Escorts Ltd

Escorts hit a new high yesterday on the back of its very good performance for Q4FY17. On the back of very good volumes, both in agri-equipments and construction segments, the company posted a 29% (YoY) rise in net sales at Rs.1044 crore and net profit was at Rs.59 crore, up over 3 times.

The strong topline helped overall bottomlines. Though costs were up 26%, EBITDA rose by a very good 72% at Rs.81 crore and margins rose from 5.71% to 7.63%. Exceptional income of Rs.15 crore helped.

Growth was mainly led by the tractors segment which showed a 24% jump in domestic volumes and 44% rise in exports. Its EBIT margin was up 212 bps at 10.3% v/s 8.2% (YoY). Construction equipment segment also did well with a 30% increase in volumes and on EBIT level, it turned around. Its railway equipment segment showed a 6.5% rise in revenue and EBIT margin rose 280 bps to 12.7%. Its order book stood at Rs.155 crore, which are to be executed over the next 6-7 months.

The company ended FY17 with a consolidated net revenue at Rs.4220 crore, up 20% and net profit was at Rs.131 crore, up almost 2 times. Its equity was at Rs.122.58 crore and EPS was at Rs.15.98 (FV of Rs.10). Escorts net debt is at Rs.263 crore.