India's Blue Star Q2 profit jumps on air conditioner demand, strong order book

Blue Star

30/10/2023 10:43

BENGALURU, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Blue Star  BLUS.NS  on Monday reported a jump in second-quarter profit, aided by a
steady demand for its air conditioners amid a weak monsoon season, along with a strong order book.
    The company posted a consolidated net profit of 706.7 million rupees ($8.5 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up
over 66% from last year. Revenue from operations rose 19.5%.
    For further results highlights, click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN3C01W4
    
  KEY CONTEXT
    The September quarter has been seasonally weaker for cooling-product makers as the arrival of monsoon provides relief
from the scorching Indian summer. However, a weaker monsoon this year has led to a relatively steadier demand for fans and
air conditioners, helping companies like Blue Star.
    Additionally, analysts said Blue Star would benefit from the execution of its strong order book. The company said its
carried forward order book grew 44.4% year-on-year to 60.09 billion rupees.
    Blue Star, which has seen a sharp rise in order inflows following a revamp of its portfolio and foray into railway
electrification, in August said the government's push in manufacturing was driving growth in its commercial segment.
    Rival Havells India  HVEL.NS  earlier this month posted second-quarter profit of 2.49 billion rupees, up 33%
year-on-year.
    
  PEER COMPARISON     
    
                                            Valuation (next    Estimates (next               Analysts' sentiment
                                              12 months)         12 months)      
                                RIC        PE      EV/EBITDA  Revenue  Profit    Mean     # of     Stock to       Div yield
                                                              growth   growth    rating   analyst  price target   (%)
                                                                                          s                       
 Blue Star Ltd                   BLUS.NS   38.18   23.25      17.32    39.19     BUY      17       1.05           0.69
 Voltas Ltd                      VOLT.NS   42.98   31.68      16.44    43.34     HOLD     38       0.92           0.51
 Havells India Ltd               HVEL.NS   50.29   33.97      13.81    26.94     BUY      21       0.88           0.60
 Crompton Greaves Consumer       CROP.NS   28.28   20.65      10.29    19.79     BUY      35       0.84           1.05
 Electricals Ltd                                                                                                  
 * The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
 ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the
PT

  JULY-SEPTEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE    
    
    -- All data from LSEG
    -- $1 = 83.2200 Indian rupees

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 (Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
 ((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))