Escorts Q4 up 29% at Rs 16.42 cr

Farm equipment and engineering firm Escorts reported 28.68 percent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 16.42 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2016 riding on increase in tractors sales.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 12.76 crore during the corresponding quarter in the 2014-15 fiscal, Escorts Ltd said in a statement.

Standalone net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 800.78 crore as against Rs 811.22 crore in the year-ago period, down 1.28 percent, it added.

In the fourth quarter of financial year 2015-2016, tractor volumes were up by 7.1 percent at 11,823 units as against 11,036 units in the corresponding quarter, it said.

Construction equipment volumes during the period were marginally lower by 0.4 percent at 737 units as against 740 units the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Commenting on the results, Escorts Ltd Chairman Rajan Nanda said: "The tractor industry has now been impacted for almost seven consecutive quarters by adverse weather conditions. While the forecast for the forthcoming monsoons have been optimistic, the need for concerted action across multiple fronts in the farm sector has become urgent." Stating that the company has been focussing on improving margins through better product mix and cost reduction, he said: "We have improved our profitability and are confident that the company is well poised to take advantage of the inevitable improvement in both the farm and construction sector." For the fiscal ended March 31, 2016 consolidated net profit was up marginally at Rs 77.05 crore as against Rs 76.31 crore in the previous fiscal, the company said.

Consolidated net sales during the fiscal were at Rs 3,514.65 crore as against Rs 4,057.77 crore in the previous year, down 13.38 percent.

Tractor volumes in the 2015-16 stood at 51,455 units as against 59,779 units in the previous fiscal. Construction equipment volumes stood at 2,555 units in 2015-16 as against 3,007 units in the preceding fiscal, it added.