June 2019 Results Preview | July 2019
Automobiles
Demand weakens further across segments
OEM margins to contract sequentially for fourth straight quarter, hit four-
year low
All auto segments continued facing demand headwinds in 1QFY20 – a trend that has
worsened from the previous quarter. A high base, liquidity issues and slowdown
amidst elections led to further weakness in volumes.
EBITDA margin for our OEM (ex-JLR) universe is likely to contract for the fourth
consecutive quarter by 310bp YoY (-70bp QoQ) to 10.7% due to higher variable
marketing expenses and operating deleverage. While almost all OEMs are likely to
witness YoY margin contraction, MM and TVSL are expected to deliver a sequential
margin recovery of 80bp and 20bp, respectively.
We have lowered our FY20/21 EPS estimates for all companies under coverage, with
the highest FY20 EPS cut for AL (~18%), CEAT (~17%), MSIL (~13.5%) and MM (~12%).
The least EPS cut is for BJAUT (~3%), TTMT (~4%), MCIE (~4%) and EXID (~5%).
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High base, liquidity issues, weak sentiment hurt demand:
All auto segments
continued facing demand headwinds even in 1QFY20 – continuing the trend of weak
retails in the previous quarter. Retail demand further deteriorated due to liquidity
issues, weak consumer sentiment and slowdown amidst the general elections.
Consequently, inventories are at record levels across segments (highest in the 2W
segment at 60-70 days), despite production cuts.
Operating deleverage, higher variable marketing spend to exert margin pressures:
EBITDA margin for our OEM (ex-JLR) universe is likely to contract for the fourth
consecutive quarter by 310bp YoY (-70bp QoQ) to 10.7% due to higher variable
marketing expenses and operating deleverage. While almost all OEMs are likely to
witness YoY margin contraction, MM and TVSL are expected to deliver a sequential
margin recovery of 80bp and 20bp, respectively. Consequently, PAT is expected to
decline (by a significant 40% YoY or 28% QoQ) for second consecutive quarter, led
by a sharp drop in AL, TTMT, MSIL and EIM.
Cycles within cycles – expect volatility in volumes over next 12-15 months:
We
expect short cycles within cycles, led by macro issues (monsoon, liquidity, etc.) and
the BS-6 implementation, leading to volatile volumes over the next 12-15 months.
Considering substantial cost inflation under BS6 (particularly for 2Ws and CVs), we
estimate ~4% volume CAGR for 2Ws, flat volumes for 4Ws, 1-2% for CVs and 6-7%
for tractors over FY19-21 (assuming normal monsoon). As a result, we have lowered
our FY20/21 EPS estimates for all companies under coverage, with the highest FY20
EPS cut for AL (~18%), CEAT (~17%), MSIL (~13.5%) and MM (~12%). The least EPS
cut is for BJAUT (~3%), TTMT (~4%), MCIE (~4%) and EXID (~5%).
Valuation and view
Near-term headwinds notwithstanding, our preference remains for PVs over
CVs/2Ws. In our view, PVs are likely to be least impacted by BS-6 transition and have
less risk of EVs and competition, which, in turn, would reflect in better earnings
growth. Our top picks in autos are MSIL and MSS among large caps, and AL, ENDU
and EXID among midcaps.
Company name
Amara Raja Batteries
Ashok Leyland
Bajaj Auto
Bharat Forge
BOSCH
CEAT
Eicher Motors
Endurance technologies
Escorts
Exide Industries
Hero MotoCorp
Mahindra & Mahindra
Maruti Suzuki
Motherson Sumi
Tata Motors
TVS Motor Company
Jinesh Gandhi – Research Analyst
(Jinesh@MotilalOswal.com); +91 22 6129 1524
Investors are
July 2019
advised to refer through important disclosures made at the last page of the Research Report.
1
Motilal Oswal research is available on www.motilaloswal.com/Institutional-Equities, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, Factset and S&P Capital.