Tag - R&D

30 Jun

Technological disruption accelerated in the past quarters – LTTS

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

Indian indices ended in the red for the 3rd consecutive day after profit booking by investors. The Nifty 50 ended at 15,722 (-0.2%), dragged by the MEDIA (-0.8%), BANK (-0.7%), and FINANCIAL SERVICES (-0.6%). IT (+0.6%) was the only sector which ended with gains. Among the Nifty 50 stocks, COALINDIA (+1.3%), RELIANCE (+1.2%), and DIVISLAB (+1.1%) ended with gains while SHREECEM (-1.9%), BAJAJFINSV (-1.8%), and POWERGRID (-1.5%) ended with losses.

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Amit Chadha, CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services (LTTS) published in the Financial Express on 30th June 2021:

  • LTTS’s domestic market comprises plant engineering and product design related business, both for Indian conglomerates and MNCs. On the product design side, LTTS works with various global engineering centres or captive centres in the transportation, industrial products, medical and telecom segments. In the plant engineering segment, they help FMCG and chemical companies with the engineering support domain.
  • Over the past one year, LTTS has pushed the boundaries of virtual development by securing remote access to its labs and developing a Home Lab environment for select clients where engineers have high computer equipment replicated at their homes.
  • Engineering and the R&D (ER&D) services involve a suite of services- from ideation, conceptualisation, design, product development, testing and after-market launch, to support and enhance existing products.
  • In the current scenario, a lot of the work has evolved from physical to the secured virtual space- through simulation, high-end systems, and servers. This work can be done anywhere and can be accessed from anywhere.
  • Unlike other industries, the ER&D segment necessitates a part of the work to be executed and experienced upon in labs and requires the physical presence of the workforce in design centres.
  • A major trend LTTS is observing is the pace at which change is taking place. The acceleration of technological change and disruption that has been affecting processes, products, robotic automation in business functioning in the past few quarters has been different from that in the last 10 years.
  • The second megatrend observed is that companies are partnering with start-ups who have point solutions and are creating a technology ecosystem along with them. Enterprises are relying on bringing all the specialised capabilities and integrating them from start to finish. With the travel disruptions under the new normal, customers are comfortable with this nature of work being done out of offshore delivery centres.
  • The biggest change in technology trends is seen in the areas of electric autonomous connected vehicles, 5G technology, digital healthcare and digital manufacturing.
  • As an ER&D destination, India has gained prominence as a strategic R&D hub focused on innovation and disruptive technology. Clients seeking technology partners or India captive centres are no longer offshoring just for cost benefits, but to achieve flexibility and availability of talent, time to market, and localised products for developing and developed markets. This is where LTTS’ engineering domain expertise will help it stay ahead of its competition.
  • In the plant engineering segment, there has been a push from the Government with its ‘Invest in India’ initiative and promotion on setting up manufacturing facilities in India.

Asset Multiplier Comments

  • LTTS is a key beneficiary of the increasing tech adoption in ER&D. With 50% of its revenues coming from digital, LTTS will likely witness revenue growth from a growth in ER&D spends by Companies.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of LTTS was ₹ 2,886/- as of 30-June-2021. It traded at 34x/ 29x/ 26x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 85.1/ 101/ 110 for FY22E/FY23E/FY24E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 2,573/- implies a PE multiple of 23x on FY24E EPS of ₹ 110/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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21 Oct

4QFY21 Revenue run rate to be same as 4QFY20 – LT Technology Services

Update on the Indian Equity market:
On Tuesday, Nifty 50 ended 0.2% higher at 11,897. The gainers were led by HCLTECH (+4.3%), TECHM (+3.2%), and ASIANPAINT (+2.9%), while BRITANNIA (-5.8%), ONGC (-2.6%), and GAIL (-2.3%) led the losers. Among the sectoral indices, REALTY (+3.9%), MEDIA (+2.0%), and IT (+1.4%) led the gainers. PSU BANK (-1.4%), FMCG (-0.4%), and METAL (-0.2%) were the only losers.

LTTS recently released its earnings for 2QFY21. Mr. Keshab Panda, MD, and CEO of L&T Technology Services (LTTS) discussed the result and outlook for FY21 with CNBC TV-18 on 20th October 2020:

• At the beginning of the outbreak of Covid-19, the company took some measures: investment required in new technology, the business model required for each segment, and different geography. These have helped achieve sequential growth in each segment.
• All 5 segments will grow sequentially going forward. The company will offer the new technology demanded by customers quickly in the post-Covid era.
• There are two reasons for ~160 bps improvement in margins sequentially. First, revenue increased 4.1% QoQ and there has been a 4.5% increase in utilization in Q2. There is some room for improvement in the coming quarters as well.
• LTTS has learned that solution selling. To give an example, their medical devices segment which is doing well, they are thinking of taking it to the pharmaceutical and provider space.
• There are multiple levels- operational lever, solution offering lever, and business mix for margin growth going ahead.
• Margin growth depends on the business mix. Some of the segments they have are highly profitable and some segments are not as profitable. Telecom, industrial, and plant engineering have higher segmental margins compared to hi-tech, and part of the transportation subsegment.
• Another parameter is the offsite-onshore ratio. LTTS did well in Q2 and moving forward if customers believe the work can be done from home, the work will be done from India. Higher engineering offshoring will also add to margin improvement going ahead.
• Revenue and margins are expected to be better in Q3 and Q4. The management has guided for a revenue decline of ~7-8% for FY21.
• They intend is to come back to growth as soon as possible. Q1 suffered a drop in revenue and cash flow issue and realigning will take some time.
• Goal is that the 4QFY21 revenue run rate should be the same as 4QFY20.
• The impact of furlough coming in 3Q for LTTS is not clear yet. The positive side is the pipeline and orders in hand and how soon the proposals are accepted by customers.
• Sizeable deals got pushed to Q3 as the decision-making circle is a little longer today than in pre-Covid. Some analysis which was not done by customers in pre-covid is been done today. Cost-saving, analysis of cash flow, business model, credentials -all these are analyzed extensively post Covid.
Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)
• The closing price of LTTS was ₹ 1748/- as of 20-October-2020. It traded at 27.7x/ 21.9x/ 18.8x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 63.2/ 79.7/ 93.0 per share for FY21E/FY22E/FY23E respectively.
• The consensus target price of ₹ 1537 implies a PE multiple of 16x on FY23E EPS of ₹ 93.0/-.
Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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