Good morning, and happy Independence Day. It is the 80th one since 1947, and the mood across the country is festive even as corporate India's Q1 earnings season keeps the news cycle busy through the long weekend.
In today's newsletter: Ashok Leyland's record Q1 revenue run, Union Health Minister JP Nadda's hospital stay, and Alkem Labs' profit squeeze despite strong sales.
Closing levels · 2026-08-14
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Brent Crude $88.38 +1.51% |
Sensex and Nifty closed marginally lower on Friday after a volatile session, as selling in auto, energy and pharma stocks offset gains in consumer durables, while Brent held near four-week highs on Middle East supply worries.
Ashok Leyland posts record Q1 revenue and profit on a commercial vehicle boom
Ashok Leyland, India's second-largest commercial vehicle maker, reported its highest-ever first-quarter performance for the June quarter, with consolidated net profit rising to ₹616 crore on revenue that climbed nearly 12% to ₹13,070 crore. The company sold a record 48,763 commercial vehicles during the quarter, its best-ever first quarter for volumes.
The growth was broad-based. Medium and heavy truck volumes, excluding defence orders, rose 15%, while light commercial vehicle sales in India grew 21%. It is an early signal that freight demand and construction activity are holding up heading into the festive buying season.
Commercial vehicle volumes are one of the clearest early reads on the health of India's freight and construction economy, since trucks get bought ahead of, not behind, actual demand. Ashok Leyland's numbers, echoed by strong results across the auto sector this earnings season, suggest the slowdown worries from earlier this year have eased for now.
Buried in the results: Ashok Leyland's EBITDA margin actually slipped to 10.1% from 11.1% a year ago, as material costs rose faster than revenue. Profit grew barely a percentage point even as revenue jumped 12%, a gap worth watching into the next quarter.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda hospitalised, undergoes angiography
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda was admitted to AIIMS Delhi on Wednesday evening after complaining of uneasiness, and underwent a coronary angiography as doctors checked for blockages in the blood vessels around his heart. The hospital said he remains under observation in the cardiology department and is stable.
Nadda, who also serves as the BJP's national president, has overseen some of the government's biggest health-sector pushes in recent years, including the expansion of the AIIMS network from six campuses to twenty-three. Authorities have not said when he might be discharged.
Alkem Labs' profit falls 22% despite double-digit sales growth
Drugmaker Alkem Laboratories reported a 21.7% decline in consolidated net profit to ₹520 crore for the June quarter, even as revenue from operations grew a healthy 10.9% to ₹3,740 crore. The disconnect came down to tax: a sharply higher consolidated tax rate ate into what would otherwise have been a strong quarter.
The underlying business held up well. India sales rose 10.3% to ₹2,497.8 crore and international sales climbed 16% to ₹1,222.3 crore, while EBITDA grew 16.2% to ₹766.6 crore. Alkem expects the 30 to 32% tax rate to persist through the rest of the financial year, which will keep pressuring headline profit even as operations keep improving.
Breaking.exe
Semicon push widens. Odisha is sweetening incentives to court chipmaking and renewable-energy projects under India's Semicon 2.0 mission, as states compete for a share of the ₹1.27 lakh crore programme meant to build domestic chip design and packaging capacity. |
PhysicsWallah's loss narrows. Edtech firm PhysicsWallah's net loss narrowed to ₹88 crore in the June quarter from ₹127 crore a year earlier, even as revenue grew 24% to ₹1,054 crore, though a delayed NEET exam cycle dented online coaching enrolments. |
LG's premium bet pays off. LG Electronics India's net profit jumped 27% to ₹653 crore in the June quarter on strong demand for premium televisions, washing machines and air conditioners, with margins expanding despite higher input costs. |
Pangaea Revisited
Ebola spreads further. The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a sixth province, with the death toll passing 2,100 in what health officials call the fastest-growing outbreak on record. |
Sudan's war shifts again. Sudan's army said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has advanced into the strategic border town of Kurmuk near Ethiopia, reversing recent army gains in a civil war that has displaced millions. |
Lebanon condemns Israeli strikes. Lebanon's prime minister called Israeli strikes in the country's south a violation of international law, as tensions simmer nearly two years after a ceasefire nominally ended fighting with Hezbollah. |
Also, Also, Also
Rain lashes the capital. The IMD issued a red alert for Delhi, forecasting heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds through the long weekend as an active monsoon trough moves through the region. |
80th Independence Day today. India marks its 80th Independence Day with a high-security Red Fort ceremony, where the Prime Minister will address the nation for the 13th consecutive year under the theme "Yuva Shakti for Viksit Bharat @2047." |
3M India's strong quarter. Industrial major 3M India's net profit rose 31% to ₹233 crore in the June quarter, with sales up 19% to ₹1,423 crore. |
Bharat Dynamics surges. State-run missile maker Bharat Dynamics reported a 547% jump in net profit to ₹119 crore, as revenue more than doubled on strong defence order execution. |