Shares of Havells India gained over 2 per cent in afternoon trade on Friday after the company on Wednesday reported a 4.44 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 178.62 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2018.The consumer electrical goods maker had posted Rs 171.02 crore profit for the same period a year ago.
Standalone revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,190.99 crore against Rs 1,777.36 crore in September quarter 2017.HDFC Securities said Havells earnings were a mixed bag with strong revenue growth, even as Ebitda margin pressure rose than expected.
Margin pressure was due to delayed price hike (volatility in commodity prices) and heavy base (inventory gain in cables wires in 2QFY18), the brokerage said in a report.HDFC Securities has Buy rating on Havells India with a target price of Rs 693.
At 12.30 pm on Friday, the scrip traded 2.09 per cent higher at Rs 598, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 409 points, or 1.18 per cent, at 34,370.