Ahuwalia Contracts (India) (532811) Q4 19/20 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY20 revenue from operations rose 7.42% YoY to ₹1,88,492.69 lakh, while EBITDA fell 29.32% to ₹15,301.59 lakh and PAT declined 45.10% to ₹6,443.59 lakh, standalone.

• Gross order book grew 15.88% YoY to ₹12,35,098.81 lakh at 31 March 2020, supporting medium- to long-term execution prospects amid near-term uncertainty.

Financial highlights

• Standalone total income was ₹1,89,536.99 lakh vs ₹1,76,448.73 lakh; PBT was ₹9,654.53 lakh vs ₹17,940.73 lakh and PAT ₹6,443.59 lakh vs ₹11,737.93 lakh.

• Consolidated total income was ₹1,89,536.99 lakh; operating profit was ₹15,297.15 lakh vs ₹21,641.63 lakh, and PAT was ₹6,439.15 lakh vs ₹11,731.55 lakh.

• Standalone EPS fell to ₹9.62 from ₹17.52; consolidated EPS was ₹9.61 vs ₹17.51.

• Operating cash flow rose to ₹10,965.50 lakh from ₹8,569.21 lakh, while investing cash outflow was ₹4,588.87 lakh and financing cash outflow ₹3,636.14 lakh.

Outlook and guidance

• Near-term outlook remained highly uncertain due to COVID-19, with disruption to supply, demand, project activity and the wider construction value chain; recovery was expected to be gradual.

• The ₹12,35,098.81 lakh order book and capabilities in healthcare, education and metro projects were expected to support medium- to long-term prospects; adequate manpower, infrastructure and financial capacity were cited for execution.

• ICRA expected infrastructure order inflows to improve in 2020 and healthy order books to support operating-income growth in Q2/Q3 2020; private-sector industrial and real-estate inflows were expected to remain muted.