See 15% sales growth in Q4, to cut debt by yr-end: Vadilal

Vadilal is one of the largest ice cream manufacturers in India with a 15 percent market share in the domestic business, being second to Amul in terms of volumes.

Vadilal Industries  has been in the news of late on falling demand due to unseasonal rains and impending restructuring. The stock is up 38 percent from the start of 2015.

Discussing the latest plans and future outlook, CMD Rajesh Gandhi said the March-April sales have not been very encouraging and the company is expecting a 15 percent growth during the quarter.

Vadilal is one of the largest ice cream manufacturers in India with a 15 percent market share in the domestic business, being second to Amul in terms of volumes. The company has an integrated supply chain and around 78-80 percent revenues come from the ice cream business. It has plants in Gujarat & Bareily. The other businesses include dairy, chemicals and realty.

According to an Antique report, the promoters have been planning to merge Vadilal Industries and Vadilal Enterprises with an intention to exit from non-core business like frozen foods and gas. The company's frozen foods business valued is at Rs 60 crore and it plans to pare debt with the sale proceeds.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Gandhi said the company has sufficient capacity and that no further capex is planned. He said the merger of Vadilal Enterprises  with the company may take 8-9 months. "We expect sales of Rs 550 crore for the merged entity, with margins of 13.5-14 percent," Gandhi said, adding that the company is looking to reduce debt to Rs 150-160 crore by year-end.

for full interview

Vadilal Ind stock price

On April 15, 2015, at 14:30 hrs Vadilal Industries was quoting at Rs 338.20, down Rs 17.8, or 5 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 361.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 155.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 2.00 per share as per the quarter ended December 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 169.1. The latest book value of the company is Rs 73.29 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 4.61.