CLSA boosts Maruti's EBITDA margin by 490 bps
CLSA, the leading Asia-pacific focused international brokerage firm, has boosted the prediction for Maruti's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 490 bps.
CLSA said that the Indian automaker will gain from new launches and weakness in Yen. Maruti Suzuki's exposure to Yen is about 20 to 25 per cent, according to experts. There are indications that the company will be able to improve margins by reducing the costs of importing auto parts from Japan. The Yen fell to its lowest level in three years on Friday.
The Yen has fallen against other global currencies like US dollar and euro after Japan's central bank took unprecedented steps to boost economic growth. The Bank of Japan has announced plans to infuse $1.4 trillion into the Japanese economy in under two years by acquiring government bonds in order to return the economy to inflation and boost growth.
"We have assumed that Maruti will retain just a third of the Yen benefits but this will still be enough to boost EBITDA margins by 160 bps from 2HFY13 and 10 per cent in FY14," said the CLSA note.
In a move that will boost the company's valuations, the brokerage advised investors to buy the stock for a 12-month time frame with a target price of Rs 1850, which is about a third higher than the current market price of the shares of the company.