Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd reported earnings numbers for the fourth quarter ended March 2023 that were mostly in line with estimates.

Share Market Live

NSE

The company said revenue was up 16 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,791 crore compared with Rs 1,548 crore in the year ago quarter. The consensus poll estimate was Rs 1,814 crore.

Gross profit margin improved to 31.5 percent in Q4 FY23 from 29.9 percent a year ago.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was down eight percent to Rs 211 crore in the March quarter compared with Rs 229 crore a year ago. However, it was slightly up from the estimate of Rs 208 crore.

EBITDA margins, too, slipped to 11.8 percent in Q4 FY23 from 14.8 percent in Q4 FY22.

Crompton Greaves’ profit after tax (PAT) was down 31 percent to Rs 132 crore in the March quarter compared with Rs 190 crore a year ago but was better than the estimate of Rs 122 crore.

Profit was hit as the finance cost surged 160 percent to Rs 27 crore in Q4 FY23, while depreciation was also up 110 percent to Rs 30 crore.

The company posted strong growth in the electronic consumer durables (ECD) segment both on a year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis.

Also Read: Gland Pharma falls another 15% after Friday's lower circuit as downgrades continue

Crompton Greaves’ board also announced a dividend of Rs 3 per share for FY23 versus Rs 2.5 per share in the previous year, resulting in a 40 percent pay-out ratio.

Analysts noted that the company benefited from taking a calibrated approach to manage BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) transition in fans after the category came under the ambit of mandatory star labelling from January 1.

Also, continued focus on premiumisation paid off, as the premium ceiling fan category grew strongly by around 24 percent in Q4 FY23 compared with a year ago.

Crompton Greaves launched 25 new products in Q4 across categories, helping drive retail growth. Implementation of multiple cost optimisation initiatives across direct and indirect costs also resulted in savings of Rs 20 crore in FY23, the company said.

After the earnings, equity research firm Nomura maintained its ‘Buy’ call on the Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals stock, giving a target price of Rs 377 per share, on the back of attractive valuations.

It said that the company’s H2 FY23 revenue growth in the ECD segment at 1 percent was better than most of its peers. Even On FY23 basis, revenue growth of 10 percent has outperformed peers, it added.

At 10:01 am, the share price was trading at its day’s high of Rs 262.60, up 3.4 percent, on BSE on Monday.

Catch the latest market updates with CNBC-TV18.com's blog