Plants running at 100% capacity- M&M

Update on the Indian Equity Market:
On Thursday Nifty closed -0.1% lower at 11,527. Among the sectoral indices Bank (-1.4%), PVT Bank (-1.4%), FIN Services (-1.0%) closed lower. IT (+1.50%), Pharma (+0.9%) and FMCG (+0.8%) closed higher. ICICI Bank (-2.1%), Bharti Airtel (-1.9%) and Axis Bank (-1.9%) closed on a Negative note. Infratel (+10.9%), GRASIM (+7.2%) and Titan (+5.9%) were among the top gainers.
Excerpts from an interview of Mr. Hemant Sikka, President Farm Equipment Sector, M&M with CNBC-TV18 dated 2nd September 2020:
• Tractor sales were up 65% YoY, M&M remains positive because of good harvest and bountiful monsoon.
• The production started from mid-May and now plants are running at 100% capacity.
• The demand is robust throughout the country. The kharif sowing is going well which gives a confidence to farmers.
• The domestic market grew by 69% in August 20.
• On Finance, the availability is better compare to 3-4 months back. Initially finance was an issue as offices were not open, it was difficult for people to reach offices.
• The improvement in financing is seen from middle of June. The collection is also good as farmers have a better cash flow.
• Mr. Sikka said that for the next 3 months the company is expecting a full blast of production.
• The stock is at historic low levels.
• The challenges on supply side had eased out. All suppliers have ramped up their production.
• A good festive season is expected as supply chains are coming back on track and all factories running.
Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener and Investing.com websites)
• The closing price of M&M was ₹ 642/- as of 03-September-2020. It traded at 25x/ 18x/ 16x the consensus Earnings per share estimate of ₹ 26.1/35.7/41.1 for FY21E/ FY22E/ FY23E respectively.
• The consensus average target price for M&M is ₹ 585/- which implies a PE multiple of 14x on FY23E EPS of ₹41.1/-.
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