BQuick On June 26: Top 10 Stories In Under 10 Minutes  

This is a roundup of the day’s top stories in brief.

1. More RBI Relief In The Works

The Reserve Bank of India has started the ground work for a one-time restructuring scheme to help companies which are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The regulator is discussing contours of the plan internally and informally with senior bankers before a final decision is taken, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
• The one-time restructuring scheme would likely cover companies which have defaulted between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
• As per unofficial conversation between bankers, the restructuring scheme will help companies extend the repayment schedule and reduce interest rates, without attracting an asset classification downgrade, as is required currently.

In terms of the structure of the scheme, it will likely follow the relief provided to micro, small and medium enterprises last year.

2. ITC Delivers A Mixed Q4; Coal India’s Profit Slumps

ITC Ltd.’s quarterly profit rose, aided by the government’s cut in corporate taxes even as sales declined during a national lockdown that was imposed to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

• Net profit rose 9.1% year-on-year to Rs 3,798 crore in the quarter ended March, according to an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 3,511-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
• Revenue declined 6.4% over the year-ago period to Rs 11,420 crore. Analysts had pegged the metric at Rs 11,832 crore.
• Operating profit fell 8.9% to Rs 4,163 crore.

Operating margin dropped.

State-run miner Coal India Ltd. reported a decline in quarterly profit due to flat sales growth and lower realisations.

• Net profit fell 23% year-on-year to Rs 4,638 crore in the quarter ended March.
• Revenue fell 3.5% to Rs 27,568 crore—higher than the estimated Rs 26,596 crore.
• Margin narrowed to 24.4% from 28.8% earlier.

Find out why sales remained flat during the quarter.

3. Nifty Sees Late Surge; Dow Opens Weak

Indian equity markets witnessed a late surge, and ended near the highest point of the trading day.

• The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.94% higher at 35,171 while the NSE Nifty 50 index ended just below the 10,400 mark at 10.383, up 0.91%.

• For the week, the Sensex gained 1.27% while the Nifty advanced 1.35%.

• Both Sensex and Nifty have posted weekly gains in four out of the last five weeks.

Follow the day's trading action here.

Globally, cases topped 96 lakh while deaths crossed 4.89 lakh.

• The U.S. saw a record number of new cases, with a wave across the Sun Belt stoking concerns about the economic recovery.
• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that a recovery from the pandemic will be restrained and will change parts of the economy permanently.
• A fresh surge in coronavirus cases prompted Rwanda’s government to place six districts of the capital, Kigali, back under a strict lockdown.

Follow the global spread of the virus here.

10. Byju’s Overtakes Oyo

Byju’s surpassed budget hotel room operator Oyo Hotels & Homes to become India’s second-most valued startup after the online education platform raised funds from Bond Capital, a venture capital firm co-founded by Mary Meeker, a person aware of the matter said.

• This is the first time Bond Capital has backed an Indian startup.
• While Byju’s confirmed the funding, it declined to comment on amount and valuation.
• The person quoted above, however, told BloombergQuint on condition of anonymity that the edtech startup secured the funding at a valuation of $10.5 billion.
• The valuation of the Byju Raveendran-led company has nearly doubled in the last one year.

Bond Capital’s investment into Byju’s comes at a time online education in India is seeing its moment of reckoning.