Key Q4 Results Updates: With the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Jio Financial, Reliance Industries, Tata Consumer Products, HUL, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, M&M, Vodafone Idea, Biocon, Godrej Industries, having already released their earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, the Q4 earnings season is now full swing. Market participants are today keen on the performance of players like ONGC, Bharat Electronics, Oil India, Steel Authority of India, Whirlpool of India, India Cements, Apollo Pipes, Honda India Power Products Limited, Tracxn Technologies, among others.
The week will witness announcements from the likes of Hitachi Energy India, JK Tyre and Industries, Religare Enterprises, Arvind Fashions, Grasim Industries, Nykaa, Jubilant Foodworks, ITC, Page Industries, among others.
Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd reported a profit decline of 15.4 per cent on-year for the fiscal fourth quarter at Rs 161.04 crore in comparison to Rs 190.31 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 1548.12 crore, down 14.9 per cent as against Rs 1818.29 crore during the fourth quarter of FY23.
The company recommended a final dividend of 125 per cent i.e. Rs 1.25 per fully paid-up equity share of the face value of Re 1 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2024, and fixed Friday, September 6, 2024 as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the entitlement of Members/Beneficial Owners to the said final dividend.
Whirlpool of India recorded profit for the fiscal fourth quarter at Rs 79.45 crore, up 24.7 per cent in comparison to Rs 63.71 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 1733.99 crore, up 3.7 per cent as against Rs 1672.65 crore during the fourth quarter of FY23.
The company board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of the face value of Rs 10 each 50 per cent for the financial year 2023-24.
The date for holding the 63rd Annual General Meeting for the financial year ended 31st March, 2024 and the book closure dates of the company will be intimated in the due course, it said.
Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods Ltd, said, “Over the last few quarters, the milk procurement prices have been benign, and now we expect an upward bias. Despite of tailwinds, we are geared up for improving our margin profile. We would continue to enhance our industry-leading R&D capabilities and infrastructure to drive innovation and delight our consumers across the globe. Our forward integration of the brand ‘Gowardhan’ into the traditional sweets category is an initiative in this direction. The initial response of the prototype is very positive and encouraging and we aim to target a bigger launch around the festivities. We are inching up on our business process transformation along with driving efficiency across the value chain. With an ensuing expansion and acceleration of the distribution footprint, we plan to incorporate a foreign wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) in Dubai, to cater the international market. With a strong foundation in place, we are confident of posting industry leading growth and profitability ahead.”
Parag Milk Foods reported its fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 9.81 crore, down 56.1 per cent in comparison to Rs 22.35 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 790.12 crore, down 1.4 per cent on-year as against Rs 800.96 crore during the fourth quarter of previous financial year.
The Board of Directors also recommended a final dividend at the rate of 5 per cent per equity share (i.e. Rs 0.50 per share) which shall be subject to approval of the Shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Apollo Pipes on Monday released its fiscal fourth quarter earnings with profit during the period at Rs 6.90 crore. The company recorded revenue from operations at Rs 255.60 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 and the income stood at Rs 255.92 crore. For the full year, Apollo Pipes reported profit at Rs 42.82 crore and the revenue for FY24 stood at Rs 986.95 crore.
VRL Logistics Limited reported a profit decline of 88.8 per cent on-year to reach Rs 21.54 crore during the fourth quarter of FY24 in comparison to Rs 193.18 crore during the same period last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 768.40 crore, up 10.1 per cent as against Rs 698.19 crore during the fourth quarter of FY23. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 105.4 crore, down 7.6 per cent YoY.
V-Guard Industries Q4 revenue rose 18% YoY to Rs 13.4bn, largely in line with estimates. This was fueled by overall growth across segments, primarily driven by strong demand for cooling products, such as fans, air coolers and AC stabilizers due to the harsh Summer. During the quarter, South India witnessed growth of 18.6% YoY, outgrowing non-South region at 15.8% YoY, for the first time recently. FY24 revenue increased 18% YoY at Rs 48.6bn.
In-house manufacturing rose to 65% in FY24 compared to 60% in FY23. Management targets to ramp-up to 75% in the next 18 months, with focus primarily on battery manufacturing and kitchen appliances. I
“We cut our EPS estimates by 3% in FY25 but raise them by 3% in FY26, driven by improved mix and surge in gross margin once in-house manufacturing rises. We raise our TP by 4% to Rs 425 from Rs 410 on 40x (unchanged) March 2026E earnings. We revise to Accumulate from Buy. Continued margin improvement driven by Sunflame optimization, rise in copper prices, cross-selling opportunities along with revival in real estate demand may rerate it further. We expect an earnings CAGR of 41% during FY24-26E, with an average ROE and ROCE of 17% & 16%, respectively, during FY24-26E,” stated Elara Securities.
“Zydus Lifesciences’ Q4FY24 revenue and EBITDA beat our estimates by 3% each and PAT by 8%. EBITDA and PAT were 13% and 24% better than consensus estimates. Contribution from gRevlimid in the US helped the upside, though with strong support from all other businesses. We estimate ~USD 80mn of gRevlimid sales in the quarter,” said Elara Securities report.
It further added, “More surprising than Q4 show was the exceptionally strong guidance of high-teen revenue growth for FY25. We were earlier building in only high single-digit growth. We remain shy of the guidance and project only 14% revenue growth for FY25E at this stage.”
Cement manufacturing company, India Cements narrowed its loss during the fourth quarter of FY24 at Rs 50.06 crore in comparison to a loss of Rs 243.77 crore during the same period last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 1266.65 crore, down 14.7 per cent as against Rs 1485.73 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2023.
After muted capacity utilization in the previous 2 quarters caused by the stressed working capital conditions, India Cements said that the same could be improved in the 4th quarter due to infusion of working capital and it was 63 per cent from 51 per cent in the 3rd quarter of the current year. “While there was further improvement in the operating performance with reduction in variable cost due to improved blending and higher capacity utilization, the selling price took a hit and the NPR had come down by nearly 7 per cent (Rs.273/Tn) during the quarter as compared to the sequential 3rd quarter impacting the bottom line. The impact of drop in price alone was Rs 66 crore as compared to 3rd quarter,” it said in a regulatory filing.
Bhilwara Technical Textiles Limited reported fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 3.10 crore in comparison to a loss of Rs 2.29 crore during the same period last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 4.12 crore, recording a jump of 214.5 per cent as against Rs 1.31 crore during the fourth quarter of FY23.
The company also approved the appointment of Avnish Maurya as Company Secretary & Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officers (Key Managerial Personnel) with effect from 20th May, 2024. Further, Arvind Kaul & Associates was appointed as the Internal Auditor of the Company for the Financial Year 2024-25.
“Bandhan Bank reported PAT of mere Rs 546mn, largely followed by higher write-offs. The highlight was sustained volatility in certain aspects, which are one-offs – write-off of Rs 38.5bn (frequency of such incidences makes us cautious). Operational performance looks steady, but Q4 essentially is a strong quarter, thus we would rather wait for further data-points before extrapolating this as a trend.
Discussions hereon will be many-fold: a) on asset quality challenges and possible stress bottoming out, b) the outcomes on the audit and c) softer issues (transition and uncertainty of CEO) – Most senior key management personnels are new into the system. There seems to be many moving variables which are hard to access at current juncture and may have implications on structural directions, thus rendering earnings direction uncertain.”
- Analysts at Elara Securities
Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported 10.4% YoY ad revenue growth in Q4, which is a strong show on a low base of 10.2% YoY ad revenue drop in Q4FY23. Q1FY25 ad revenue growth may be muted because of IPL, but going ahead, ad revenue could pick up pace due to positive impact from higher FMCG ad spend and the festival season.
“Zee has had a robust catalogue of movies, TV shows, web series and music content, which limits potential downside from the current levels. We roll-over to June 2025E and upgrade to Buy. We retain SoTP-TP at INR 180. The broadcasting business is currently trading at a P/E of 7x, which may move up to 10x (target), led by good execution on profitability/improved margins; partnership with a potential financial/strategic partner too will augur well for re-rating. We value the broadcasting business at 10x (unchanged) one-year forward P/E and OTT at 3.0x (unchanged) one-year forward EV/sales.”
“Risks to our call are: 1) increased disruption in the digital and linear TV space due to potential merger of Disney and Reliance, and 2) legal overhang on pending litigations with creditors and Sony Corp may play spoilsport for re-rating.”
- Analysts at Elara Securities
"Dhanuka Agritech being a pure-play domestic branded company is a proxy play on any uptick in domestic agrochemical demand. An increased number of new product launches and investments in building up these brands, if supported by favourable climatic conditions, should lead to a sustained 15% topline CAGR in the next 3-4 years. High spending in promotional marketing may ensue temporary cost pressure in FY25. Hence, we downgrade FY25E EBITDA/PAT 8%/10% but upgrade FY26E EBITDA and PAT by 6% each assuming partial rationalization of these expenses. We revise the company' stock to "Accumulate" (from "Buy"), given the temporary cost pressure. But raise the target price to Rs 1,417 (from Rs 1,287), on raised 18x (from 15x earlier) FY26E EPS of Rs 79," said Elara Securities on Dhanuka Agritech.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank reported its fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 329.63 crore, up 6.5 per cent on-year in comparison to Rs 309.50 crore during the same period last year. Gross NPA stood at 2.23 per cent while net NPA was at 0.28 per cent.
Deposit for the period was at Rs 31,462 crore, up 23 per cent on-year. CASA came in at Rs 8,335 crore, up 24 per cent YoY.
Rupen Patel, Chairman & Managing Director, Patel Engineering Limited said, “Celebrating a triumphant quarter, the company has outperformed expectations with a stellar display of excellence compared to its prior performance. Witnessing substantial revenue growth across all business segments, our recent projects are poised to catalyze a positive shift in our financial landscape. Looking ahead, we are optimistic about sustaining this upward trajectory in the quarters to come within this fiscal year. With a steadfast commitment to nurturing growth in our core EPC operations and seizing opportunities in India's infrastructure development, we aim to enhance stakeholder value over the long term while maximizing output efficiency.”
Patel Engineering reported its fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 140.94 crore, up 83.1 per cent in comparison to Rs 76.98 crore during the fourth quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 1343.18 crore, up 11.5 per cent as against Rs 1205.06 crore during the same period last year.
The company board recommended a final dividend for the financial year 2023-24 of Rs 0.75 per equity share at 7.5 per cent of face value of Rs 10 each, subject to approval of the members at the forthcoming AnnualGeneral Meeting (AGM) of the company. “The final dividend would be paid within 30 days from the date of its declaration at the AGM. The record date for the final dividend will be intimated separately,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Anupam Rasayan India posted its fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 30.91 crore, down 45.5 per cent in comparison to Rs 56.68 crore during the fourth quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 401.01 crore, down 16.4 per cent as against Rs 479.96 crore during the same period last year. The company EBITDA was down 21.4 per cent at Rs 92 crore.
Trident Limited reported a 54.8 per cent on-year decline in profits for the fourth quarter of FY24 at Rs 59.01 crore as against Rs 130.66 crore during the same period last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 1682.26 crore, up 6.9 per cent in comparison to Rs 1573.25 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2023.
The company declared its first interim dividend of Rs 0.36 per fully paid up equity share of Re 1 each (@ 36 per cent per equity share) for the financial year 2024-25.