Linde India (523457) Q4 22/23 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Results cover 15 months ended 31 Mar 2023; the prior comparison is 12 months ended 31 Dec 2021, so headline growth rates are not period-comparable. The fiscal year now runs Apr–Mar.

• Revenue from operations reached Rs 31,355.20 million and EBITDA Rs 8,729.41 million; reported PAT was Rs 5,357.71 million.

• Operations remained debt-free, with Rs 6,291.84 million generated from operations and cash and bank balances of Rs 11,914.93 million at period-end.

Financial highlights

• Revenue rose 48.5% to Rs 31,355.20 million and EBITDA rose 45.2% to Rs 8,729.41 million versus FY 2021; the current period is 15 months versus 12 months.

• On a 12-month comparison, revenue for calendar 2022 was Rs 25,053 million, up 18.6%; EBITDA was Rs 6,655 million, up 10.7%.

• PAT was Rs 5,357.71 million versus Rs 5,139.44 million; prior-year PAT included Rs 2,944.26 million pre-tax gain on land disposal. Calendar 2022 PAT was Rs 4,370 million, excluding that prior exceptional gain.

• Cash generated from operations was Rs 6,291.84 million versus Rs 5,888.78 million; capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment, work in progress and intangibles was Rs 3,631.68 million.

Outlook and guidance

• Third-party Project Engineering order book was Rs 14,200 million at 31 Mar 2023, with demand exposure across steel, refineries and electronics.

• New ASUs at Dahej and Ludhiana were under construction, with commercialisation expected within FY 2023; the Jamshedpur fabrication shop was expected to operate during FY 2023-24.

• Orders included 900 TPD for ESL Steel and 1,450 TPD for Jindal Stainless; combined ASU capacity was described as ~2,200 TPD, strengthening the East India footprint.

• Management cited India’s medium-term growth prospects and ongoing focus on revenue, collections, cost efficiency, digital supply chain, asset reliability and customer experience; India GDP forecast for FY 2024 was 6–6.8%.