Page Industries Declares Rs 75/Dividend, Net Profit Dips 23% YoY In Q1

On Thursday, Page Industries announced a net profit of Rs 158.3 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 (Q1FY24), a drop of 23.5% year on year (YoY) from a profit of Rs 207 crore in the same period last year. Its revenue from operations was Rs 1,240 in Q1FY24, a drop of 7.77% from the Rs 1,344.5 crore reported in Q1FY23. The company's basic earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter under review was Rs 141.98, compared to Rs 185.62 in the same quarter last year. EBIDTA for the quarter was Rs 241.7 crore, a drop of 18.8%, and EBIDTA margin was 19.5 percent, a drop of 270 basis points YoY.

"We further inform you that the Board of Directors of the Company at their meeting held today (i.e., 10 August 2023) has declared 1st Interim Dividend 2023-24 of Rs. 75/- per equity share. As informed earlier, the record date fixed for the payment of interim dividend is 19 August 2023. The date fixed for payment of dividend is on or before 7 September 2023," said Page Industries in a stock exchange filing.

Page Industries has announced an equity dividend of 2500.00% at a face value of Rs 10, or Rs 250 per share, for the financial year ended March 2023. This generates a dividend yield at the current share price of Rs 40234.75 of 0.62%. The company has a solid track record of dividend declarations during the past five years. Page Industries Ltd. has issued 62 dividends since August 27, 2007, according to data from Trendlyne.

"PAGE Q1FY24 results were below our estimates. Revenue declined 8% YoY as volume declined ~11.5% YoY owing to weak demand, high baseline and increased competitive intensity. ARS is largely complete, so the impact on revenue will be limited. Management emphasized that demand remains volatile and expects recovery only from Q3, led by the festive season. Margins remain weak due to the high base but improved on a sequential basis due to various cost control measures," said Axis Securities in a note.

"Q1FY24 volume declined 11.5% YoY to 5.58 Cr pieces as 1) demand remains volatile and 2) competitive intensity increased in the form of promotions and discounts. The company highlighted that volume has improved in the last two weeks, while it expects demand to improve only from Q3, led by the festive season. We hope for a better H2FY24, but until then, we maintain our 'wait-and-watch' approach on the stock and therefore maintain our HOLD rating on the stock," said the analysts of Axis Securities.

"We maintain a HOLD rating on the stock as we cut our target multiple and FY24/25 PAT estimates by 9%/7% owing to the above-mentioned challenges and revised our TP to Rs 40,400/share as we roll over our estimates to Jun'25," said the brokerage firm.
Commenting on the outlook of Page Industries, analysts of Axis Securities said "We like management's unwavering focus on expanding distribution through multiple channels (MBOs, EBOs, LFS) and smaller cities, and their consistent commitment to implementing ARS across the retail network despite short-term volume pressures. This will make PAGE more flexible and stronger than its competitors in the long run. However, short- term challenges such as a subdued demand environment and increased competitive intensity will keep volume growth and margin development in check."

Page Industries Share Price Outlook

"Much better Q1FY24 results as compared to the previous quarter has led to a sharp uptrend in Page Industries on the Daily charts with next resistance at 41570. Investors should be booking profits at current overbought levels or keep a strict stop loss of Daily support of 39415," A R Ramachandran, Co-founder & Trainer - Tips2trades said.

On Friday, the shares of Page Industries opened on the BSE at Rs 40001 apiece. While writing this copy the scrip was trading at Rs 40600 apiece up by 1.33% from the previous close of Rs 40066.70.