Thermax beats Q4 profit expectations on back of strong sales growth

Indian sustainable energy solutions provider Thermax Ltd posted a better-than-expected jump of 52% in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, helped by a 16% rise in sales.

Consolidated net profit rose to 1.56 billion rupees ($19.08 million) for the three months ended March 31, from 1.03 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts, on an average, had expected a profit of 1.52 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Meanwhile, Thermax saw a decline of 34%, or 22.54 billion rupees, in its order book in the quarter as the corresponding quarter a year ago had included two significantly large orders.

In March, Thermax had signed an agreement with Fortescue Future Industries to explore green hydrogen projects in India; with this foray, the company's green solutions segment contributed 28% to the order book.

Revenue from operations rose to 23.11 billion rupees, helped by its industrial infra segment that deals in engineering for power plants, which registered a healthy momentum and grew nearly 18%, benefiting from a softening in commodity prices.

The company's board also declared a dividend of 10 rupees per share.

Thermax shares had risen 16.5% during the quarter ended March and climbed 23.6% so far this year.