Nava Bharat Ventures zooms 33% in 4 days on robust Q4 results

The company reported robust growth in its operations, backed by solid traction in manganese alloy business in both export and domestic markets.

Shares of Nava Bharat Ventures hit over four-year high of Rs 180.95, after rallying 20 per cent on the BSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade in an otherwise weak market, spurred by heavy volumes. In the past four trading days, the stock has zoomed 33 per cent after the company reported an all-round record performance for the quarter ended March 2022. The board also declared dividend of 300 per cent or Rs 6 per equity share, the highest since inception.

The stock of the company, with diversified businesses in metals, energy, mining, healthcare and commercial agriculture, traded at its highest level since January 2018. At 02:35 pm; it traded 17 per cent higher at Rs 177.30, as compared to 2.6 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled as nearly 5 million equity shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

In Q4FY22, Nava Bharat Ventures consolidated profit after tax (PAT) jumped 126 per cent year on year (YoY) at Rs 360 crore, on the back of 43 per cent YoY growth in revenue at Rs 1,139 crore. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew 43 per cent YoY at Rs 526 crore, while margin remained unchanged at 46 per cent during the quarter. On a standalone basis, EBITDA margin improved substantially to 38.2 per cent in Q4FY22, from 29 per cent in Q4FY21.

The company reported robust growth in its standalone operations during FY22, backed by solid traction in manganese alloy business in both export and domestic markets. Ferrochrome conversion continued its stable performance and provided stability to the overall earnings. Besides that, the power division witnessed a remarkable improvement, backed by the resumption of its two independent power producers (IPPs) - Odisha with 60 megawatts (MW) and Nava Bharat Energy India with 150 MW.

Meanwhile, the company declared winning the legal case concerning its urban land bank in eastern Hyderabad, further paving the way for the monetisation of this asset.

"Optimum production and higher realisations for manganese alloys, coupled with robust power operations, especially after restarting of Odisha 60 MW IPP enacted the strong standalone performance for FY22. The profit before tax grew by 143 per cent YoY at Rs 575 crore for FY22," the management added.

That apart, on the International operations front, Zambian power operations remained stable with continued improvement in merchant coal sales. The management foresees a robust demand for energy in Southern Africa and plans on taking strategic decisions to capitalise on the opportunity.