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Shares of Crompton Greaves Ltd tumbled on Tuesday after the company's first quarter results for the current financial year showed net profit was hit despite higher net sales.
The counter witnessed a huge volume of trading of nearly 1.50 crore shares by the close on the National Stock Exchange, reaching the year's lowest price yet and the second-highest volume on the exchange. The share (of a face value of Rs 2) closed at Rs 205.40, a loss of a whopping 15.23 per cent.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, too, trading volume was substantial at 46 lakh shares and the scrip hit a 52-week low. The share has crashed by nearly 50 per cent from its year's high so far on both the exchanges, a grim reminder of the difficult times the infrastructure sector is facing.
According to standalone unaudited financial results for the first quarter ending June 30, 2011, income from operations was Rs 1,543.76 crore compared to Rs 1,415.47 crore in the same period in the past year. Net sales, after providing for Excise duty, was lower at Rs 1,468 crore (Rs 1,342.91 crore). Raw material costs jumped to Rs 830.96 crore (Rs 712.67 crore). Employee, depreciation and amortisation costs were also higher.
Profit from ordinary activities before tax slumped to Rs 172.31 crore (Rs 207.54 crore). Though total tax outgo dropped to Rs 43.29 crore (Rs 65.37 crore), net profit was down to Rs 129.02 crore compared to Rs 142.17 crore in the year-ago period.
Higher input costs
A review of revenue from various segments showed that all three segments of the company, namely, power systems, consumer products and industrial systems, were ahead during the first quarter of this year compared to year-ago period. But profit before tax declined in all segments in the first quarter as input costs rose.
Revenue from power systems in the first quarter this year was up at Rs 568.62 crore (Rs 510.09 crore), consumer products at Rs 543.67 crore (Rs 531.80 crore) and industrial systems at Rs 361.72 crore (Rs 311.18 crore).
But profits were eroded in all segments: power systems clocked a profit of Rs 71.69 crore (Rs 84.59 crore), consumer products earned a profit of Rs 75.37 crore (Rs 80.29 crore) and profit from industrial systems was down to Rs 57.55 crore (Rs 64.20 crore).
Crompton Greaves shares hit the 52-week low in both the exchanges today. While in NSE it was Rs 204.10, in the BSE the 52-week low was Rs 203.70. At close, the shares recovered marginally from the 52-week low price in both exchanges.
The share has lost nearly 50 per cent in the past one year. The 52-week high for the share was Rs 349 on both the exchanges, and it has lost nearly Rs 150 in the past seven months, after hitting the past year's high in December.
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