Margin worries, market share loss to weigh on MRF after tepid Q4 show

The company trailed peers on the revenue front in Q4

A lower-than-expected operating performance in Q4 led to a 1.2 per cent fall in the stock price of India’s largest tyre maker, MRF. A few brokerages have also downgraded the stock given margin worries going ahead, market share loss and premium valuations.

The key disappointment in the March quarter was the dip in profitability with gross margins down 434 basis points y-o-y  and 626 basis points on a sequential basis to 38.5 per cent. Its raw material to sales at 61.5 per cent was the highest among peers.

A higher share of volumes to auto makers or OEMs which fetch