Shares of Page Industries plunged almost 8 percent in the early trade on Friday after it reported weak earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2020.

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The scrip fell 7.98 percent to touch intraday low of Rs 21,650 on the BSE.

At 11:15 am, shares were trading 5.35 percent lower at Rs 22,269.95 on the BSE.

Net profit in the December quarter fell 14.6 percent to Rs 87 crore from Rs 102 crore, YoY. Profit missed CNBC-TV18 poll estimates of Rs 117 crore.

Revenue witnessed an increase of 7.5 percent YoY to Rs 794 crore due to price rise while volumes were down 2.8 percent in Q3 versus estimates of 4-5 percent growth.

According to the company’s management, volumes were impacted by a broader slowdown in consumer sentiment and lowering of inventory.

The operating performance of the company was impacted due to the increase in costs. EBIT during the quarter declined 16 percent to Rs 139 crore from Rs 165 crore in the same period last year. EBITDA margin contracted by 490 bps to 17.5 percent from 22.4 percent, YoY.

Employee cost was up 15 percent at Rs 134 crore versus Rs 116 crore and other expenses rose 7 percent at Rs 148 crore as compared to Rs 139 crore, YoY.

The company has declared an interim dividend of Rs 58 per share.

Goldman Sachs downgrade the stock to ‘Neutral’ and cut the Target Price (TP) to Rs 20,492 from Rs 23,198 earlier. It cut FY20E-24E EPS estimates by 12-14 percent to reflect lower volumes and higher costs.

Credit Suisse cut FY20-22 earnings for Page Industries by 10 percent. It maintained ‘Underperform’ call with a TP at Rs 19,500.

Ambit maintained ‘Sell’ rating and cut TP to Rs 20,600 from Rs 22,130 earlier. It cut FY20-22E earnings by 12 percent

First Published:Feb 14, 2020 12:49 PM IST