Tobacco inflation weighs on ITC
SAAS IPO, Defence pivot, and Suzlon bags a green deal.
🗓 Morning, folks! It’s a new week, and India’s manufacturing engine is kicking into high gear.
💡 Spotlight: factory activity picked up serious steam in July. The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI jumped to 59.1, its highest in 16 months, driven by the fastest surge in new orders in nearly five years.
Strong domestic demand and smart marketing pushes helped boost output to a 15-month high, especially in the intermediate goods segment.
But it wasn’t all full throttle, business confidence and hiring cooled slightly, hinting that companies are still playing it safe when it comes to long-term bets.
Even so, July’s print shows India’s industrial muscle is flexing hard, even as other parts of the economy start to tread more cautiously.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big thing: ITC packs in growth, but misses on profit 🚬
ITC delivered a mixed bag in Q1, profits stayed flat, but revenue surged over 20%, powered by a strong agri run and steady FMCG gains. The spoiler? Sky-high leaf tobacco costs ate into margins and dampened the bottom line.
By the numbers:
Net profit flat at ₹4,912 cr
Revenue up 20.6% YoY at ₹19,749 cr
Margin at 31.7%
Revenue growth for the cigarette business stood at 7.6% from the same quarter last year to ₹8,520 cr. While its FMCG business saw a 5.2% revenue growth from last year to ₹5,777 crore, in-line with street expectations.
The agri business outperformed during the quarter, with revenue increasing 39% YoY to ₹9,685 crore.
ITC’s FMCG-others segment reported a good revenue growth driven by strong performance in staples, biscuits, dairy, premium personal wash products, and homecare.
2. Gujarat Gas fuels Waaree’s green mission 🔋
Gujarat Gas Limited signed a gas sales agreement with Waaree Energy to supply 50,000 standard cubic meters per day of piped natural gas for its upcoming lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit in Valsad, Gujarat.
The cells are vital components in electric vehicles, portable electronics, and battery energy storage systems, a sector playing a pivotal role in grid stability and renewable energy integration.
The deets: the plant represents a key stride toward sustainable energy adoption and a reduced carbon footprint. The partnership is positioned to significantly boost India's clean energy ecosystem.
Why it matters: India still imports most of its lithium-ion batteries, but that’s changing. According to CareEdge, import dependence could drop to 20% by FY27. Partnerships like this one are helping build the domestic clean energy ecosystem from the ground up.
3. Brightcom Group takes flight into defence tech 🚀
Brightcom Group has announced the launch of a new division focused on next-generation defence technologies.
The company, best known for digital advertising, programmatic media buying, and ad tech, is making a sharp pivot, aiming to apply its strengths in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time data processing to the defence sector.
Perhaps the move is simply a way to ride the booming defense tech wave, and try to drive the stock’s appeal. We will find out.
Quick bite: Brightcom’s stock was suspended for nearly a year due to SEBI-flagged financial irregularities and serious governance concerns.
As part of its transformation, Brightcom plans on focusing on:
AI-powered autonomous flight systems for UAVs
Real-time threat detection & response algorithms
Swarm coordination frameworks for synchronised drone operations
Cybersecurity systems tailored for aerial defence platforms
High-fidelity simulation engines for mission planning and operational readiness
The big picture: whether this marks a genuine turnaround or just a strategic smokescreen remains to be seen. Until then, 10/10 picking the right wave to jump on.
4. STAN scores $8.5 million with gaming legends on board 🎮
Indian social gaming platform, STAN has secured $8.5 million in a fresh funding round backed by a star-studded lineup, including Google’s AI Futures Fund, Nazara Technologies, and Japanese gaming giants Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and Reazon Holdings.
What’s brewing: STAN is a mobile-native social platform built for gaming creators, publishers, and communities.
The fresh capital will help STAN scale across India and other mobile-first markets, enhance AI-driven personalisation, improve creator tools, and launch new integrations for publishers focused on community-led gaming experiences.
Why it matters: this positions STAN as India’s strongest homegrown contender to global giants like Discord and Twitch, but with one major edge: it’s fully optimised for mobile.
The big picture: with over 450 million mobile gamers in India, Gen Z is gravitating toward platforms that are mobile-native, creator-led, and community-driven. Funding like this lets STAN tap directly into that momentum, and signals that the world is paying attention.
5. Excelsoft files for ₹700 crore IPO 📚
Global vertical SaaS player Excelsoft Technologies got SEBI’s nod for a ₹700 crore IPO. The Karnataka-based company had filed its draft papers on 28 February 2025.
Excelsoft builds cloud-based learning and assessment platforms for education, corporate training, and testing. It has 71 clients spread across 17 countries, including the US, UK, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.
The why: the IPO money will fund land purchase, new building construction, and electrical upgrades at its Mysore facility. It will also invest in IT infrastructure upgrades, with the rest going to general corporate needs.
Zoom out: with learning going digital and corporates doubling down on upskilling, the SaaS-based edtech and assessment space is growing fast. Excelsoft’s global reach and sticky client base give it a solid platform to scale.
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
1. Suzlon lands 381 MW wind deal, charges up stock 🌬️
Suzlon Energy shares rose on Friday after the company announced a new 381 MW order from Zelestra India and its affiliates.
Suzlon makes and installs wind turbines. It has over 21 GW of wind energy capacity in 17 countries and runs R&D and factories across India and Europe.
The deets: the company will install 127 wind turbines across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Why it matters: the deal reinforces a three-decade-long partnership between L&T and Hindustan Zinc, with L&T having previously led several expansion projects at the smelter. It also adds to Suzlon’s robust order book; earlier this year, the company secured a 378 MW order from NTPC Green Energy, taking its total partnership with the PSU to 1,544 MW.
2. L&T strikes big with ₹5,000 cr zinc smelter deal
Larsen & Toubro has won a major engineering and construction order from Hindustan Zinc, valued between ₹2,500-5,000 cr. The project involves upgrading the zinc smelter at Debari in Rajasthan.
The deets: the contract was given to L&T’s minerals and metals division. They’ll be building a plant that can process 250,000 tonnes of material per year using leaching, purification, and cellhouse methods. It’ll also include a unit that handles 125,000 tonnes per year of jarosite, a by-product.
The facility will make high-purity zinc metal sheets - called cathodes. L&T will take care of everything, from planning and buying equipment to setting it up and running it.
Quick bite: the contract comes right after L&T’s strong first-quarter results. The company reported a 29.9% year-on-year jump in net profit to ₹3,617 crore for the June quarter, beating estimates.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
⬆️ Digital boom: UPI hit a record 19.47 billion transactions worth ₹25 lakh crore in July, up 5.8% in volume and 4.3% in value from June 2025.
⚡Market marvel: Microsoft has crossed $4 trillion market valuation, becoming the second company after Nvidia to hit the milestone.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the Monday blues get to you.
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