Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Electrosteel Castings - A Blue Chip

BSE 500128, CMP Rs 52.90

The biggest spun pipe manufacturer in the country-Electrosteel Castings is entering a new era of exciting growth, which will propel the corporate into the big league of Integrated Steel producers like Tata Steel and Jindals.

For nearly 5 decades Electrosteel has made a name for itself in manufacturing Steel Spun pipes which are used for Civilian Water works across the country. Infact, the Electrosteel name is synonymous with the phrase "Making Water Move".

Some of the biggest water supply pipelines in the arid regions of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have Electrosteel's spun pipes as the backbone. The corporate has also established its manufacturing footprint in parts of Asia and Europe, to serve local markets and meeting out the threat of import sanctions on third world imports.

The successful business strategy deployed by Electrosteel Castings is handed out as standard course material to budding management students at the HarvardBusinessSchool.

The financials speak for themselves. The corporate recorded a 18 per cent jump in Revenues at Rs 1123 crore in FY07, with after tax profits of Rs 106 crore (Rs 76 crore), a jump of 40 per cent.

FY07 EPS was placed at Rs 5 per share (Rs 3.7 per share), and Electrosteel paid out a record dividend of Rs 12.5 per share.

The promoter interest is close to 53 per cent and the FII/FI/MF holding is another 20 per cent. Leaving a small float with the public.

Electrosteel is now ready for its second leg of expansion worth Rs 10000 crore, which will be invested over the next 36 months.

This will include a 1 million tonne integrated steel plant with dedicated iron ore and coal mines to be set up under a new entity by the name of Electrosteel Integrated.

Electrosteel Castings will be investing Rs 500 crore as Equity into the project, with the promoters providing as much as Rs 100 crore by taking a preferential allotment of 20 lakh shares as per the Sebi pricing formula for preferential offers.

The Rs 10000 crore road map 2007-2010

Summation : Projects INR (Crs)

-1.2 MTPA Integrated Steel Plant Rs 3600 crore.

-
0.2 MTPA DI Pipe Plant Rs 250 crore

-Coking Coal Mine at Parbatpur Rs 600 crore.

-Iron Ore Mine at Kodolibad Rs 150 crore.

-1200 MW Power Plant Rs 4800 crore.

-Captive Non-Coking Coal Mine Rs 150 crore

TOTAL INR 9550 Crs.

A. Integrated Steel Plant
- Capacity 1.2 MTPA
-1.0 MTPA for Bars & Rods or other value-added products
-0.2 MTPA for Ductile Iron Pipe

Location –near Bokaro (acquired 350 acres of land, balance in process)

-Coking Coal Blocks near Bokaro (already allocated)

-Captive Iron ore mine at Kodolibad, 200 KM away.

-Captive Power plant of 50 MW, balance to draw from Grid.

-Cost of Project –Rs 4000 Crs (Approx) which includes :
-0.2 MTPA Ductile Iron Pipe plant Rs 250 Crs
-Iron Ore Mine at Kodolibad Rs 150 Crs
-50 MW Captive Power plants
-Project implementation time - 3 years (Approx.)

B. Ductile Iron Pipe Plant

Capacity 0.2 MTPA

Location -near Bokaro in the Integrated Steel Plant

Cost of Project -Rs 250 Crs.

Project Implementation Time -18 months

Raw Materials : Liquid Metal =Integrated steel plant

Power = Captive Power plant

C. Iron Ore Mine

-Kodolibad (Jharkhand) 12 KM from Chota Nagra.

-Reserve -More than 100 M Tons

-Mining Type –Open Cast

-Type of ore -Fe content over 65%

-Capital cost –Rs 150 Crs.

Present status –Allocation in advance stage.

D.Parbatpur Coking Coal Blocks

-Located at Parbatpur in Jharia coalfield near Bokaro (Jharkhand).

-Mineable Reserves –224.47 M Tons by CMPDIL

-Type of Coal –Prime coking coal

-Present status – Already allocated

-Capital Investment – Rs 600 Crs.

-Mine Type –Mainly underground

-Required Power from DVC & own railway siding

Purpose –Captive use for Integrated Iron & Steel Plant / DI Pipe at Khardah (Kolkata)

E.Power Plant

-Capacity 1200 MW

-Location –Pithead in Latehar Dist.(Jharkhand)

-Cost of Project -Rs 4800 Crores.

-Non-coking coal from Captive mine at North Dhadu having reserve more than 100 M Tons.

-Project implementation Time -3 Years

-Consultant: Tata Consultancy Engineers.

-Marketing of Power –By merchant trading.

F.Non Coking Coal Blocks

-Located at North Dhadu in North Karnapura coalfield (Jharkhand)

-Reserve – over 189 M Tons.

-Grade of Coal –F&E Grades

-Mining Type –Open cast

-Capital Investment –Rs 150 Crs.

Purpose –Captive use for 1200 MW Power plant at Pithead itself.

(Some forward looking statements on projections, estimates, expectations & outlook are included to enable a better comprehension of the Company prospects. Actual results may, however, differ materially from those stated on account of factors such as changes in government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts its business, exchange rate and interest rate movements, impact of competing products and their pricing, product demand and supply constraints.)

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Undervalued shares recognized with dividend yield

Oscar Wilde described a cynic as a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Alas, the same description applies to many investors. Recognizing true value and being able to identify quality are two of the greatest forces investors can have behind them in the stock market.

How to Identify Quality

There are many ways of measuring the quality of a share, but the most persuasive characteristic of all is a company’s standing as a blue-chip operation.

To save time and turmoil, to pave the way to profits and, most of all, to minimize risk, the dividend-yield theory should be applied only to the most prosperous and progressive corporations on the stock exchanges — the blue chips.

Why concentrate on blue-chip stocks when searching for quality? Don’t some young, growing companies have high-quality characteristics and potential for paying outstanding dividends? Aren’t there good values to be found in formerly troubled, turnaround companies under new and better management?

Perhaps. Sometimes the company on the brink of disaster does save itself. Small companies do sometimes break clear from the pack and achieve spectacular success.



But with such companies, risk too runs high. There is no way to be certain they will achieve their goals. Talk comes easy; evidence is harder to produce. A lot of young companies in growing industries have not been able to survive the competition. Even a chief executive with a brilliant record may not be able to pull a sinking ship out of deep, dark waters.

The world of blue-chip stocks offers fewer unpleasant surprises. These companies are managed by the best, the most experienced leaders that money can buy. Their products and services are well known and widely distributed. They often are sold on international markets, especially in the lesser-developed countries, where growth potentials still are extraordinary. Blue-chip companies have the most sophisticated research centers, the most elaborate advertising programs, the largest sales organizations and the longest histories of profitable progress.

They are the most willing to share profits with their stockholders, paying dividends that can help investors keep pace with inflation and provide a safety net under the prices of stocks.

Secondly, understanding the cycles of blue chips will help you be positioned at the right place in the market at the right time. Blue-chip shares are generally in the forefront of every major market move. They are among the first stocks to rise in a bull market and nearly the last to fall when the market declines.

In good times, blue-chip companies outperform both their lesser competitors and the economy. In bad times, they resist adversity best. Time and time again, experience has shown, there is no profitable substitute for quality.

What is a blue chip?

Clearly, though, not every share that goes up is a blue-chip stock. To some investors, any share they own is a blue chip!

Confusion over the definition of blue chip in the stock market abounds. Maybe it is the term itself that gets our thinking off track. Originally, the expression comes from the blue chips used in a poker game. The blue chips are the highest denomination of money. They are the most expensive tokens — the most valuable chips in the game.

In the stock market, however, price has little to do with value, and even less to do with the definition of a blue-chip stock. Only as it relates to the dividend, to earnings, or to book value is price an important measure of blue-chip quality.

The term really refers to the quality of the company on which the stock is issued. A blue-chip company is one that has a long history of corporate excellence.

How to Identify Value

But recognizing quality is not enough to guarantee profits in the stock market. Even a top-quality share can be overpriced.

Without conscious effort, we automatically measure relationships of price and value every day of our lives. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that Rs. 1,000/- is an undervalued price for a new car, but an overvalued price for an umbrella.

Once you have identified a high-quality blue-chip share, investors should apply the measures of good value. In this way, both safety of capital and total return are maximized.

If concern about value persists, it makes sense to buy stocks as if buying a company itself — as close to its net asset value (book value) as possible.

Thus, the linking of quality and value in the stock market can help investors select timely — and undervalued — stocks. Close attention to fundamental investment precepts may not be the most glamorous approach to equity investing, but it is the safest and most sane way to ensure long-term investment success.