Tag - production

Expect a substantial price hike due to spike in input costs – Maruti Suzuki

Update on Indian Equity Market:

On Thursday, NIFTY ended at 17,234 (+0.9%) as it closed near its high at 17,243. Among the sectoral indices, OIL & GAS (+0.8%), CONSUMER DURABLES (+0.6%), and FMCG (+0.6%) ended higher, whereas PSU BANK (-0.5%) and AUTO (-0.2%) ended lower. Among the stocks SHREECEM (+6.0%), HDFCLIFE (+5.8%), and CIPLA (+3.5%) led the gainers while M&M (-1.9%), ONGC (-0.9%), and BAJAJ-AUTO (-0.9%) led the losers.

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Shashank Shrivastava, Executive Director of Maruti Suzuki (MARUTI) with CNBC TV18 on 31st August 2021:

  • MARUTI is looking to cut production in September due to a shortage of semiconductors. The auto manufacturer is also getting ready for a substantial price hike in the upcoming month and this will be the fourth one since January due to a sharp rise in commodity costs.
  • Commodity prices started going up from April-20 and they impacted MARUTI’s material cost, which is 75 percent of the total cost of manufacturing. The increase in prices of commodities like steel and copper was close to 50% and precious metals like Rhodium had a price hike of 257%.
  • Since they were already coming out of a bad year (FY20) which was 18% less than FY19 and Covid-19 had badly affected 1QFY21, they did not wish to compromise demand and hence there was no price hike.
  • However, they did increase prices in January by 1.4% in the hopes of some softening in commodity prices which did not pan out as expected. This made them deploy an additional price hike of 3.4% in April and another hike of 0.3% in CNG vehicles in August.
  • Shrivastava confirmed that the upcoming price rise would be substantial and it would be deployed across all models produced by MARUTI.
  • He did not reveal any production numbers for September since that depends on how the shortage situation pans out for their semi-conductor vendors.
  • The number of electronic components varies from product to product and model to model within MARUTI’s large portfolio and for the past few months, they have been trying to adjust production to maintain high levels of production.

 

Asset Multiplier Comments

  • Semiconductors are silicon chips that cater to control and memory functions. The shortage of such a crucial component has been impacting the automotive industry globally along with other industries, forcing them to cut down on production.
  • MARUTI reported a decline of 20% in sales in August, as compared to July 2021.
  • Owing to a supply constraint of electronic components due to the semiconductor shortage situation, MARUTI expects a decline of 60% in vehicle production in the month of September in Haryana and Gujarat. As certain fixed costs are to be incurred, margins could be affected in the short term.
  • With the festivities coming up, there could be a rise in demand for vehicles and how MARUTI is able to match this festive buying with its supply remains to be seen.
  • MARUTI is in no rush to join the electric vehicle bandwagon until they make it feasible for customers in terms of affordability.

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

  • The closing price of MARUTI was ₹ 6,780/- as of 02-Sept-2021. It traded at 40x/27x/21x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 188/280/354 for FY22E/FY23E/FY24E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 7,560/- implies a PE multiple of 21x on FY24E EPS of ₹354/-

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.”

Expects ALTBalaji to break even in Q4 – Balaji Telefilms

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Thursday, Nifty ended 0.7%, lower than the previous close at 11,519. The top gainers for Nifty 50 were Dr Reddy (+4.2%), HCL Tech (+2.3%), and Zee (+2.3%) while the losing stocks were Hindalco (-4.3%), Tata Motors (-2.5%), and Shree Cement (-2.4%). The sectoral gainers for the day were Pharma (+0.4%), Media (+0.4%), and IT (+0.2%) while the losers were Realty (-1.7%), Metal (-1.4%), and PSU Bank (-1.2%).

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr Nachiket Pantvaidya, Group Chief Operating Officer at Balaji Telefilms and CEO ALTBalaji; dated 16th September 2020 from CNBC TV18:

• Proactive cost control measures implemented by Balaji Telefilms helped them stem their losses in the lockdown quarter. Their OTT platform, ALTBalaji remains one of the top 5 paid apps in the country.
• Pre COVID, the company was expecting ALTBalaji’s breakeven to happen in October, November and December this year, but as the production schedules were delayed because of the pandemic impact, now it is looking to breakeven in January, February and March in 2021.
• 1Q has been challenging for the Company as all content production activity came to stop.
• In terms of growth, the same quarter last financial year the Company had a direct revenue stream of 6.7 crores that has grown to 12 crores in this quarter so ALTBalaji is doubling its direct subscription.
• The Company is seeing a very good trajectory for ALTBalaji especially because tier II and tier III markets have opened up during the pandemic and that has got them a whole lot of new subscribers without having to spend a lot of marketing money to acquire.
• The acquisition pace will be very high because now the markets have opened up, according to Mr Pantvaidya.
• He added that the real question is that can the Company retain the acquired subscribers, will they churn out and the reason why he is putting that out-front is that if the Company has to produce new shows for these subscribers to be on the platform. Therefore the race is on for the Company to produce more and more shows.
• The Company is confident that it will launch close to 25 shows in the remaining part of the year starting this month itself which is probably 50% more than a usual clip.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website & investing.com)
• The closing price of Balaji Telefilms Ltd was ₹ 77/- as of 17-September-2020. The company reported a loss of Rs 5.8/- per share for FY20.
• The consensus target price of ₹ 100/-. The consensus earnings estimate are not available.

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.”

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/-.
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.”

Maruti Suzuki to resume production with 50% workforce at Manesar plant: RC Bhargava

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, Nifty ended 0.5% lower at 9,196. The top gainers for Nifty 50 were Vedanta (+12.4%), NTPC (+5.9%) and ITC (+4.5%) while the losing stocks for the day Reliance (-5.7%), GAIL (-3.7%) and Asian Paints (-3.0%). The gaining sectors for the day were Media (+1.7%), Metal (+1.2%) and Realty (+0.8%). The worst performing sectors were Pvt Bank (-0.7%), Pharma (-0.6%) and Bank (-0.5%).

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India; dated 12th May 2020 from CNBCTV18:

  • The carmaker will resume partial operations at their Manesar plant in Haryana with a 50% workforce. Manpower permission is around 75% with one shift only.
  • The Company is allowed to start operations with one shift now and it will focus on a limited number of models.
  • The Company will be able to assess the demand-side situation only after a few weeks. He added that it is difficult to predict the demand side as it is too early. The dealerships have started functioning, but not all of them are functioning. The level of inquiries is also respectable but at this moment there is some supply-side constraint.
  • The overall volumes are bound to be impacted because of the ongoing restrictions and reduced manpower capacity. Normally the workings hours for the Company are 8 hours in one shift but with the various restrictions, the working hours are expected to come down to 6.5 hours in a shift. This reduces the capacity according to him. At the same time, the Company will be operating in only one shift with all other restrictions impacting the production quantity.
  • For a clear demand side pictures, dealers should at least work for 2-3 weeks.
  • Some of the suppliers for Maruti are in the containment zones. Therefore, the suppliers cannot produce in those areas. Maruti had to look for some alternative supplier for some components. Some models of the Company cannot be produced because those components cannot be found. Thus, the Company has to adjust the production volumes and models in accordance with the supply chain.
  • There is no certainty as to which supplier will remain a supplier and that he will not come under a containment zone in the next 10 days according to Mr Bhargava.
  • The Company may also face issues because the temporary workers at their Manesar plant have gone back to their villages.
  • Maruti has given cash advance against supplies to many of its vendors.
  • Overall, the auto industry could end up with 20-25% less sales compared to last year.
  • The cars are taxed very heavily in India, making the affordability of cars an issue. He expressed hope that the government will keep taxes on cars at a reasonable level.

 Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd was ₹ 4,955/- as of 12-May-2020. It traded at 24.9x/ 19.0x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 199/260 for FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 6,308/- implies a PE multiple of 24.3x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 260/-.

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.”