Weak demand, margin outlook to keep Balkrishna Industries under pressure

Tyre-maker's challenges include excess inventory, muted demand in agriculture sector

The stock of Balkrishna Industries, India’s largest tyre-maker by market capitalisation, slipped 10 per cent on Monday due to weak December quarter results and near-term pressure on volume margins.

Mark-to-market loss on foreign currency borrowings in the December quarter to the tune of Rs 166 crore also dented the bottom line, which fell 70 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 100 crore. Volumes for the company, which makes off-highway tyres (OHT), slid by 15.7 per cent on a sequential basis to an eight quarter low of 66,480 metric tonnes (MT).

While brokerages expected the company to report a 5-6 per