What they say on their India plans

With India being the fastest growing large economy, ‘what is your India plan?’ is a common topic in boardrooms of most global corporations. One important source to distil their India plans is from their quarterly earnings calls. With the June quarter earnings season in progress, this column will present what CXOs of global corporations are saying about India, along with their perspectives and plans during the current earnings season. Here are some from companies that reported their earnings last week.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG, m-cap $122 billion)

The robotic surgery company reported strong procedure momentum in India and received regulatory clearance for its latest-generation da Vinci 5 platform.

“India delivered another strong quarter across a broad range of procedures. We received clearance for da Vinci 5 and are excited to introduce the platform to customers in the market.”

The electronics manufacturer nearly doubled its India revenue on strong networking demand and is exploring a partnership with Adani to manufacture multi-gigawatt AI infrastructure locally.

“India revenue has nearly doubled over the past year, driven partly by rising InfiniBand and Ethernet networking demand. We are also exploring a one-stop AI infrastructure manufacturing offering with Adani, aligned with the government’s ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ strategy, although no definitive framework, financial terms or structure has been agreed.”

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD, $23.8 billion)

The global logistics company reported significant disruption in India after carriers cancelled major North America-bound services, creating cargo backlogs and equipment shortages.

“Two major services from the Indian subcontinent were cancelled, causing congestion and cargo backlogs at several locations in India. Empty equipment is becoming scarce as carriers continue adjusting capacity and services across trade lanes.”

The agricultural sciences company is tightening credit terms in India and recovering older receivables to release working capital and support free cash flow.

“We are monetising working capital from the India business by operating on a cash-only basis and collecting older receivables. These actions are helping offset restructuringrelated cash headwinds in a competitive market.”

The commercial vehicle manufacturer said Indian truck demand remains supported by freight activity, infrastructure spending and replacement demand, although market momentum is beginning to moderate.

“We maintain our India forecast of 400,000 medium and heavy-duty trucks, supported by steady freight activity, infrastructure investment and government policies. However, softer conditions in India are contributing to a lower outlook and book-to-bill ratio for Asia.”

Elekta AB (publ) (EKTA-B, Skr 18.3 billion)

The radiation therapy company sees a significant opportunity to expand cancer care in underserved India through affordable treatment systems and a remotely connected hub-and-spoke model.

“We will position Harmony as a productivity platform for India, combining adaptive treatment and hypofractionation with remote collaboration. Specialist clinicians at central hubs can plan treatments for regional centres, creating a price-competitive model that reduces the need for patients to undertake costly and difficult travel.”

Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc (TEM, £2.9 billion)

The emerging markets investment trust is using India’s market correction to increase exposure, narrowing its longstanding underweight to a broadly neutral position, although it continues to prefer China.

“India remains a compelling long-term growth market, but high valuations and earnings expectations are now correcting. We have used the downturn to build positions and narrowed our underweight to broadly neutral, including US-listed Indian companies. However, we added more to China recently, as India’s greater oil dependence increases its vulnerability ...