Tag - Lockdown

01 Jun

Domestic demand to recover post lockdown- KEI Industries

Update on Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, Nifty closing down 8 points at 15,575.  Adani Ports (3.7%), ONGC (3.5%), and Bajaj Finance (2.8%) were the top gainers on the index while JSW Steel (-2.3%), TATA STEEL(-2.2%), ICICI BANK (-1.9%) were the top losers for the day. Among the sectoral indices,  Private Bank (-0.9%) and Metal (-0.8%), and Realty (-0.52%) lead the losers, while Media (0.32%) and IT (0.11%) lead the gainers.

Excerpts of an interview with Anil Gupta, CMD of KEI Industries aired on CNBC TV 18 on 31st May 2021:

  • Pent-up demand is strong and the management is confident that the sales will pick up post lockdown restrictions end.
  • The Company posted a 17% YoY growth in EBITDA margin and  47% YoY growth in the bottom line. The results are indicative of the long-term growth prospects of the company.
  • The company is currently working at full capacity and is expected to stock up inventory in order to be ready when the demand picks up.  
  • Retail sales are currently under pressure due to lockdown but the company is showing good order book growth.
  • KEI Industries currently has an order book of Rs 26000 mn with steady growth however labor shortage and site closures have impacted the execution rate.

Asset Multiplier Comments:

  • Like many consumer durable companies, KEI industries has suffered the adverse effects of lockdown but there are better days ahead.
  • The company has is well poised to reap the benefits of cost rationalisation and volume expansion growing ahead.

Consensus Estimates (Source: market screener website): 

  • The closing price of KEI Industries was ₹622/- as of 31-May-2021.  It traded at 17x/ 14x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 36/ ₹ 43  for FY22E/23E respectively.
  • The consensus price target is ₹ 664/- which trades at 15x the EPS estimate for FY23E of ₹ 43/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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16 Sep

Infra development imperative to revive economic activity – L&T

Update on the Indian Equity Market:
On Tuesday, NIFTY was up by 82 pts (+0.7%) at 11,521.
Among the sectoral indices, REALTY (-0.7%), MEDIA (-0.42%), and FMCG (-0.2%) were the top losers and PHARMA (+1.9%), PVT BANK (+1.9%), and BANK (+1.7%) were the top gainers.
Among the stocks, INDUSINDBNK (+4.7%), CIPLA (+2.9%), and UPL (+2.8%) were the top gainers. TITAN (-1.4%), MARUTI (-1.1%), and HDFCLIFE (-0.9%) were the top losers.

Infra development imperative to revive economic activity – L&T

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. S.N. Subrahmanyan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Larsen & Toubro Ltd with The Hindu dated 12th September 2020:

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T) recently completed divestment of its electrical and automation (E&A) business to Schneider Electric for ₹14,000 Crs. The company is also planning to divest or dilute certain concession businesses as part of the strategic review of its business portfolio, said CEO and MD S.N. Subrahmanyan.

• When asked about the next move after divesting in E&A he informed that they keep conducting a strategic review of our business portfolio from time to time and take a call on the basis of consistent, long-term planning process. As per this, they may divest or dilute certain concession businesses such as L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) and Nabha Power Ltd.
• When asked about the plans for E&A sale proceeds, he stated that they are in middle of an unprecedented pandemic which has caused considerable uncertainty to business during the past five months. In such times, it is necessary to strengthen the balance sheet and stay adequately liquid. Accordingly, the sale proceeds will be utilised partly for deleveraging the consolidated debt and also to strengthen the liquidity buffer warranted by the current economic environment. As business conditions improve post-COVID-19, some of the equity unlocked by the divestment will also be invested for growing the business at the group level. A certain part will also be used to reward the stakeholders.
• His comments on business operations coming back to normal: As the country unlocks, means of transport open, supply chains resume and labor returns, operations at about 90% of project sites and all manufacturing facilities have resumed and are gradually moving into normality. They remain positive.
• When asked about the workers coming back to work, he commented that Pre-pandemic, they had around 2.7 lakh labourers on rolls. This came down to 70,000 by end-May when the lockdown was lifted. Most of the labourers and workers went back to their villages and towns. But, L&T have all the reasons to be positive now as about 2.2 lakh are back on rolls and most of the sites are back to more or less normality. The amount of steel and cement L&T is purchasing is going up and that indicates better progress.
• His comments on getting new business: Infrastructure development is imperative to revive economic activity, create employment and infuse more liquidity into the system. Additionally, funded projects by the World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Asian Development Bank, among others, should start moving faster. L&T, therefore, is optimistic that sectors such as hospitals, power transmission and distribution, water, railways, roads, renewable energy and defence will start showing greater traction.
• When asked how is L&T readying for the fourth industrial revolution i.e. Digital, he said that over the last few years, L&T has deliberately and slowly enhanced its technology footprint and is charting a course in recent years that will see its technology portfolio increase its contribution vis-a-vis its traditional businesses. In FY15, the world was seeing a tectonic shift with digital technologies. These emerging technologies were creating new processes, new business models and entirely new businesses. Digitalisation and digital transformation were sweeping the business world. L&T was seeing and experiencing this first-hand from the clients of IT services companies.
• He further added that L&T saw the opportunity of digital as twofold. First, to digitally transform its own operations and use these new technologies to get better at what it was already doing well; and second, to look at digital as a new business opportunity that could shape its future portfolio. L&T started doing both and it acted swiftly with determination.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

• The closing price of L&T was ₹ 915/- as of 15-Sep-2020. It traded at 28x/24x/21x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 95.8/111/127 per share for FY21E/ FY22E/ FY23E respectively.
• The consensus target price of ₹ 2467/- implies a PE multiple of 19.4x on FY23E EPS of ₹ 127/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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03 Jun

We have a very healthy cash surplus of over Rs 3,800 crores: Dabur

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, Nifty ended 1.6% higher at 9,979. The top gainers for Nifty 50 were Bajaj Finserv (+9.5%), Zee Entertainment (+9.1%) and Bajaj Finance (+8.2%) while the losing stocks for the day Coal India (-3.3%), Maruti (-1.9%) and BPCL (-1.4%). The gaining sectors for the day were Realty (+4.9%), Media (+3.3%) and Pvt Bank (+3.2%). FMCG (-0.7%) was the only losing sector for the day.

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr Lalit Malik, CFO, Dabur India Ltd; dated 29th May 2020 from Retail Economic Times:

 

  • Volume growth has seen a decline of 14.6% in 4QFY20 for Dabur which was the lowest growth in 11 quarters. The growth was on track till February and the Company was ahead of other FMCG companies. However, in March, due to the sudden lockdown, there was a supply chain blockage and Dabur was not able to invoice which was due even in case of seasonal goods like juices, glucose etc. This caused a decline of 14.6% in the India FMCG business.
  • For the juice and glucose categories, it was the peak season for the Company, given the summer setting in. If things were normal, Dabur’s growth would have been on track.
  • The healthcare segment of Dabur saw a slow opening in the middle of April. With the launch of the sanitizer during this period, Dabur has gained momentum and things may have been much better.
  • At present, though all manufacturing units are open, Dabur is working at 60-70% capacity. As far as the supply side is concerned with regard to the C&F as well as to the distributors, barring a few areas which are in the red zone and where there are restrictions with regard to supply, other categories including rural have returned to normal.
  • Mr Malik added, E-commerce has been growing at the rate of more than 100%. There are different channels which are giving promising returns in the new normal. However, there are still some pockets which are in the red zone where there are some restrictions and Dabur is waiting for that to get normal so that they will be back to 100%.
  • Dabur has a very healthy cash surplus which is more than Rs 3,800 crores. They don’t see any stress to their balance sheet or liquidity. The Company is being careful with regards to their working capital management as well as its operating cash flow.
  • With 60-70% running capacity, the Company sees no major deviation with regard to their inventory pile-up or shortage because they are monitoring the demand and supply side very carefully. For example, their healthcare category is moving at a faster pace. In the case of Chyawanprash, the growth rate is almost 400%. Thus, Dabur has accelerated production and therefore they are able to meet the increase in demand. There are different pockets where the demand is increasing and therefore they have increased their production and supply.
  • At present, the discretionary item demand is slow and this is where the Company is going slowly with regard to production so that they are able to manage the inventory and there is no loss of sale in case demand comes back.
  • Dabur has extended its village coverage by 52,000 though the target was to reach 65,000 villages because of the lockdown, they were not able to expand.
  • In the current scenario, there are two very important things according to Mr Malik:
  1. It is very important to have healthcare products that they manufacture to be made available to people at large because that is a need in the country right now. Therefore, their focus is to have all their products like Chyawanprash, Tulsi drop, Haldi drop, Giloy etc., made available to the people as these are all immunity boosters.
  2. On the hygiene and sanitiser front, their focus is to reach out. When volumes are affected, there would certainly be pressure on the margins. For that, they have undertaken a cost savings initiative under project Samridhi, where they are focussing on zero-base budgeting and questioning every line item of expenditure and addressing what is essential for them in the new normal scenario.

 

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Dabur India Ltd was ₹ 461/- as of 02-June-2020. It traded at 51.5x/ 44.8x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 8.9/10.3 for FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 463/- implies a PE multiple of 45.0x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 10.3/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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26 Mar

Business cannot take priority over the safety of people- Mr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday night, PM Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown for the next 21 days to fight against the spread of Covid-19. On Wednesday, NIFTY continued gains for the 2nd day and ended at 8,318 (+6.6%). This rally might be in the expectation that an economic package to counter economic disruptions might be announced soon.

Among the sectoral indices, Financials gained the most while no sector index ended negatively. FIN SERV (+9.7%), PVT BANK (+8.5%) and BANK (+8.4%), AUTO (+4.3%) were the top gainers. Out of the NIFTY50 stocks, RELIANCE (+13.8%), HDFCBANK (+12.4%) and KOTAKBANK (+11.9%) rallied the most. INDUSINDBK (-3.3%), IOC (-3.1%) and COALINDIA (-2.8%)  were among the few stocks that ended in red.

Business cannot take priority over the safety of people- Mr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr Pawan Goenka, Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra; dated 23rd March 2020. The interview aired on CNBC-TV18.

  • As a contribution to tackling the Covid-19 crisis, the Mahindra Group has taken certain steps. The Group has started work on how their manufacturing facilities can be used to make ventilators. They have put their projects team on standby to assist the government or the army in erecting temporary care facilities. In addition, Mahindra Holidays will offer their resorts as temporary care facilities.
  • The foremost consideration is given to the well-being of the group’s employees. Plants in Nagpur, Kandivali and Chakan have already shut down. Over the next few days, most plants will be shut down.
  • No one is in a mood to buy cars right now. Dealerships are also shutting down due to lockdowns. The automotive business is slowing down. Tractor business is also slowing down, although not to the same extent.
  • Mahindra Group is playing it by the day as things are very dynamic. It is difficult to predict how long the shutdown will last. If lockdown lasts only until 31st March, the business that has slowed down will come back in the next 2-3 months. If lockdown lasts longer than 31st March, the comeback will take much longer.
  • Need for tractors in agriculture cannot disappear. The tractor buying peaks in May-June period. If Mahindra does not miss out this season, then the tractor business will be fine. However, to tap that season, production will have to take place in April. But in the current scenario, the business will not take priority over the safety of the Group’s people and communities.
  • For the auto and tractor business point of view, the foremost responsibility of the company is to make payments to its suppliers and low wage earners-especially the contract workers and daily wage workers.
  • Mahindra Finance is closely watching the concern of liquidity in the market. There is a concern of EMI payments not happening but that will not happen immediately. The farmers have probably already received revenue from the previous cycle and so there might not be an issue.
  • The big unknown from the perspective of Mahindra Financial is what will happen to the financial cycle, i.e money coming into the NBFC from both borrowings and EMI payments. It is very important to get that cycle going. But right now, the sales pull will also be less hence the demand for financing will be less.
  • The group has an advantage in terms of business diversification.
  • Mr Goenka is of the opinion that although the Government is also under pressure and we should not expect too much, the government has to step in at this point. Mr Goenka has mentioned three things that he expects from the government at this point:
  1. For the auto industry, the immediate issue is the 31st March deadline to liquidate BS-IV inventory. It is not in the hands of the Government as it’s a supreme court matter. Mr Goenka is hoping that the court extends the deadline and gives extra time to liquidate the BS-IV vehicles. As no OEM is manufacturing BS-IV vehicles any longer, there is no problem of excessive dumping of those vehicles.
  2. The second area where Government intervention is needed is to help in the liquidity situation. If a moratorium of say 3 months is imposed on recognition of EMI non-payment as NPAs, NBFCs will be able to have a bit of a breathing room. The government needs to ensure that the financial cycle does not break down because it will take a long time to repair if broken.
  3. Thirdly, the Government must not delay any payments due to the industry as right now the industry needs funds.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener, investing.com websites)

  • The closing price of M&M was ₹ 274/- as of 25-March-2020. It traded at 7.2x/ 7.7x/ 6.7x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 38.3/ 35.4/ 40.6 for FY20E/ FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 651/- implies a PE multiple of 16.0x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 40.6/-
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