Public sector lender Punjab & Sind Bank is eying to mobilise up to ₹3,000 crore via share sale on a private placement basis in a bid to meet the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms of market regulator Sebi.

As per Sebi norms, listed entities are required to have at least 25 per cent public shareholding.

Currently, the government of India holds a 93.85 per cent stake in Punjab & Sind Bank.

“We have got board approval for raising up to ₹3,000 crore from Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) or other means. We are in discussion with merchant bankers. We will soon start roadshows to engage with investors for proposed stake dilution,” Punjab & Sind Bank managing director and CEO Swarup Kumar Saha told PTI.

However, he said, timing and exact quantum would depend on market conditions, which are not very conducive at present.

Besides, he said, the board has also approved ₹5,000 crore infrastructure bonds and ₹2,000 crore from Tier I and Tier II bonds to fund credit growth.

The bank had done a maiden issuance of infrastructure bonds in December 2024.

Saha said the bank has fully deployed the funds raised from its first infra bonds.

Domestic investors have shown a lot of interest in such bond issuance by banks, and many lenders have exercised this option for raising resources in the recent past.

The advantage of infrastructure bonds is that they are exempt from regulatory reserve requirements such as the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). So, infrastructure bond proceeds can be fully deployed for lending activities.

Banks have been preferring infrastructure bonds over AT-1 and Tier-2 bonds, as they are better priced.

During the fourth quarter ended March 2026, Punjab & Sind Bank reported a 35 per cent jump in net profit at ₹422 crore as against ₹313 crore in the same period a year ago, helped by a decline in bad loans.

Total income moderated to ₹3,457 crore from ₹3,836 crore a year ago, Punjab & Sind Bank said in a regulatory filing.

On the asset quality front, the bank’s gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) eased to 2.4 per cent of gross advances, as compared to 3.38 per cent by the end of March 2025. Similarly, net NPAs came down to 0.79 per cent from 0.96 per cent earlier.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio improved marginally to 17.42 per cent, from 17.41 per cent at the end of FY25.

For the entire financial year 2025-26, the bank reported a 30 per cent increase in profit at ₹1,322 crore, as against ₹1,016 crore in the previous year. Total income rose to ₹13,759 crore from ₹13,049 crore.

The bank’s board has recommended a dividend of 39 paise per equity share of face value of ₹10 each for 2025-26, subject to shareholders’ approval.

Published on April 28, 2026

Sapphire Foods India Limited reported its strongest quarterly performance in 12 quarters on Tuesday, with Q4 FY26 consolidated revenue rising 11 per cent year-on-year to ₹789.8 crore, driven by a sharp recovery at KFC India.

Despite the operational uptick, the company remained loss-making, posting a consolidated net loss (PAT) of ₹12.6 crore for the quarter against a profit of ₹2 crore in Q4 FY25.

For the full year FY26, the company reported revenue of ₹3,115.9 crore, up 8 per cent YoY, but swung to a net loss of ₹32 crore compared to a profit of ₹16.7 crore in FY25. Adjusted EBITDA for the year declined 9 per cent to ₹238.2 crore, with margins compressing 150 basis points to 7.6 per cent.

KFC India was the clear outperformer. Quarterly revenue grew 15 per cent — the highest in eight quarters — to ₹549.5 crore, while same-store sales growth (SSSG) came in at 4 per cent, or 6 per cent excluding the Chaitra Navratri impact, the best in 14 quarters.

Restaurant EBITDA margin improved 110 basis points to 16.8 per cent, aided by gross margin gains and a two-pronged consumer recruitment strategy deploying aggressive value offers such as the ₹99 Chicken Krisper Burger Meal in northern and western markets and buy-one-get-one bucket deals in the South.

Pizza Hut India continued to be a drag. Quarterly revenue fell 6 per cent to ₹117.4 crore, SSSG declined 7 per cent, and restaurant EBITDA margin worsened to -6.0 per cent, down 140 basis points YoY. For the full year, the brand’s restaurant EBITDA margin stood at -3.3 per cent, a deterioration of 570 basis points.

The Sri Lanka business delivered its sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit SSSG at 11 per cent in local currency terms, with restaurant sales up 15 per cent to LKR 422.1 crore.

Exceptional items of ₹12.8 crorein Q4 — relating to labour code changes and ESOP modification costs tied to the announced merger with Devyani International — further weighed on the bottom line. Total restaurant count stood at 1,052 as of March 31, 2026.

The stock traded at ₹174.50 on NSE, down 0.81 per cent on the day, and is down nearly 46 per cent over the past year.

Published on April 28, 2026

Tamil Nadu’s Industries Minister T R B Rajaa

Tamil Nadu clocked 10.83 per cent growth in 2025-26 and set a record by registering a double-digit economic growth for a second year in a row, state Industries Minister T R B Rajaa said on Tuesday.

This achievement follows the state recording 11.19 per cent growth in the previous year leaving the national average of 7.4 per cent “far far behind” he said.

“Double-digit growth two years in a row. Not noise. Not propaganda. Just plain factual numbers…While some are busy dividing people, Tamil Nadu is busy multiplying prosperity,” Rajaa said in a post on ‘X.’ This happens when governance is driven by industry-first policies and social justice stable leadership under Chief Minister M K Stalin, the minister claimed.

“No shortcuts. No slogans. Just results. This becomes even more special when one factors the trade headwinds and tariff wars. Let this be clear: the Dravidian model doesn’t just speak. It delivers,” he said.

Published on April 28, 2026