This article was written by

Shares of Cipla inched up on heavy volumes on Friday, after the company’s first quarter earnings beat the consensus estimate. On the BSE, the stock closed at Rs 315.45, up 0.5% over its previous close, with 2.84 lakh shares — twice the 2-week average daily volume —being traded. Dealers tracking the stock said the ‘Big Daddy’ of insurance companies was a key buyer. However, traders who had built up positions in anticipation of good quarterly numbers, chose to book profits, thus restricting gains in the stock.

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to the SDI Group Plc Final Results Investor Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Before we begin, I would like to submit the following poll.

I would now like to hand you over to CEO, Stephen Brown. Good afternoon.

Stephen Brown
CEO & Director

Good afternoon, and a warm welcome to today’s final results for the year ended 30th of April 2026. I’m Stephen Brown, CEO of SDI Group, and joining me is our CFO, Ami Sharma; and Group Head of Corporate Development, James Dimitriou.

Today, we’ll walk you through our group summary, provide an operational overview, present the financial results for FY ’26 and discuss the outlook for next year. At the end, we will answer any questions you may have.

First, let me introduce you to the SDI Group. We are a buy-and-build group with, at the year-end, 18 established businesses with over 550 employees operating from 19 locations worldwide. We operate a decentralized model that fosters autonomy, independence and agility with our focus being on high-growth scientific niche markets. We have a proven strategy of combining organic growth with earnings-enhancing acquisitions, having made 21 since 2014.

In FY ’26, we achieved a total group revenue of circa GBP 75 million, and this came from growth from all 3 of our divisions. This is, in fact, the highest level in SDI’s history. Also, with our operations being geographically diverse, we export more than 70% of our highly specialized products to international markets.

Our buy-and-build model relies on a compounding cycle of growth. This cycle focuses on 2 key pillars, organic

Minnesota’s ban on cryptocurrency ATMs took effect Saturday after state officials said residents had reported losing nearly $1 million in scams involving the machines since 2023.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation on May 4 banning the installation of crypto ATMs, also known as kiosks, which are commonly found in gas stations and convenience stores. Existing machines must be removed from the state by Dec. 31.

The ATMs were being used by criminals to disproportionately target seniors, according to state officials.

Scammers often impersonate law enforcement officers and pressure elderly victims into using nearby crypto ATMs to send money for a loved one’s supposed release from jail, according to Paul Haas, an investigator with Minnesota’s Department of Commerce.

ALLEGED FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUD RINGLEADER TRANSFERRED FROM SOMALIA TO FACE US CHARGES

“When victims call our office after a crypto kiosk scam, you can hear the panic and shame in their voices,” Haas said. “By the time victims realize they were deceived, the emotional and financial damage can be devastating.”

Officials also said many of the thefts go unreported because the victims are embarrassed at having been tricked.

Last year alone, there were 70 cases of people falling victim to these kinds of fraud schemes, investigators said. More than $540,000 was lost and the average loss per transaction was nearly $6,800, according to state officials.

Crypto ATM transactions cannot be reversed and are often difficult to trace once the funds reach a scammer’s digital wallet, according to officials in several other states that have reported similar problems.

TIM WALZ BECOMES GOP PUNCHLINE IN SWEEPING NEW WAR ON WELFARE FRAUD

Transactions made with cryptocurrency are generally irreversible because once they are made, they are recorded on a decentralized blockchain, meaning no central institution can simply cancel them or recover the funds.

Traditional bank transactions, by contrast, pass through centralized financial institutions that may be able to freeze, dispute or reverse certain payments.

U.S. consumer-protection laws also require banks to investigate certain unauthorized electronic transfers, while credit-card customers generally have the right to dispute unauthorized charges through the chargeback process.

Crypto transactions generally do not carry comparable consumer protections, though Congress is attempting to bring digital currency under more stringent federal regulation.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The crypto ATM ban in Minnesota comes as the state faces broader scrutiny over allegations of widespread fraud involving government-funded programs, prompting a growing federal crackdown and renewed criticism of Walz’s oversight of state agencies.

On July 21, the Trump administration froze more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), led by Mehmet Oz, is withholding more than $200 million from Minnesota while federal officials review what they described as high-risk Medicaid claims and documentation deficiencies.

Days after that announcement, the Department of Justice said four Minnesota men pleaded guilty to stealing $2.2 million from the state’s program to help homeless people. The program was primarily funded through Medicaid.

MUMBAI: Lovable Lingerie is the third-best performing stock among companies listed this year, with it doubling in value, as traders bet it could repeat the performance of Page Industries, sellers of Jockey innerwear.

It gained a third in about a week. But the small float and low delivery volumes is an alert against wagering on it for some who fear it may have risen beyond its fundamentals when many other newly-listed companies are trading below their sale price.

“The rally in Lovable Lingerie is more a momentum play with hardly any genuine interest,” says Sharad Rathi, associate director at Almondz Global Securities.

“The valuations seem to be a bit out of whack.” Lovable that sold shares at Rs 205 apiece, has risen 109% to Rs 428.5 on Friday after touching a high of Rs 462.50. Some of the top shareholders include HDFC Mutual Fund, SBI Funds, UTI Asset management and Fidelity, filings show.

Total outstanding shares of the firm is at 1.68 crore and public holding is about 50 lakh shares. The Sensex was down 2.6% during the period and the BSE IPO index was up 1.6%. Fineotex Chemical and C Mahendra Exports are the two companies that have returned more than Lovable, among this years’ IPOs.

The stock trades at 31 times forecast earnings for fiscal 2012, compared with Page Industries’ 27 times its earnings. Although the stock had been among the top traded in the last few days, gaining to limit on some days, the number of shares that changed had remained negligible. The quantity of shares actually changing hands — was in single digit for many days.
The delivery ratio was 2% to 9% between June 10 and 17 when the stock moved up 33% on BSE, exchange data show. This follows the performance of Page Industries which has gained 396% since its IPO in March 2007. Shares that were sold at Rs 396 apiece are trading at Rs 1,784. “Rising disposable incomes and growing awareness about personal hygiene are boosting growth of the innerwear market in India,” said Anand Rathi Secutities in a recent report. “Also enhancing this growth is the rising modern trade malls, shopping complexes etc,” said the brokerage which has a target price of Rs 430.

The Mumbai-based company’s Rs 93-crore IPO drew good response with it getting subscribed 21.8 times the institutional portion, 98.5 times among wealthy individuals and 20.5 times in the retail category. Rise in raw material prices and intensifying competition are the two risks for earnings growth, the report said.

Shares of cigarette companies have rallied over the past one month, with the three leading cigarette makers ITC, Godfrey Philips and VST Industries hitting record highs. All the three stocks have posted robust returns in the past one year, significantly outperforming the benchmark Sensex, helped by favourable taxation and increase in cost of competing tobacco products.

Unlike previous years, the central government has not increased excise duty on cigarettes in the budget for this fiscal, though states have varyingly raised value added tax (VAT). While northern states such as Rajasthan have significantly raised VAT on cigarettes, all the southern states have spared the sector from a major increase. In contrast, competing tobacco products such as ‘pan masala’ and chewing tobacco have witnessed cost increases in the form of higher taxation and a rise in raw material cost.

Also, prices of tobacco have remained benign compared with higher prices of ‘tendu’ leaves that are used for manufacturing ‘beedis’. The cigarette industry has cashed in on the rise in beedi prices by competitively pricing low-end and micro filter cigarettes to lure ‘beedi’ smokers to cheaper cigarettes. Also, contrary to its earlier plans the government decided to issue less gory pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, which has aided sentiment in the stocks.
In the quarter ended June, VST Industries reported a 90% year-on-year jump in net profit. ITC, which is yet to declare its first quarter earnings, is expected to have witnessed a pick-up in cigarette volumes despite price increases in some of its products. Going forward, the rally in cigarette companies is likely to continue as all factors seem to be positive for the sector.
Analysts expect cigarette companies to report strong earnings growth driven by higher volumes, price increases and lower expenses.

NEW DELHI: The poor financial health of state electricity boards could pose significant business risks for power traders in the country, says rating agency Fitch.

In a report released today, Fitch Ratings said the credit risk of power traders has become “riskier” due to profitability and liquidity constraints faced by state power utilities.

“If these utilities are having liquidity problems which are leading to delays or defaults in their obligation to power traders, then this in turn increases the business risk for power traders,” it noted.

This could lead investors in power trading companies to either seek higher return on the investments or seek alternate avenues for investment.

Leading power traders include PTC India and Tata Power Trading Company.

Going by estimates, over the past four years, the top five trading licensees have controlled over 80 per cent of the market in terms of volumes.
Some of the large loss making state power utilities come from the states for Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. These are also largest buyers of short-term electricity through power traders, Fitch Ratings said.”The financial health of state power utilities, the major customers of power traders, has deteriorated with aggregate annual book losses widening to Rs 295 billion (Rs 29,500 crore) in FY 10 from Rs 70 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in FY 06, leading to an increase in counterparty risk,” the report said.

As per Planning Commission‘s estimates, electricity distribution losses totalled a whopping Rs 70,000 crore in 2010-11.

According to Fitch, the biggest short-term buyers — SPUs in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan — face huge energy deficits with largest cash losses on a revenue and subsidy-realised basis.

“Hence, these states will remain net-buyers on short-term power markets and continue to act as major counterparties for power traders. This increases the risk for undiversified power traders significantly,” it added.

The report pointed out that traders with strong equity base and high cash balance are better placed since they have the buffer to absorb any increase in the working capital cycle in the event of delays or defaults by SPUs.

Director in Fitch’s Asia Pacific Utilities team Salil Garg said the agency expects larger traders to face low business risk due to many factors, including economies of scale and diversified customer base.