Thermax declines 7% as investors book profit post March quarter earnings

The company said that the order book for the year stood at a consolidated level stood of Rs 8,788 crore, as compared to Rs 9,410 crore in FY22, down 7 per cent

Shares of Thermax dropped 7 per cent to Rs 2,280 in Thursday’s intra-day trade, on profit booking, after the company reported 34 per cent lower order booking in January-March quarter (Q4FY23) at Rs 2,254 crore, as against Rs 3,396 crore in Q4FY22.

In the last quarter of the previous year, a significant order of Rs 1,176 crore was booked for a sulphur recovery block, and an order of Rs 546 crore was received for a flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system, the company said.

Despite of Thursday's decline, Thermax has outperformed the market as shares surged 17 per cent so far in the calendar year 2023. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up less than 1 per cent, during the same period.

In Q4FY23, Thermax reported a healthy 51 per cent jump in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 156 crore, as compared to Rs 103 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY22.

In keeping with its robust performance over the past three quarters, the company posted 16 per cent growth in its consolidated operating revenue at Rs 2,311 crore, as against Rs 1,992 crore in Q4FY22.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) came in at Rs 199.9 crore, up 47.8 per cent YoY while, Ebitda margin came in at 8.7 per cent.

The company said that order-book for the year at a consolidated level stood at Rs 8,788 crore, as compared to Rs 9,410 crore in FY22, down 7 per cent. Thermax Group had an order balance of Rs 9,752 crore, up 11 per cent, against Rs 8,812 crore in previous year.

Thermax, a leading energy and environment solutions provider, is one of the few companies in the world that offers integrated innovative solutions in the areas of heating, cooling, power, water and waste management, air pollution control and chemicals.

Analysts at ICICI Securities said that Thermax reported a strong execution performance.

"It reported decent order inflows witnessing broad based recovery in multiple industries with core sectors such as metal & steel, chemical, refinery & petrochemical continuing to show strength. Operating margins bounced back as commodity prices cooled off," the brokerage firm said.