Sterlite Technologies (STLTECH) Q4 09/10 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY10 net revenue rose 6% to Rs. 2,432 crore; EBITDA grew 68% to Rs. 404 crore and PAT increased 173% to Rs. 246 crore.

• Record sales volumes across power conductors, optical fiber, communication cables and telecom solutions; international sales reached Rs. 554 crore, or 23% of revenue, across 55 countries.

Financial highlights

• Net revenue was Rs. 2,432 crore vs. Rs. 2,289 crore; EBITDA Rs. 404 crore vs. Rs. 240 crore; EBIT Rs. 356 crore vs. Rs. 198 crore.

• PAT was Rs. 246 crore vs. Rs. 90 crore; diluted EPS Rs. 7.34 vs. Rs. 2.78, after the share split and 1:1 bonus issue.

• FY10 net revenue growth was held to 6% by changing business mix and lower power realizations tied to lower metal prices; core business volumes rose substantially.

• Interest cost fell to Rs. 38 crore from Rs. 55 crore in FY09, excluding that year's one-time Rs. 35 crore foreign-exchange fluctuation loss.

Outlook and guidance

• FY11 began with an order book of nearly Rs. 2,400 crore vs. Rs. 1,400 crore a year earlier; a bulk was scheduled for execution in FY11.

• Management expected strong medium- and long-term demand in telecom and power, with emerging economies a key growth driver.

• First-phase capacity additions were expected to support better revenue growth in both segments in FY11; conductor capacity expansion to 160,000 MT was expected to complete in early FY11.

• Optical-fiber capacity was planned to rise from 12 million to 20 million fkm by FY12; the 20 million-fkm expansion was expected to complete by end-FY12.