Maruti Suzuki forecasts 4 to 8 per cent growth for FY20

Countries largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, announced its fourth quarter results on Thursday. It posted subdued revenue growth of just 0.7 per cent YoY.

Maruti Suzuki Limited's standalone revenue for Q4FY19 came in at Rs. 20,737.5 crore as compared to Rs. 20,594.30 crore for the same period last year, registering 0.7 per cent YoY increase. EBITDA for the quarter fell by 14.9 per cent yoy to Rs. 1,541.5 crore as against Rs. 1,811.45 crore for the same quarter last fiscal. The corresponding margin contracted by 136 bps. The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 7.4 per cent.

New Gujarat plant accounted for higher depreciation. In addition, higher promotional expenses due to competition kept the pressure on margins during the quarter. The PAT for the quarter came in at Rs. 1,795.6 crore, yoy decline of 4.6 per cent.

The management in its commentary sounded too bearish with its FY20 forecast. Transition to the BS VI norms could be challenging as the costs incurred with it are to be higher. Further, Maruti’s entry into the commercial vehicle segment can be expected to be shortlived as far as diesel version is concerned. Management said that the company would discontinue this version as conversion cost in to BS VI will be too high. The company has given a growth projection in the range of 4 per cent to 8 per cent for FY20.

On Thursday, the stock of Maruti Suzuki traded with a loss of almost 1.73 per cent at Rs. 6,902.95 on BSE.