Buoyed by a strong EV order book Sona Comstar posts a 35 percent jump in Q4 revenues

Powered by a strong order book of Rs 21,500 crore as of March 31, 2023, of which 77 percent is from its electric vehicle programmes, Sona Comstar ended its FY23 fourth quarter. with a 35% year-on-year increase in net revenue of Rs 744 crore.

 The company has posted a net revenue of Rs 2,676 crore, registering a 26 percent YoY growth.

Sona Comstar added twelve new EV programs and seven new EV customers in FY23 in terms of EV growth. The total number of projects awarded increased to 42 across 26 customers.
 
The automotive technology firm, which provides mission-critical systems and components for electrified and non-electrified powertrain segments, also announced a 28% increase in BEV revenue and a 37% increase in EBITDA at Rs 201 crore with a margin of 27.1% and 49% growth.

Vivek Vikram Singh, MD and Group CEO, shared the company's strong order book and attributed its growth to BEV revenue, which increased by 37% year on year to cross Rs 200 crore, accounting for 28% of total revenues.

"We finished FY23 with a strong order book, which gives us confidence that we can maintain our growth momentum in FY24 and beyond." We made significant progress on our technology roadmap in FY23 by developing four new products, he added.

The company, which recently inaugurated its second-largest manufacturing plant in Chakan, Pune, for its driveline products, has already announced plans to invest Rs 1000 crore by FY25 to expand capacity, with the current 230 crore investment in the Chakan facility not being part of the larger investment plan "as it is a decision taken in 2018," company officials indicated.

The company intends to increase its R&D spending by 3 to 6% as it continues to win large orders and increase its global market share in the differentials market.

Sona Comstar achieved its best-ever quarterly result in Q3 FY2023, with the largest single order ever worth Rs 3,350 crore, with manufacturing set to begin in H2 FY2024.

Sanjay Kapoor Chairman and Non-Executive Director SonaComstar, speaking to Autocar Professional informed that the company also plans to eye the upcoming domestic demand for small commercial vehicles, pickup trucks, and electric buses.

From China +1 to India+1
 

According to Kapoor, President of ACMA and Co-Chairman of the CII Manufacturing Council, global Tier 1 suppliers are looking to shift their sourcing from "China+1 to India+1" because of the global slowdown and unstable political environment in China. "OEMs, as well as Tier 1 component makers, are looking at India's stable and strong growth story for their sourcing needs," he revealed.

 The majority of the company's ongoing programmes, according to Singh, will be implemented within the next six months. "On the other hand, with raw material headwinds subsiding and the benefits of operating leverage, we should outperform the industry, aided by a strong EV order book, which currently accounts for 73% of total revenue mix."
Sona Comstar won a new programme from a North American OEM of electric CVs in the fourth quarter, where the company will supply the final drive differential assembly, intermediate gears, and input shafts for electric Class 4 CVs.

"This win demonstrates our ability to keep adding new and higher-value-added products for our customers." Singh went on to explain In FY23, the company created and received orders for four new products: Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), Intermediate Gears, Input Shafts, and Spiral Bevel Gears. Electrification in FY23.
In FY23, the company's BEV revenue share increased 33% year on year to Rs 671 crore, accounting for 26% of total revenue.

According to Yes Securities, the company has a strong order book for its EV driveline programme because its new product Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) is at the higher end of the US$ 30-300 per vehicle range and will be used more in SUVs and pickup trucks. The company also intends to support the domestic EV business, which accounts for nearly 8% of total revenue.

According to Yes Securities, "Sona supports 41 different types of EVs across 25 different customers and has sold 120k traction motors out of 630k EVs sold in India."

The large size of the EV programme wins has now increased the proportion of EVs in this order book, which now stands at 73 percent of its overall sales, according to a company official.