Buy Astral, target price Rs 1,475: Axis Securities

Axis Securities has a buy call on Astral with a target price of Rs 1,475. The current market price of Astral Ltd. is Rs 1314.95. Astral, incorporated in 1996, is a Mid Cap company with a market cap of Rs 35240.85 crore, operating in Plastics sector.

Astral's key products/revenue segments include Plastic Products and Other Operating Revenue for the year ending 31-Mar-2024.



Financials
For the quarter ended 31-12-2024, the company has reported a Consolidated Total Income of Rs 1408.80 crore, up 2.15% from last quarter Total Income of Rs 1379.20 crore and up 2.34 % from last year same quarter Total Income of Rs 1376.60 crore. The company has reported net profit after tax of Rs 112.70 crore in the latest quarter.

The company?s top management includes Mr.Sandeep P Engineer, Mr.Kairav Engineer, Mr.Dhinal Shah, Mr.Chetas Desai, Mr.C K Gopal, Mr.Viral M Jhaveri, Mrs.Kaushal D Nakrani, Mr.Girish B Joshi, Mrs.Jagruti S Engineer, Mr.Hiranand Savlani. Company has S R B C & Co. LLP as its auditors. As on 31-12-2024, the company has a total of 27 crore shares outstanding.

Investment Rationale
Astral has reiterated its EBITDA margin guidance of 16-18%, although additional capex for new plants, product launches, and distribution expansion have led to higher costs. These are expected to normalise as volumes grow. Axis Securities recommends a BUY rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,475/share, implying an upside of 10% from the CMP.
Promoter/FII Holdings
Promoters held 54.1 per cent stake in the company as of 31-Dec-2024, while FIIs owned 21.07 per cent, DIIs 13.76 per cent.