We are initiating coverage on Birla Corporation Limited (BCL) with a BUY recommendation and a Target Price of Rs 854, which implies 50% upside from the current levels

Birla Corp's debt had risen with the acquisition of RCCPL assets. The company has also undertaken greenfield capacity expansion at an estimated cost of ~| 2500 crore in Maharashtra. This project would be funded by debt to the extent of 70-75%, leading to further addition in debt. The decision to keep the Kundanganj brownfield expansion on hold would help keep leverage from increasing further. We expect debt to peak in FY21 (refer...

Birla Corporation (BCORP) has reported good set of numbers for 4QFY20. Revenue at Rs16.90bn declined by 9.8% YoY due to 14.3% YoY decline in volume. Realization was better with 5.7% YoY uptick, resulting in better EBITDA/mt performance. Operating cost was flat YoY as decline in raw material cost was offset by an increase in other expenses. EBITDA/mt, as a result, came in at Rs1,044, which was only the second instance after June 2019 that the company has reported EBITDA/mt above Rs1,000. EBITDA at Rs3.45bn was up 11.3% YoY whereas PAT at Rs1.95bn was up 51.9% YoY on account of lower tax rate. BCORP's subsidiary Reliance cement (RCCPL) has migrated to the new tax regime resulting in lower tax...

(est. of 3.44 MT) which was down by 13% y/y due to lockdownmeasures.However,utilizationlevelforBCORP remainedsublimeat93%forQ4FY20.Furtherallplants of BCORP except Raebareli and Durgapur have been...

29 January 2020 EBITDA/ton was up 33% YoY (-12% QoQ) in 3QFY20, led by higher realizations (+4% YoY) and cost savings (+2% YoY). While BCORP witnessed some decline in trade sales due to seasonality, it remains focused on higher trade/premium cement sales and cost efficiencies over the longer term. We maintain our FY20/21 estimates and rating. Cement realizations increased 4% YoY (-1.4% QoQ) to INR4,743/t. BCORP witnessed a sharp decline in prices in the eastern region. Total cost/ton was up 1% QoQ (-2% YoY) at INR4,141 (3% above our estimate of INR4,040). Note that consumption of higher-cost clinker inventory offset the benefit of lower power & fuel and freight costs. EBITDA/ton declined 12% QoQ (+33% YoY) to INR859 (9% below our estimate of INR946). EBITDA stood at INR2.9b (+42% YoY, -6% QoQ) v/s our estimate of INR3.2b. PAT stood at INR815m (3x of FY19), 10% below our estimate of INR903m.

Birla Corp has a strong presence on the retail front owing to its distribution network and focus on trade sales, which have a share in excess of 80% of total volume sales. Further, the company has been pushing more of premium cement via its trade channels and higher ad spends. This has led premium products to form 35-50% of trade sales. In turn, this has enabled the company to improve its realisations, which have growm at 6% CAGR over FY16-19, putting the company in the ranks of industry giants, UltraTech and ACC. This, combined with 19% volume CAGR has contributed to...

1HFY20 performance: Sales/EBITDA/PAT increased 13%/ 61%/2.3x YoY. Operating cash flows post working capital and taxes declined 5% YoY to INR4.1b, led by an increase in working capital due to higher receivables (+2...

volumes increased 13.2% YoY to 3.85mt. Cement realizations rose 1.3% YoY to INR4,625/t. Consequently, EBITDA/t increased 6% YoY to INR804. 5 May 2019 margin improving 0.9ppYoY to 16.5%. PAT came in at INR1.28b (-2% YoY, our estimate of INR1.05b). For FY19, volumes grew 10% to 13.

Birla Corporation Limited (BCorp) reported substantial rise in its Q4FY18 financial results on back of robust realization and volume growth.

Birla Corporation Limited (BCorp) reported a mixed bags of results in its Q3FY18 financial results. Net revenue and cement sales volume exceeded our estimates, however EBITDA and net profit...

Total cost/t for consolidated operations increased 5% YoY (3% QoQ) to INR4,127 due to higher shutdown and maintenance expenses. Power and fuel cost/t increased 21% YoY due to increase in petcoke prices. Raw material cost increased 19% QoQ due to increase in slag prices for eastern operations. Consolidated EBITDA/t was INR458 (-6% YoY, -31% QoQ), and EBITDA was INR1.38b (+15% YoY, -22% QoQ; our estimate: INR1.8b) . Acquired assets reported EBITDA/t of INR913 (-15% QoQ) due to lower realizations while standalone operations reported EBITDA/t of INR199 (-40%YoY, -55%QoQ). Margins were at 10% (-1.23pp YoY, -4.33pp QoQ). Interest expense fell 17% YoY (and 9% QoQ) to INR958m due to refinancing of debt. Reported loss was INR218m (our estimate: profit INR44m).

Birla Corporation Ltd. (BCorp) reported a mixed bag of results in its Q2FY18. Consolidated revenue was higher than our estimate while EBITDA and net profit were below from our estimates.

We maintain BUY with and upgrade our TP (Rs 1,455, 12.0x Sep-19 EV/EBITDA US$138/t). Birla Corps (BCORP) numbers beat estimates (Rs 638/t, Est Rs 484, 14.2/(10.9)% YoY/QoQ). The beat was primarily on account of lower other operating expenses (Rs 1.0bn vs Rs 1.5bn run-rate in previous 2 quarters). Numbers are not comparable YoY, due to Acquired ops being included from August 22, 2016. The 2QFY18 delivery was in spite of the severe sand shortages in UP and Bihar.

declined 15% QoQ due to lower volumes. Margins declined 2.2pp QoQ due to cost push in form of higher P&F; cost. Hence EBITDA at INR 1.76b(- 26% QoQ). Interest cost increased 12% QoQ due to increase in debt levels by ~INR3bn in 1HFY18. Hence PAT at INR15mn was below estimate of INR216mn. Margins impacted due to cost push: Standalone margins declined 1.2pp QoQ due to 14% QoQ increase in power and fuel cost led by impact of increase in petcoke prices. Freight cost/t increased 6% QoQ due to change in commercial terms. Reported PAT at INR44mn (vs est of138mn) due to higher interest cost...

Birla Corporation (BCorp), flagship Company of the M.P. Birla Group, is a Kolkata based cement manufacturer with significant presence in West and Central India.

Bajaj Electricals: Consumer Durable division expected to revive, Revival in E&P; business to improve margins, Valuations & Summary Birla Corp: Capacity additions to make it 5th largest cement player, Favourable regional mix to aid realizations, Operational efficiencies to improve margins

Maintain BUY with a TP of Rs 1,160 (10.0x June-19 EV/EBITDA). Continued strong delivery should see BCORP rerate in-line with its peers of similar size and earnings. Birla Corps (BCORP) standalone EBITDA missed estimates (Rs 1.04bn, -20.2/9.5% YoY/QoQ, est Rs 1.21bn), owing to lower volumes (2.1mT, -1.2% YoY) and a sharp jump in P&F; costs. Acquired operations (RCCPL) delivered Rs 1.37bn in EBITDA (-2.5% QoQ, not comparable YoY, EBITDA/t: Rs 1,200). Given UPs sand shortage this is strong delivery. RCCPL reported operational costs at Rs 3,132/t, best-in-class, despite the absence of captive power, making this is the highlight of 1QFY18.

Birla Corporation Limited (BCL) is the flagship Company of the M.P. Birla Group. The Company is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of cement as its core business activity. It has significant presence in the jute goods industry as well. The Company has recently acquired the entire cement business of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd for an Enterprise Value of Rs. 4,800 crores. This acquisition has provided the company with the ownership of high-quality assets, taking its total capacity to 15.5 mtpa. It has cement plants in Rajasthan,...

Birla Corps (BCORP) numbers beat estimates (Rs 420/t, Est Rs 311, 11.0% YoY, 2.1x QoQ) mainly due to better realisations (Rs 3,895, 14.6% YoY, 5.6% QoQ, Rs 3,726 Estimated). The acquired capacities (Acq ops, effective Aug 22, 2016) delivered solid outcomes in FY17: Rs 2.5bn EBITDA, EBITDA/t of Rs 1,137 and PBT breakeven in 1st year of acquisition.