Vedanta declares interim dividend of Rs 13 per share.

Top of the Morning

In this episode, find out why the sale of FCMG goods fell in the December quarter, also find out about lenders' plan to convert Suzlon Energy’s debt into equity

Business Term of the Day: Buyback of shares.

Transcript Vedanta: Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd has declared an interim dividend of ₹13 per equity share, which will lead to an outgo of ₹4,832 crore for the mining major. This was the third interim dividend for the fiscal year 2021-22. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is 10 March.

FMCG companies: Sales volume of fast-moving consumer goods fell 2.6% year-on-year in the December quarter, with inflation causing a sharp dip in rural demand after five quarters of positive growth. Higher inflation in 2021 led to three consecutive quarters of double-digit price increases resulting in consumption slowdown in urban markets and consumption de-growth in rural centres.

UPL Ltd: The agri-chemicals major has announced a buyback of shares worth up to ₹1,100 crore from shareholders, excluding promoters. In a regulatory filing, the company said its board has approved the proposal to buy back fully paid-up equity shares of face value of ₹2 each from shareholders (other than the promoters, the promoters group and persons in control of the company),

Max Financial Services: Subsidiary Max Life Insurance Company Ltd has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary Max Life Pension Fund Management Ltd and will infuse ₹55 crore into the firm by subscribing to 5.5 crore shares.

Suzlon Energy: Lenders have approved a plan by Suzlon Energy to convert part of its debt of ₹4,100 crore into equity that would see creditors’ stake rise to 35%, while that of promoter Tulsi Tanti’s would fall to 12.7% from 16% after the dilution. REC, a power sector lender, would pick up a 4.3 % by giving fresh loans to Suzlon that would be used by the firm to refinance older loans.

Moving on to markets

Stocks rose Thursday while bonds fell after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pointed to a measured interest-rate liftoff.

Major markets in Asia held gains this morning tracking cues from the US counterparts.

The key benchmark indices are likely to start trade on a flat note. SGX Nifty futures, were quoting 16,641 levels this morning, 30-odd points higher from Wednesday’s close.

oil continued to surge on expectations the market will remain short of supply for months to come amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Brent futures soared to an intraday high of $121.89 a barrel, before settling 7.6 per cent higher at $112.93.

Business term of the day

Stock buybacks refer to the repurchasing of shares of stock by the company that issued them. A buyback occurs when the issuing company pays shareholders the market value per share and re-absorbs that portion of its ownership that was previously distributed among public and private investors. With stock buybacks, aka share buybacks, the company can purchase the stock on the open market or from its shareholders directly. In recent decades, share buybacks have overtaken dividends as a preferred way to return cash to shareholders.