Bharat Forge hits 23-month low; stock falls 32% in four months

The stock was down 4% to Rs 470 on the BSE in early morning trade, its lowest level since February 1, 2017.

Shares of Bharat Forge (BFL) hit a 23-month low of Rs 470 per share, down 4 per cent on the BSE in early morning trade in an otherwise firm market after the domestic automobile companies reported disappointing sales numbers during the month of December 2018 on account of adverse macroeconomic conditions.

The stock of auto ancillary firm was trading at its lowest level since February 1, 2017. In the past four months, it has underperformed the market by falling 32 per cent, as compared to a 6 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Among the automobile companies, Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars India and Tata Motors posted single digit growth during the month of December while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported a decline in sales.

BFL is a leading global ‘Full Service Supplier’ of forged as well as machined engine and chassis components. BFL is India’s largest exporter of auto components and the world’s leading manufacturer of chassis components. The company manufactures a wide range of safety and critical components for passenger cars, SUVs, light, medium & heavy CVs, tractors and diesel engines.

Orders for Class 8 trucks in North America tumbled 43 per cent on yoy basis in December 2018, to 21,300 units, media reports said citing ACT Research data.

“Despite near term slowdown in its user market, Management expects BFL to perform better than the underlying market as it anticipates its’s content per vehicle to improve over the next 2-3 years on account of new product development and supply to its customers,” analyst at Karvy Stock Broking said in management meet note.

Management believes that though MHCV numbers were weak in recent months, FY20 is likely to be a positive growth year on account of pre-buying due to emission norm changes, the brokerage firm said in a note dated December 24, 2018.

Bharat Forge has recently received the first export order for its aluminium light weighting business, which is likely to be a key growth trigger in the medium term. The company’s oil & gas segment is at its all-time high, as demand for FRAC pump will continue to increase until Brent is below 50USD/barrel.

“However with implementation of WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) in EU starting September 1, 2018, OE sales have been lower, impacting the aluminium forging volumes done at European subsidiaries (likely to continue till 4QCY18),” analysts at JM Financial Services in company update on November 2.

At 10:20 am; BFL was trading 1 per cent lower at Rs 483 on the BSE, as compared to a 1 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 1.98 million equity shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.