Street wary of Grasim's investment in arms despite good standalone Q2 show

Analysts have sharply cut target price for the stock

Despite clocking strong growth in revenue and operating profit on a standalone basis for the September 2018 quarter (Q2), Grasim reported a net loss due to one–offs or exceptional items. The Q2 results were declared post market hours on Wednesday. But, the bigger concern pertains to Grasim's rising investment in its group companies. Consequently, the stock fell 7.9 per cent on Thursday.   

Grasim has been a holding company (holds stake) for the group's businesses such as cement (UltraTech), telecom (Vodafone Idea), financial services (Aditya Birla Capital), textile, etc. Post-merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, Grasim now sees its