Shares of Havells India Ltd slipped more than 3% in early trade on April 23, despite the company reporting robust growth in both revenue and profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The decline appears to be driven by cautious forward guidance and concerns over inflationary pressures affecting consumer demand.
Strong Q4, but margin worries persist
In its Q4 FY25 results, Havells India reported a 15.92% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit to ₹517.83 crore, compared to ₹446.70 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations rose 20.24% YoY to ₹6,543.56 crore, driven by strong performance in key segments such as Lloyd Consumer (+39.3% YoY), Cables, and Switchgears.
However, EBITDA margins saw a marginal contraction, coming in at 11.57% versus 11.66% YoY, which may have tempered market enthusiasm. While EBITDA grew 19.3% YoY to ₹757 crore, analysts pointed to inflationary headwinds and sluggish secondary demand in B2C summer categories as key concerns.
Segment performance snapshot:
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Lloyd Consumer segment revenue surged to ₹1,873.55 crore from ₹1,345.88 crore (+39.3% YoY)
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Cables: ₹2,169.37 crore vs ₹1,789.55 crore (+21.3% YoY)
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Switchgears: ₹691.83 crore vs ₹651.28 crore (+6.2% YoY)
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Lighting & Fixtures: ₹441.72 crore vs ₹435.30 crore (+1.5% YoY)
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Electrical Consumer Durables: ₹997.26 crore vs ₹910.37 crore (+9.5% YoY)
Dividend declaration: The board has recommended a final dividend of ₹6 per equity share, in addition to the interim dividend of ₹4 per share declared earlier, bringing the total FY25 payout to ₹10 per share.
Brokerage view: Equirus cautious despite upbeat Q4
Equirus has maintained a ‘Long’ rating on Havells with a revised target price of ₹1,967 for June 2026, down from its earlier ₹2,057 (Mar 2026). The brokerage noted that while FY25 ended on a strong note, the demand outlook remains gloomy.
According to Equirus:
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Growth was strong in Lloyd (+40% YoY) and Cables & Wires (C&W), but core revenue ex-C&W grew only 8% YoY amid inflationary pressures.
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B2C demand was muted, especially in summer product categories, and management flagged a slowdown in April, leading to uncertainty for Q1 FY26E.
