On the face of it, it seems as though Havells has posted a very good performance for Q3FY17, what with a 13% (YoY) rise in net sales at Rs.1610 crore and net profit rising 27% at Rs.153 crore; QoQ it was up 5%. But what really helped the bottomline shore up was the doubling up of other income from Rs.13 crore to Rs.26 crore and another Rs.19 crore was added up as exceptional income – it sold 20% stake in its associate company. If these numbers were not there, it would have been a flat quarter.

The company’s EBITDA was up 4% at Rs.193 crore and margins slipped from 12.93% to 11.90%. More than switchgear, it is the cable segment which did well, contributing 42% to total turnover. The cable business reported a 17% rise in topline and 19% increase in EBIT. Switchgear topline rose less than 2% and EBIT fell 0.8%. Electrical consumer durables segment topline rose 19% growth and EBIT by 11% while lighting & fixtures revenue rose 2% and EBIT was up 18%. Though all segments have done well, it is the expenses at operating level which ultimately hit the overall EBITDA.

The company’s equity is at Rs.62.49 crore and annualized EPS is at Rs.9.5 (FV of Re.1).