HEG plunges 14% on poor Q3 earnings, Co posts net loss of Rs 1.23 crore

Shares of graphite electrode manufacturer HEG slipped nearly 14 per cent on Wednesday after the company reported poor set of financial numbers for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 (Q3FY20). 

The company reported consolidated loss of Rs 1.23 crore for the quarter under review against Rs 444.60 crore profit registered in the year-ago period. Total revenue declined 78 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 420.97 crore. 

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) fell 99.6 per cent to Rs 4.7 crore while margin stood at 1.2 per cent against 70.4 per cent in the year-ago period.

Earnings per share (EPS) of the company stood at Rs (-)0.32 against Rs 216.58 in the corrsponding quarter of the previous fiscal. 

Segment-wise, revenue from graphite vertical stood at Rs 387 crore, down 79 per cent YoY. Power generated revenue of Rs 6.56 crore, down 81 per cent YoY.

The company also announced dividend of Rs 25 and the record date for the same is February 19. 

At 10:23 am, the stock was trading over 11 per cent lower at Rs 1,045 apiece on the BSE. It hit a low of Rs 1,015, down 13.6 per cent in the early trade. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading over 1 per cent higher at 41,662 levels. 

In the past one year, shares of the company have slipped 51 per cent against nearly 12 per cent rise in the Nifty50 index. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,432 exactly a year ago - February 12, 2019. 

According to Nirmal Bang Securities, the stock is currently trading at P/E of 4.9x Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) earnings per share (EPS).