Auto stocks hold up the markets

Wed, 2 Jun 11:30 am

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Indian markets continue to trade above the dotted line in spite of volatility seen in the indices during the last two hours of trade. Stocks from auto and consumer durable space are seeing buying interest while profit booking is seen in stocks from the realty and metal space.

BSE-Sensex is trading up by 52 points while NSE-Nifty is trading 17 points above the dotted line. BSE-Midcap index is trading higher by 0.3% while the BSE-Smallcap index is trading 0.6% above yesterday’s closing. The rupee is trading at 47.17 to the US dollar.

Paints major, Asian Paints Limited (ASPN) declared its FY10 results. The company’s standalone top line grew by 20% YoY. This was on the back of general improvement in economic activity and construction, leading to strong demand for paints. During the year, the company benefited from expansion of distribution network and increased capacities which helped the company grow its standalone volumes by 16% YoY. Operating margins for the company expanded by 6.6% to 19.7%. This was due to lower raw material costs. Bottom line for ASPN grew by 114% YoY during the year. This was due to higher operating profits, higher other income and lower effective tax rate. On a consolidated basis, the top line grew by 22% YoY while the bottom line grew by 110% YoY. However, the consolidated results are not comparable as the company moved from a December ending to a March ending financial year.

As per a leading daily, the JV between Ashok Leyland Limited (ALL) and Nissan is on track to roll out its first light commercial vehicle (LCV) in 2011. As per the company’s spokesman, the JV is also looking to enter the van segment, presently dominated by Omni/Winger with the launch of NV200. In fact, NV200 will be available in both the passenger and goods carrier segment. This would result in increase in competitive intensity specially since M&M is also planning a foray in the mini-truck segment. As per the company’s spokesman, in the first phase, the company will produce 150,000 units annually. While two of the three products will be rolled out from ALL’s Hosur plant, one product will be rolled out from Nissan’s Oragadam plant. Together the three products will have a market share in the region of 12 - 30%. As per indications, Nissan will stick with the top end of the market while ALL will cater to the value segment. This JV is a big positive for ALL as it would give the company a foothold in new segments of the automobile market.