>VOLTAS: Update on Sidra Project

■  Margin improvement drive earnings surprise: Voltas reported numbers which was ahead of our and street estimate by reporting better-than-expected margin for the quarter. It reported EBIT margin of 8.3% in the MEP segment (100bps improvement QoQ). The improved margins were primarily driven by improved follow-up, leading to recovery of variation claims in few old projects. Sales reported de-growth of 5.8% YoY at Rs15.7bn lower than our expectation of Rs17.1bn. PAT was up 7% YoY to Rs1.04bn.


■  Update on Sidra Project: Sidra Medical and Research Centre Hospital project in Qatar is ~67% complete. Voltas has taken a hit of Rs3.2bn in FY12 on this project. The company believes that the execution of the Sidra project will get extended beyond FY13 as client continues to make changes in the project design. Voltas will conduct a techno commercial study in July-August (similar to one done in Q3FY12) to assess if any further provisions are required in the project.


■  Outlook on ordering: Voltas ended the year with an order book of Rs42.3bn, down 12% YoY. It bagged orders worth ~Rs23bn in FY12 and Rs4.5bn in Q4FY12. In the international markets, the company has started seeing some signs of revival, especially in the Dubai markets and expects to see more traction over the next six months. In Abu Dhabi, the airport order has been awarded to the main contractor. We expect the sub contractor to get finalised by October (Voltas along with JV partner bid for the same). The Joint Venture established in the new geography of KSA has begun to make progress and expects traction in Qatar and the KSA markets (already bagged orders worth Rs3.6bn in Qatar though a private JV). In domestic markets, the commercial real estate and IT/ITES continues to be slow. However, hospital and hotels have seen some
traction. Entry into in new segment in industrial space like Power, water and MEP project for automotive industry will help widen the scope of business and support growth in orders.


To read the full report in detail: VOLTAS
RISH TRADER