Escorts Kubota's Q3 standalone profit doubled to Rs 186.4 cr
Escorts Kubota reported a net profit of Rs 186.4 crore in quarter ended December 31, 2022, as against a profit of Rs 201.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal and as against Rs 87.7 crore after exceptional item in sequential quarter, adversely impacted due to unabsorbed inflation and adverse product mix.

Revenue from operations was at Rs 2,263.7 crore in the quarter that ended December 2022 as against Rs 1,971.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. EBITDA for the quarter that ended December 2022, came at Rs 190.3 crore as against Rs 278.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenue from operations was at Rs 6,162.0 crore in nine months ended December 2022 as against Rs 5,327.3 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The standalone profit before tax and before the exceptional items of Rs 72.8 crore is at Rs 630.9 crore as against of Rs 752.4 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

At the consolidated level revenue from operations was at Rs 6,214.2 crores as against Rs 5,396.0 crore in the nine months ended December 2021. Consolidated net profit recorded at Rs 420.2 crore in nine months ended December 2022, as against a profit of Rs 545.6 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, adversely impacted due to unabsorbed commodity price inflation coupled with an exceptional item of Rs 53.1 crore on account of impairment of investment in the Joint Venture Tadano Escorts India. EPS reported at Rs 38.85 as against Rs 55.48 in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Speaking on the results, Chairman and Managing Director, Nikhil Nanda said, “There has been positive and continuous growth across businesses, and we feel government spending on core sectors will favour demand across industry segments. We have recently announced our mid-term business plan and all our strategic efforts are directed at achieving the targeted growth. In agribusiness, rural sentiments continue to remain favourable owing to improved rabi sowing assisted by good monsoon this year. We are witnessing improved demand across products in our construction business too as the infrastructure projects are now moving at a fast pace and expect this demand to continue for the balance period of this fiscal year. The railway business is consistently growing on the order book, and we look at a good performance ahead. We will continue to invest in new products, innovative and digitised processes, and wider global distribution for enhanced customer coverage. While inflation impact on margin may take some time to normalise, the overall macroeconomic factors remain favourable for overall economic growth.”

As Deputy Managing Director, Seiji Fukuoka, “Our mid-term business plan has mapped opportunities across our core business verticals, and we are hopeful that with our strategic initiatives & operational efficiency across segments, we will be able to achieve desired growth. We will continue to develop the product mix and integrate innovation for enhanced customer experience and leverage on growing demand. Enhanced focus on farming prosperity and infrastructure development will always be one of our main focuses and we will continue to contribute to the space through our technology offering.” 

Segment-wise performance
Agri Machinery Products: Tractor volumes at 28,025 units in the quarter that ended December 2022 went up by 10.7% as against 25,325 units in the corresponding period last fiscal. Segment revenue went up by 12.4% at Rs 1,708.0 crore in the quarter that ended December 2022 as against Rs 1,519.3 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. In this quarter unabsorbed inflation in the commodities prices and adverse product mix has resulted in a lower EBIT margin at 8.3%, as compared to 8.4% in the sequential quarter and 15.7% last year's same period.

For the nine months ended December 2022 of the current fiscal, tractor volumes went up by 8.6% at 78,525 units as compared to 72,333 units in the corresponding period last fiscal. Segment revenue also went up by 13.5% at Rs 4,758.6 crore in nine months ended December 2022 as against Rs 4,193.0 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. EBIT margin for the nine months ended December 2022 came at 9.1% as compared to 15.4% in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Construction Equipment: Construction equipment sales volume at 1,209 machines in the quarter that ended December 2022 went up by 5% as against 1,151 machines in the corresponding period last fiscal. Segment revenues went up by 10.7% at Rs 306.1 crore in the quarter ending December 2022 as against Rs 276.5 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. EBIT margin turned positive at 2.2% as against 2.5% in the corresponding period last fiscal.

For the nine months ended December 2022 of the current fiscal, construction equipment volumes went up by 9.2% at 3,092 units as compared to 2,831 units in the corresponding period last fiscal. Segment revenue went up by 19.0% at Rs 794.1 crore in the nine months ended December 2022 as against Rs 667.3 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. EBIT margin for the nine months ended December 2022 was at 0.4% as against 1.9% in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Railway Products Division: Revenue for the third quarter at Rs 249.3 crore in the quarter ending December 2022, our ever-highest quarterly revenue, went up by 43.4% as against Rs 173.9 crore in the corresponding quarter. EBIT margin stood at 13.1% in the quarter that ended December 2022 as against 14.3% in the corresponding period last fiscal.

For the nine months ended December 2022, railways products segment revenue went up by 30.5% at Rs 604.7 crore, the highest ever, as against Rs 463.4 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. EBIT margin for the nine months ended December 2022 stood at 13.7% as compared to 15.5% in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Order book for the division, at end of December 2022, was more than Rs 1,000 crore.