The stock hit a high of Rs.744.50 yesterday on news that the company had bagged a Rs.506 crore order from Bangalore Metro. And this seems a far cry from the performance it had posted for third quarter ended 30th September 2009. YoY, net revenue fell 5.6% at Rs.1468.93 crore. Net profit was at Rs.83. 06 crore as against Rs.104.79 crore in Q3 2008.
The company booked orders worth Rs.1893.30 crore in Q3 and this is just a 0.3% rise over Q3 2008. And its cumulative order intake for nine months ending September 2009 was at Rs.6308 crore, down 7.1%. Order backlog increased from Rs.7105.10 crore in Q3 2008 to Rs.8023.30 crore in Q3 2009 which is a 13% rise. The order book is static this quarter which is better than the decline it has shown in the earlier quarter. It does mean that though things do look cautious it is surely bottoming out. Surely, this is one company which is showing benefits of the Govt spend on infra development and stimulus packages.
Yet it is not completely out of the woods. The lower profit margins continue to indicate pressure. OPM for the quarter was at 9.41% as against 11.23% in previous Q3. NPM was 5.65% v/s 6.73% in Q3 2008. But this NPM is also the highest it has had thro entire 2009.
Q4 will continue to show some pressure but it would be better than the previous quarters. It will end 2009 on a muted note but Q4 will help it bolster the numbers for the year end. At the current price, it seems fully priced, best to book profits and re-enter on decline.
Source: Internet (www.premiuminvestments.in by S P Tulsian)
