RITES Q4 net profit dips 2% to ₹138 Cr, Board recommends 60% dividend

The Miniratna Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, RITES Ltd, formerly known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, has announced its Q4 earnings. Following the announcement, the stock price fell by over 1%.

“The Board of Directors have recommended final dividend for the Financial Year 2022-23 at the rate of ₹6 per share (60 % of paid-up share capital) of the company subject to the approval of shareholders in upcoming Annual General Meeting,” said Rites in a stock exchange filing.

During the quarter ended March 2023, the company recorded revenue from operations of ₹686.81 Cr down by 10.34% YoY from ₹766.02 Cr recorded during the quarter ended March 2022. The company posted a net income of ₹705.63 Cr during Q4FY23 compared to ₹787.52 Cr during Q4FY22.

During the quarter under review, its net expenses reached ₹514.17 Cr down by 12.54% YoY from ₹587.95 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Rites said its Q4FY23 net profit reached ₹138.89 Cr down by 2.43% YoY from ₹142.38 Cr in Q4FY22. The EPS of Rites stood at ₹5.49 compared to ₹5.69 recorded in the same quarter of FY22.

Commenting on Q4 results, A R Ramachandran, Co-founder & Trainer-Tips2trades said "Below average Q4FY23 results with drop in both topline and operating margins has resulted in a fall in Rites stock price with strong resistance at 403 on the Daily charts. A daily close below support of 376 could lead to targets of 351-313 in the near term."

The shares of Rites Ltd closed today on the NSE at ₹389.25 apiece down by 1.83% from the previous close of ₹396.50 apiece. The stock touched a 52-week-high of ₹433.00 on (08-May-2023) and a 52-week-low of ₹226.20 on (20-Jun-2022). RITES has announced an equity dividend of 170.00% at a face value of ₹10, or ₹17 per share, for the fiscal year ending March 2022. This generates a dividend yield of 4.37% at the current share price of ₹389.25. The company has a solid track record of dividend declarations during the past five years. Rites Ltd. has issued 17 dividends since September 11, 2018, according to data from Trendlyne. During Q4FY23, Rites recorded promoters shareholding of 72.20%, FIIs stake of 3.37%, DIIs stake of 15.89%, and a public stake of 8.53%.