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  • CMP : 925.6 Chg : 0.40 (0.04%)
  • Target : 435.0 (20.17%)
  • Target Period : 12-18 Month

08 Feb 2023

Strong growth in cranes, construction equipment…

About The Stock

Action Construction Equipment (ACE) is an Indian construction equipment and material handling company.

  • ACE has eight manufacturing and one R&D site in Faridabad, Haryana
  • The company has a capacity of 12000 construction equipment and 9000 tractors annually

ACE’s product portfolio is divided into four main categories viz. agricultural equipment, construction equipment, road construction equipment and earth-moving machinery

Q3FY23

ACE reported a strong operational performance.

  • Revenue for the quarter was at ₹ 556.3 crore, up 27% YoY & 13% QoQ
  • EBITDA margin improved 208 bps YoY led by easing of raw material cost and positive operating leverage. Absolute EBIDTA was at ₹ 61.9 crore, up 57% YoY & 37% YoY
  • PAT was at ₹ 46.7 crore; up 70% YoY & 38% QoQ
What should Investors do?

ACE continues to move on its growth path led by strong demand, focus on increasing share in exports, defence and improving product mix. The management’s guidance is at 28-30% growth for FY23E

  • We continue to remain positive and retain our BUY rating on the stock
Target Price and Valuation

We value ACE at ₹ 435 i.e. 18x PE on FY25E EPS

Key Triggers for future price performance
  • Cranes segment is doing well. Contract from Government of Ghana and strong traction from the defence sector
  • Upcoming government & private capex are providing fillip to the sector
Alternate Stock Idea

We also like SKF in our capital goods coverage.

  • It is one of the leading bearing manufacturers known for its deep groove ball bearings and has a presence across the industrial and auto sector

 

  • BUY with a target price of ₹ 5215 i.e. 40x P/E on FY24E EPS

Key Financial Summary

Particulars FY20 FY21 FY22 5 Year CAGR (FY17-FY22) FY23E FY24E FY25E 3 Year CAGR (FY22-FY25E)
Revenue 1,156.2 1,227.0 1,629.6 15.6 2,111.1 2,556.6 2,982.5 22.3
EBITDA 91.6 119.4 151.4 33.3 228.0 304.2 372.8 35.0
EBITDA margin (%) 7.9 9.7 9.3 - 10.8 11.9 12.5 -
Net Profit 52.5 80.2 105.0 49.6 183.5 239.8 288.7 40.1
EPS (|) 4.6 7.1 8.8 - 15.4 20.1 24.2 -
P/E (x) 56.7 51.2 41.1 - 23.5 18.0 14.9 -
EV/EBITDA (x) 33.1 34.3 27.7 - 18.0 13.1 10.2 -
RoCE (%) 19.3 26.9 23.0 - 29.8 29.7 28.1 -
RoE (%) 11.9 15.3 13.9 - 18.6 19.6 19.4 -
Source: Company, ICICI Direct Research

Variance Analysis

   Q3FY23   Q3FY22   YoY (%)   Q2FY23   QoQ (%)   Comments 
Revenue 556.3 436.6 27% 491.8 13% Strong performance in cranes and construction equipments segment led by healthy volumes
Other Income 7.7 5.0 53% 6.0 29%  
Total Income 564.0 441.6 28% 497.8 13%  
Cost of materials consumed 410.4 353.6 16% 358.8 14%  
Change in inventories -15.3 -5.2 192% -3.1 388%
Employee cost 26.8 24.7 9% 23.8 13%  
Other expenses 72.5 24.1 201% 67.4 8%  
EBITDA 61.9 39.4 57% 45.0 37%  
EBITDA Margin (%) 11.1 9.0 208 bps 9.2 196 bps Margins improved on positive operating leverage
Depreciation 4.4 3.9 11% 4.0 10%  
Interest 3.1 3.4 -9% 2.1 47%  
PBT 62.0 37.1 67% 44.9 38%  
Taxes 15.3 9.5 61% 11.0 39%  
PAT 46.7 27.5 70% 33.9 38%  
             
 Key metrices   Q3FY23   Q3FY22   YoY (%)   Q2FY23   QoQ (%)   Comments 
Cranes 385.6 268.8 43% 357.4 8% Volumes grew 27% YoY; Realisations up 13% YoY 
EBIT Margin % 13.9% 11.7%   12.8%    
EBIT 53.8 31.6 70% 45.7 18%  
Construction Equipment 62.5 47.4 32% 54.2 15% Volumes grew 22% YoY; Realisations up 8% YoY
EBIT Margin % 10.3% 5.5%   6.6%    
EBIT 6.4 2.6 148% 3.6 78%  
Material Handling 44.4 43.1 3% 35.6 25% Volumes down 6% YoY; up 20% sequentially
EBIT Margin % 15.7% 11.8%   10.4%    
EBIT 7.0 5.1 37% 3.7 88%  
Agri Equipment 63.8 77.3 -17% 44.7 43% Volumes down 30% YoY; up 15% sequentially
EBIT Margin % 3.7% 8.3%   1.0%    
EBIT 2.4 6.4 -63% 0.4 456%  

 

Q3FY23 Results: Strong operational performance with 27% YoY revenue growth and 208 bps improvement in EBITDA margin

  • Revenue for quarter came in at | 556.3 crore, up 27% YoY & 13% QoQ. The YoY growth was mainly led by crane segment, which constituted 69% of total revenues (as against 62% last year) and witnessed growth of 43% YoY (+8% QoQ) to | 385.6 crore. Construction equipment segment (11% of total revenue) also saw 32% YoY growth (+15% QoQ) to | 62.5 crore. Material handling segment witnessed muted growth of 3% YoY to | 44.4 crore while agri equipment segment revenue declined 17% YoY to | 63.8 crore. However, material handling and agri equipment segments have shown better performance on a QoQ basis with 25% and 43% growth, respectively
  • Gross margins increased 876 bps YoY and 128 bps QoQ to 29.0%, primarily on account of easing of raw material prices. EBIDTA margin was at 11.1% (+208 bps YoY and +196 bps QoQ) leading to absolute EBIDTA growth of 57% YoY (+37% QoQ) to | 61.9 crore
  • EBIT margins for crane segment improved to 13.9% (+220 bps YoY, +115 bps QoQ). Construction equipment and material handling segments have also witnessed improvement in EBIT margins by 481 bps YoY (+362 bps QoQ) and 389 bps YoY (+525 bps QoQ) respectively. Only agri equipment segment saw contraction in EBIT margin on a YoY basis and were at 3.7% (vs. 8.3% in Q2FY23)
  • PAT increased 70% YoY (+38% QoQ) to | 46.7 crore

 

Q3FY23 Earnings Conference Call highlights

  • Revenue guidance: 28-30% growth for FY23 with crane segment growth at 25-30%, construction equipment 30-35% growth, material equipment at 10% growth and agricultural equipment at 15% growth. Revenue guidance for FY24E is 15-20% (with high possibility of upward revision in further quarters)
  • EBITDA margins for FY23 are expected at ~11% and 12-13% for FY24E considering the company’s focus on cost efficiencies, higher operating leverage and better product mix
  • Demand has been robust in cranes and construction equipment segments. Demand for agriculture equipment was muted during the quarter but expected to improve in Q4FY23 and FY24E
  • In cranes segment, infrastructure and manufacturing constitutes ~45% each to the revenue while real estate constitutes ~10%
  • Higher capex allocation for roads, railways and urban infra will benefit the whole crane and construction equipment industry
  • Raw material prices have seen moderation during the 9MFY23 while the average commodity prices are still at elevated levels
  • Exports revenue was at | 50 crore in Q3FY23 and | 74 crore in 9MFY23
  • The company’s focus is on increasing exports share as percentage of total revenue. Currently exports share is 6% and is expected to increase to 10-15% by FY24E/25E
  • Potential revenue from defence industry can be | 700-800 crore in the longer term considering the focus on defence sector from government
  • Capex for FY23E was at | 35 crore for installing a new capacity for manufacturing large cranes. The capacity is expected to commence production from June/July 2023. Capex for FY24E is expected at | 40 crore
  • Capacity utilisation in cranes segment was at ~70% while it was 50% in construction equipment segment

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I/We, Chirag Shah PGDBM, Vijay Goel PGDBM Research Analysts Research Analysts, authors and the names subscribed to this report, hereby certify that all of the views expressed in this research report accurately reflect our views about the subject issuer(s) or securities. We also certify that no part of our compensation was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendation(s) or view(s) in this report. It is also confirmed that above mentioned Analysts of this report have not received any compensation from the companies mentioned in the report in the preceding twelve months and do not serve as an officer, director or employee of the companies mentioned in the report.                       

 

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