| Summary 
            of Contents 
STOCK UPDATE  
Shree 
            Cement Cluster: 
            Cannonball
 Recommendation: Buy
 Price target: 
            Rs1,400
 Current market price: Rs902
 
Better than expected performance  
Result highlights  
              
              Shree Cement's (Shree) Q1FY2007 net profit at 
              Rs90 crore is ahead of our expectations, primarily because of a 
              lower-than-expected increase in the costs. 
              The revenue for the quarter grew by 117% to 
              Rs309.4 crore, driven by a 54% growth in cement volumes and a 41% 
              growth in cement realisations. The volumes went up substantially 
              as the company commenced production at its new plant in April 
              2006.  
              The operating profit for the quarter grew by a 
              whopping 210.5% to Rs137.5 crore as the operating profit margins 
              (OPMs) improved by a huge 10.3% to 44.4%. These are by far the 
              highest OPMs reported by any cement manufacturer till date for 
              Q1FY2007.  
              Against the growth of 41% in the realisation 
              per tonne, the total cost per tonne went up by 13.6% and hence the 
              earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation 
              (EBIDTA) per tonne for the quarter stood at Rs1,223, which is by 
              far the highest in the industry.  
              Interest and depreciation for the quarter went 
              up substantially as the company commissioned its new 1.2 million 
              tonne plant in April 2006.  
              The other income for the quarter grew almost 
              ten-fold as the company was sitting on substantial cash reserves 
              of Rs75 crore. 
              The net profit for the quarter grew by a 
              staggering 247.6% to Rs90.4 crore.   
 
 
 
Grasim 
            Industries Cluster: Apple 
            Green
 Recommendation: Buy
 Price target: 
            Rs3,150
 Current market price: Rs2,080
 
Concrete edifice  
Result highlights  
              
              Grasim's Q1FY2007 stand-alone net profit at 
              Rs311.9 crore is ahead of our expectations.  
              The revenues for the quarter grew by 20.8% to 
              Rs1,877 crore, driven by a 37% growth in the cement 
              revenues.  
              The operating profit for the quarter grew by a 
              smart 37.1% to Rs513 crore, primarily driven by the stellar 
              performance of its cement division.  
              Amongst the divisional performances, the cement 
              division again stole the show as the division recorded a 37% 
              growth in the revenues and a 101% growth in its earnings before 
              interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation (EBIDTA). Also the 
              VSF division delivered an impressive performance as it recorded a 
              24.4% growth in its EBIDTA. This was despite a 45-day shutdown 
              during the quarter at the company's Nagda plant.  
              However, the sponge iron and chemical divisions 
              delivered poor performances, as the divisions recorded a drop in 
              the revenues and EBIDTA.  
              Overall, the performance at the operating level 
              was sweetened by an 86.4% increase in the other income and an 
              11.4% reduction in the interest cost. As a result the 
              pre-exceptional net profit for the quarter grew by 51.7 % to 
              Rs311.9 crore.  
              The reported net profit, which included an 
              extraordinary other income during Q1FY2006, grew by 24.3%.  
              
              The consolidated results were still better 
              because of the stupendous results of UltraTech Cement. The 
              consolidated revenues grew by 29.2% and the net profit grew by 89% 
              to Rs536 crore.   
 
 
 
Sintex 
            Industries Cluster: Apple 
            Green
 Recommendation: Buy
 Price target: Rs192
 Current 
            market price: Rs139
 
Firmly placed  
Result highlights  
              
              The revenue of Sintex Industries Ltd (SIL) grew 
              by a sharp 52.6% year on year (yoy) in Q1FY2007 to Rs223.8 
              crore—ahead of our estimate. 
              The plastic division's revenue grew by 59.2% 
              yoy to Rs160.0 crore. Its profit before interest and tax (PBIT) 
              rose by 67.1% yoy to Rs21.8 crore as the margins expanded by 60 
              basis points yoy to 13.6%.  
              The textile division's revenue increased by 
              38.2% yoy to Rs65.3 crore. The growth was driven by an 11.3% jump 
              in the volumes and a 23.5% jump in the realisations yoy. Reeling 
              under severe margin pressure the PBIT grew by only 7.1% to Rs7.9 
              crore. 
              The operating profit margin (OPM) of the 
              company grew by only ten basis points yoy to 17.3%—in line with 
              our estimate. The decrease in the material and employee costs as a 
              percentage of sales were offset by the increase in the other 
              expenses. 
              The other income increased by 158.3% yoy to 
              Rs6.5 crore, but the growth was neutralised by a tax outgo of 
              Rs6.9 crore in the current quarter against a write back of Rs0.9 
              crore in Q1FY2006. Consequently the net profit grew at a slower 
              rate of 40.9% yoy to Rs20.4 crore—in line with our estimate. 
              The stock is trading at attractive valuations 
              of a price/earnings ratio (PER) of 11.2x FY2008E and enterprise 
              value (EV)/earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and 
              amortisation (EBIDTA) of 6.8x FY2008E. These valuations should be 
              seen in conjunction with the facts that the company's earnings are 
              expected to grow at a healthy compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) 
              of 26% over FY2006-08 and that the inorganic growth trigger is 
              long overdue. We maintain a Buy on SIL with a price target of 
              Rs192, at which the stock would discount its FY2008E earnings by 
              15.5x.  
 
 
 
Omax 
            Auto Cluster: Apple 
            Green
 Recommendation: Buy
 Price target: Rs178
 Current 
            market price: Rs90
 
In line with expectations  
Result highlights  
              
              Omax Auto's Q1FY2007 results are in line with 
              our expectations as the net sales grew by 11.3% to Rs160.3 
              crore.  
              The operating margins for the quarter declined 
              by 40 basis points to 9.8% owing to a rise in the raw material and 
              employee costs. The margins pressure continued as the raw material 
              costs rose from 65.7% to 75.2% as a percentage of sales. 
              Both the Bangalore and Binola plants have 
              started contributing to the top line and have stabilised their 
              operations. Going forward, as the production of both the new 
              plants rises further, we expect the margins to improve. 
              The net profit for the quarter marked a growth 
              of 4.3% to Rs5.6 crore. 
              Going forward, the margins are expected to 
              improve as the company is reducing costs by using captive raw 
              material sources and consolidating its operations at a single 
              location. 
              At the current market price of Rs90, the stock 
              trades at 4.3x its FY2008E earnings. We maintain our Buy on the 
              stock with a price target of Rs178.   
 
 
 
Infosys 
            TechnologiesCluster: 
            Evergreen
 Recommendation: Buy
 Price target: 
            Rs1,870
 Current market price: Rs1,659
 
It's different  
We attended the investor meet organised by Infosys 
            Technologies recently. The key points that emerged from the 
            interaction with the management team are given below.  
              
              The management sounded quite confident and 
              optimistic about the future growth prospects and outlined some of 
              the reasons for the same. 
              It has created differentiation by realigning 
              the organisational structure with focus on industry domains 
              (termed as verticalisation) and enhancing the range of service 
              offerings over the past couple of years.   
 
 
 
MRO-TEK Cluster: Apple 
            Green
 Recommendation: Hold
 Price target: 
            Rs113
 Current market price: Rs56
 
Weak performance as anticipated  
Result highlights  
              
              MRO TEK reported a 35.7% decline in its net 
              revenues to Rs22.7 crore during the first quarter, much below the 
              average quarterly run rate of Rs34.9 crore reported in the last 
              fiscal.  
              Despite the 420-basis-point improvement in the 
              gross margin to 35.4% (up from 31.2% in Q1FY2006), the operating 
              profit margin (OPM) declined by 210 basis points to 12.5% on an 
              annual comparison basis.  
              Consequently, the profit after tax declined by 
              40.3% to Rs2.1 crore. The management indicated that the 
              performance lacked lustre largely due to the postponement of 
              orders from some of the key clients.  
              We had anticipated the weak performance of Q1 
              and the same was indicated in our Stock Update report dated July 
              29, 2006. Consequently, the recommendation on the stock was 
              downgraded to Hold.  
              At the current market price, the stock trades 
              at 5.6x FY2007 and 4.7x FY2008 estimated earnings. We maintain the 
              Hold recommendation on the stock.    
 
 
 
Ashok 
            Leyland Cluster: Ugly 
            Duckling
 Recommendation: Buy
 Price target: 
            Rs53
 Current market price: Rs36
 
Good performance  
Result highlights  
              
              Ashok Leyland's (ALL) Q1FY2007 results are in 
              line with our expectations. 
              The net sales for the quarter grew by 34% to 
              Rs1,423.9 crore led by a volume growth of 28% and a realisation 
              growth of 5%. 
              The expenditure for the quarter includes a 
              forex loss of Rs2.6 crore. Adjusting for the same the operating 
              profits grew by 42% to Rs121.3 crore as the operating profit 
              margins improved from 8% to 8.5%. 
              The other income was higher at Rs13.9 crore 
              while the tax rate was lower at 25%.  
              Last year, there was an extraordinary gain 
              arising out of the sale of Ductron Castings unit to Ennore 
              Foundries. As a result the reported profit after tax (PAT) looks 
              flattish. However, adjusting for the extraordinary item, the 
              adjusted PAT has jumped by 128% to Rs75.6 crore. 
              At the current market price of Rs36, the stock 
              quotes at 9.5x its FY2008E earnings and 5.3x its FY2008E earnings 
              before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation. We maintain 
              our Buy recommendation on the stock with a price target of 
              Rs53.   |