Jindal Stainless (Hisar) gains 10% in 2 days on healthy volume growth in Q2

Shares of Jindal Stainless (Hisar) (JSHL) were up 7 per cent to Rs 104.15 on the BSE on Friday, gaining 10 per cent in two days, after the company reported a healthy 9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) gtowth in sales volumes to 155,470 tonnes in September quarter (Q2FY21) as against 143,139 tonnes in Q2FY20. The stock of the iron & steel products company was trading close to its 52-week high level of Rs 109.70, touched on August 21, 2020.

The company said the remarkable turnaround of auto sector, both in passenger vehicles and two-wheeler segments, aided sales volumes during the quarter. With revival in construction activities, and a boost from the company's co-branding program, the decorative pipes and tubes segment received further fillip, it said.

Meanwhile, considering the injury caused to the domestic stainless steel industry due to dumping from Indonesia, the government has imposed an interim Countervailing Duty (CVD) on Indonesian-origin material. This has brought temporary relief to the domestic industry, and corrective actions for the long-term are awaited by domestic manufacturers.

In Q2FY21, JSHL's reported 35 per cent YoY growth in profit after tax at Rs 111 crore as against Rs 82 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Net revenue grew 5 per cent at Rs 2,076 crore on YoY basis. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margins, however, remained flat at 12 per cent during the quarter.

With sales volumes back to pre-Covid levels in Q2 this year, the management said the company would look forward to government spending on public infrastructure as the next big push for the sector. The specialty products division of JSHL will continue to remain at the centre of growth strategy, it said.

At 11:55 am, the stock was trading 6 per cent higher at Rs 102.65 on the BSE, as compared to 0.67 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 780,000 equity share had changed hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.