Shakti Pumps surges 33% in three days on strong March quarter results

Shares of Shakti Pumps (India) surged 20 per cent to Rs 742.65 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday, taking the rally to 33 per cent in the past three days, after a strong show in the March quarter. 

The company which is engaged in the pump and motors business reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 30.50 crore for the quarter ended March 2021 (Q4FY21). It had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 6.15 crore in the year-ago quarter and Rs 26.53 crore profit in the previous quarter.

The company’s revenue from operations during the quarter under review grew over three-fold to Rs 319.71 crore from Rs 92.56 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. It posted operational profit or Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of Rs 51.35 crore in comparison to a loss of Rs 1.41 crore in the previous year quarter.

For the entire financial year 2020-21 (FY21), Shakti Pumps posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 75.59 crore as against a net loss of Rs 14.08 crore in FY20.

The company’s revenue from operations more-than-doubled to Rs 930 crore from Rs 382 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year. In March, the company was awarded a contract by the government of Uganda, represented by the Ministry of Water and Environment, for supply of solar powered water pumping systems at a contract price of $35.3 million.

Water pumps market in India is witnessing an impressive rate of growth on the back of depleting groundwater level, rapid urbanisation and various initiatives launched with the purpose of improving infrastructure, including the construction of roads, homes, toilets, schools and cleaning of major water bodies such as the Ganges, Yamuna, etc.

Agriculture accounts for a significant share in the country’s water pumps market. The demand is complemented by the industrial sector, where power plants, chemical manufacturing and water & wastewater treatment are the prime application areas. Rapid penetration of desalination plants in the industrial sector is expected to drive the demand for water pumps in the segment. Water pumps are gaining demand in the power sector as well, Shakti Pumps had said in its 2019-20 annual report.

At 11:18 am, the stock was trading 16 per cent higher at Rs 716.45 on the BSE as against a 0.07 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter jumped over four times with a combined 2.4 million equity shares having changed hands on the NSE and BSE so far.