Buy Crompton Gr. Con; target of Rs 285: Motilal Oswal

Motilal Oswal 's research report on Crompton Gr. Con

CROMPTON's top line was 11% below estimates. Earnings were 14% above expectations on account of strong cost controls, led by a cut in ad-spends and the ongoing cost rationalization exercise (Project Unnati). Although a large part of the cost control measures (e.g. ad-spends) may not be recurring, the business model strength of the company is impressive in times of a crisis. Demand activity in Jun'20 is back - particularly at ~85% for fans and at ~90% for overall ECD segment. Management has indicated that there was no MoM sales decline observed, despite pent-up demand coming in post lockdown. Improvement in working capital cycle helped in further strengthening of the balance sheet with net cash of INR4.5b as at Jun'20 (Mar'20: INR2.4b).

Outlook

Incorporating 1QFY21 performance, we have increased our FY21E EPS by 12%, while FY22E EPS remains unchanged. Maintain Buy rating with unchanged TP of INR285 (32x FY22E EPS).