Escorts: Strong second half ahead

Higher demand and product launches should drive volumes & market share

The Escorts stock was down over four per cent intra-day after the company posted muted sales for November. Volumes, which came in at 5,119 units, were up just 6.5 per cent over the year-ago period as against a better show estimated by the Street. Its peer M&M posted a growth of over 30 per cent in the month. Incidentally, the sales of the two companies were the opposite in October with Escorts posting 14 per cent growth while M&M posted an 11 per cent fall for that month.

Analysts at IDFC Securities say growth rates are more on account of the