Force Motors

The company which makes and sells vehicles under the name of  Tempo, Matador & Traveller, in current Q1FY14 it posted a set of very good numbers and the stock reacted rightly, with a strong surge in the stock price. Compared to a net loss at Rs.23 crore in Q4, it posted a net profit of Rs.14 crore and YoY, it rose 40%.The growth in net revenue was flat on a YoY but operating costs have come down, led by a 16% decline in raw material costs. Interest costs have also reduced marginally. This led to the YoY 305bps rise in EBITDA margin at 3.4%. MAT credit entitlement of Rs.3.5 crore, which usually is around Rs,80 lakh, also helped boost the bottomline.

In Oct, the company launched a 26-seater monocoque panel people-mover, whose rail diesel engine is made under licence from Diamler AG. This Pune based company, making LCVs, buses, tractors and sports utility vehicles, currently has a market share of 50% in the 6-20 seatersegment and its target is to get a market share of around 20% in the 20-30 seater segment. It plans to sell 1,300 vehicles in this category. It has earmarked a capex of Rs 1,000 crore for capacity expansion and new model roll-out. It is revamping its tractor segment and plans new launches there too. It yesterday launched the EX and SX variants of the One SUV, with a base price of Rs.8.99 lakh. Force Motors also plan to launch a top of the line 4WD LX variant of the One by the beginning of next year, a direct rival for the Mahindra XUV500 W8 AWD variant. Mahindra’s XUV500 is priced at Rs 14.78 lakh and if the LX variant of the Force One is priced competitively, it can give Mahindra some stiff competition.