16 May 2012
Update | Sector: Cement
Ambuja Cements
BSE SENSEX
S&P CNX
16,030
4,858
CMP: INR143
TP: INR200
Upgrade to Buy
Premium company at discounted valuations
Expect earnings growth to rebound; Buy for 40% upside
Bloomberg
Equity Shares (m)
52-Week Range (INR)
1,6,12 Rel. Perf. (%)
M.Cap. (INR b)
M.Cap. (USD b)
ACEM IN
1,534.4
182/120
-4/-5/16
219.6
4.0
Utilization level for the Indian cement industry have bottomed out in FY12. This is led
by demand recovery (7-8% in FY13) and slowdown in capacity addition.
ACEM is among the best cement companies in India. After four years of muted earnings,
we expect its EPS to grow ~36% in CY12 and ~14% in FY13.
Valuations at 6.1x CY13E EV/EBITDA & USD108/ton are attractive - the stock trades at
a discount to its peers & replacement cost. We upgrade our recommendation to Buy.
Worst behind for cement industry; expect gradual improvement
Valuation summary (INR b)
Y/E Dec
Sales
EBITDA
Adj PAT
EPS (INR)
EPS Gr. (%)
BV/Sh. (INR)
P/E (x)
P/BV (x)
EV/EBITDA (x)
EV/Ton (USD)
RoE (%)
RoCE (%)
2011 2012E 2013E
85.1 102.2 119.7
19.2 25.2 29.3
12.6 17.1 19.4
8.2 11.1 12.7
1.1 35.5 13.7
52.4 57.8 65.3
17.4 12.9 11.3
2.7
2.5
2.2
9.9
7.5
6.1
127
125
108
16.4 20.2 20.6
23.2 28.3 29.5
We believe that the worst is over for the Indian cement industry and expect
gradual improvement in operating performance. Volume recovery (~8% growth
in FY13) coupled with slowdown in capacity addition would drive absorption of
excess capacity. While cement prices are likely to remain buoyant at least till
1QFY13, short-term volatility due to seasonality notwithstanding, we expect
improvement in cement prices and profitability on an annual basis for the next
2-3 years.
Ambuja Cements - best in class; earnings growth to rebound
Ambuja Cements (ACEM) is among the best cement companies in India. Its strong
brand equity, focused segment mix (on retail/ trade), focused market mix (West,
North and East) and well diversified fuel and transport mix enable it to enjoy
high profitability (~INR1,070/ton for CY12E), capital efficiency (~28% RoCE) and
payout (~32%). After four years of muted earnings growth, we estimate EPS
growth of ~36% for CY12. This coupled with strong balance sheet (net cash of
~INR32b in CY12E) would enable it to fund future growth.
Shareholding pattern % (Mar-12)
Others, 8.0
Foreign,
29.0
CCI penalty a near-term headwind
The impending penalty by CCI on the cement industry for alleged cartelization
could impact ACEM by ~INR7.5b. While this is a near-term headwind, our
interactions with cement companies suggest that CCI's claims are untenable &
would be challenged. Cement stocks have already corrected by 10-15% in the
last one month and now factor in the possible penalty. However, government
intervention in pricing is the key risk in our view.
Domestic
Inst, 13.0
Promoter, 50.0
Stock performance (1 year)
Ambuja Cements
Sens ex - Reba s ed
200
175
150
125
100
Premium company at attractive valuations; upgrade to Buy
Post correction, ACEM is trading at attractive valuations - EV of 7.5x CY12E EBITDA
and 6.1x CY13E EBITDA. Its asset valuations are also attractive at USD125/ton for
CY12 and USD108/ton for CY13. Even after factoring in the CCI penalty, the stock is
available at an EV of 6.3x CY13E EBITDA and USD111/ton. At current valuations,
ACEM trades at a discount to replacement cost, as against ~20% average premium
since CY01. Further, it is trading at a discount to its peers, which is unprecedented
as it has always traded at a premium to its peers due to superior operating
performance.
We upgrade the stock from Neutral to Buy,
with a target price of
INR200 (EV of 10x CY13E EBITDA) - an upside of 40%.
1
Jinesh K Gandhi
(Jinesh@MotilalOswal.com); +91 22 3982 5416