Somany Ceramics surges 12%, hits 52-week high on strong Q4 results

Shares of Somany Ceramics rallied 12 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 550 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday after the company reported a strong set of numbers for the March quarter (Q4FY21), with the profit after tax of Rs 30.3 crore as against a loss of Rs 9 crore in Q4FY20.

The revenues during the quarter under review grew 58.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 562 crore from Rs 354 crore on the back of strong volumes. Tiles sales volumes were up 52 per cent YoY at 16.9 MSM with realisations up 4 per cent YoY at Rs 293/SCM. Tiles revenues were up 57.8 per cent YoY at Rs 491.1 crore.

The company’s Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) stood at Rs 90 crore, up 5.4 times YoY, driven by operating leverage and lower other costs. Ebitda margins at 15.8 per cent were up 12 percentage points on a depressed base.

“While the recovery has been on a benign base and has some element of pent up demand and reduced costs benefits, the balance sheet improvement remains the key takeaway. Somany’s working capital management and net debt reduction (down from Rs 444 crore in FY20 to Rs 173 crore in FY21) have been the key positives. The management commentary on growth will be key,” ICICI Securities said in a note.

At 09:34 am, the stock was up 10 per cent at Rs 538 on the BSE as compared to a 0.38 per cent fall in the S&P BSE Sensex. Around 690,000 shares of Somany had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE so far.