Indian engineering firm Thermax's Q3 profit rises on strong industrial demand

ABB India

08/02/2024 09:47

BENGALURU, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Indian engineering company
Thermax  THMX.NS  reported an 11% year-on-year rise in
third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strong demand for
its industrial products.
    Consolidated profit before tax and exceptional items rose to
1.83 billion rupees ($22.1 million) in the three months ended
Dec. 31, from 1.65 billion rupees a year ago.
    Engineering companies in India have been benefitting from
the government's push on infrastructure, clean energy and
indigenisation through increased capex and production-linked
incentive schemes.
    The order flow at capital goods majors such as Larsen &
Toubro  LART.NS , Siemens  SIEM.NS  and Thermax have risen by an
average of 28% YoY for the last six quarters, brokerage
Jefferies estimated last month.
    Among peers, KEC International  KECL.NS  reported its profit
surged more than five-fold in the quarter, while Cummins India
 CUMM.NS  said its profit increased 20.6%.
    Thermax's sales of industrial products -- such as for
heating, cooling, water and waste management -- increased 19.5%
in the quarter.
    Revenue from its industrial infrastructure business, which
includes building large boilers, turnkey power plants, and
wastewater treatment plants increased by 9.7%.
    These two businesses accounted for more than 90% of the
company's total revenue, which rose 13.4% to 23.24 billion
rupees.
    Thermax, which serves industries ranging from aviation, and
cement to renewable energy, said its order booking for the
quarter was 17% higher year-on-year at 11.54 billion rupees.
    It also approved an additional capital expenditure of 450
million rupees to set up an ion exchange resin manufacturing
plant.
    Thermax's shares jumped 6.8% to a record high after the
results, before reversing course to trade down 2.4%. The stock
had risen 56.6% in 2023.
 
 ($1 = 82.9832 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza)
 ((ashish.chandra@thomsonreuters.com; +91 7982114624;))