costs.  The pharmaceutical end-use market continues to show steady volume growth, supported by stable pricing.  Saw consistent volume expansion across CDMO and Fine-Chemicals products.  Additionally, saw a marginal recovery in volumes last quarter within the Paracetamol segment.  The global Agrochemical sector has successfully moved beyond the inventory destocking phase, with volumes now stabilizing and showing clear signs of growth.  This upward momentum is supported by strong volume expansion on both YoY and QoQbasis.  Pricing in the segment has remained stable over...

  Ambuja in Global Context  Capacity & Expansion: Total cement capacity reached ~107 MTPA in Q2, well on track to achieve target of 118 MTPA by FY 26 and 155 MTPA by FY’28 (upped from earlier target capacity of 140 MTPA). Net worth at Rs. 69,493 Cr, Company remains debt free and continues to maintain highest rating Crisil AAA (stable) / Crisil A1+ • World’s 9th largest cement company, among the fastest growing with the world’s highest altitude cement plant.  • World’s first cement company to join the Alliance for Industry Decarbonization (AFID), under the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).  • Ambuja along with it’s subsidiary ACC are India’s leading and globally one of the four large scale cement companies with science-based net-zero targets validated by the SBTi for near term 2030 and long term 2050. CiNOC - infusing an AI layer deep into enterprise fabric, transforming every plant, process, and person into part of a self-learning, high-velocity oper...

 Himatsingka Seide : Currently serve 38 Countries and are focused on enhancing revenue streams from Non – US jurisdictions Himatsingka Seide H1 FY26 PAT grew 25.1% Currently serve 38 Countries and are focused on enhancing revenue streams from Non – US jurisdictions Commenting on the Company’s performance, Mr. Shrikant Himatsingka, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director said: Despite the challenging environment, our Q2FY’26 operating performance has been range bound. We remain focused and on strengthening and growing our Non – US market presence. Our India portfolio remains a strategic priority and we are optimistic about our long term growth prospects in the domestic market. As we navigate headwinds arising from the imposition of U.S. tariffs, we continue to drive initiatives to enhance capacity utilization and expand our market share across key regions and channels where we operate. In line with ongoing initiatives to deleverage the balance sheet, consolidated net debt stoo...

  EPACK PREFAB: Profit After Tax (PAT) stands at Rs. 454 Mn in H1FY26 a jump of over 64.4% over previous Period EPACK PREFAB TECHNOLOGIES LTD announces its first results post listing on the bourses  Epack Prefab Technologies Limited has announced its Q1, Q2 & H1FY26 results.  EPack Prefab Technologies Ltd was incorporated in 1999 and has two business verticals  - PreFab Business, wherein it provides complete solutions to customers on turnkey basis, which includes designing, manufacturing, installation and erection of pre-engineered steel buildings, pre-fabricated structures and its components in India and overseas, (Pre-Fab Business), and manufacturing of expanded polystyrene sheets and blocks (also referred as EPS Block Molded products and EPS Shape Molded products) for various industries such as construction, packaging, and consumer goods in India (EPS Packaging Business).  Financial Highlights - H1FY26  • Total Income for the H1FY26 stood at Rs. 7,34...

AI data centers to drive 11-fold rise in water consumption by 2028: Morgan Stanley Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers are expected to significantly increase global water consumption in the coming years, according to a report by Morgan Stanley. The report said annual water use for cooling and electricity generation by AI data centres could reach around 1,068 billion litres by 2028. "AI data centers to drive annual water consumption for cooling and electricity generation to approximately 1,068 billion liters by 2028 (our base case) - an 11x increase from 2024 estimates," it stated. The report noted that while water use for cooling data centres is widely acknowledged, the indirect water use through electricity generation remains underappreciated. AI's broader water footprint also includes semiconductor manufacturing. Facilities involved in semiconductor production can consume as much as five million gallons of ultrapure water every day, highlighting the industry's...

  GHCL proposed Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) on Soda Ash GHCL announces Q2/H1 FY26 Results - ₹300 crore share buyback to create value for our shareholders  GHCL Limited, India’s leading Chemical Company, announced its financial results for Q2/H1 FY26.  Commenting on the financial performance, Mr. R S Jalan, Managing Director, GHCL Limited said, “Q2 has truly demonstrated GHCL's resilience. We successfully navigated significant global geopolitical headwinds and trade uncertainties, capitalising on healthy domestic demand driven by India’s growing GDP and a good monsoon. Our primary challenge has been the high volume of cheap imports, putting undeniable pressure on industry-wide pricing and our topline. However, our response has been decisive and effective. Our focused cost optimisation continues to protect our healthy margins, even in this difficult pricing environment. While we expect these import headwinds to persist, we are not waiting for the market to turn and are actively...