In chat with Anil Singhvi, Escorts Group CFO Bharat Madan reveals launches scenario, outlook for 2021, Budget expectations

In today’s edition of News Par Views show, Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi spoke to Bharat Madan, Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Escorts - a company which started its operation in 1944. The company is into the business of manufacturing Tractors, agricultural equipment, construction and railway equipment. (#NewsParViews) 

Escorts Group CFO Madan said that the growing sales in the tractor segment was the result of an increased demand being seen in the industry. In December the industry sales grew by 45 per cent, he added. 

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Escorts Group CFO said that all the supply constraints due to the pandemic were over in December. The demand was there. He said that there has also been a pre-buying because of which the domestic sales went up as the OMCs are planning to raise the prices from January because of inflation.  

There is a concern around the prices of steel, which are going up.  

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बेहतर सप्लाई के चलते बिक्री में बढ़त... किसान आंदोलन खत्म होने पर मांग बढ़ने की उम्मीद: भरत मदान, ग्रुप CFO, एस्कॉर्ट्स#NewsParViews #Escorts @AnilSinghvi_ @escortsgroup pic.twitter.com/YCKD8mUilC

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) January 4, 2021

He said that the harvesting season is going to start now and buying activity is not much during this time, he said responding to a question if the farmers’ strike has been impacting the sales scenario. He said that the buying activity will start from the middle of February and if the protests continue during that time, then there could be some impact on the sales. 

Outlook for 2021 

He said that in FY21, the industry has been showing record performance with domestic sales in excess of 660,000. The last peak was around 739,000 tractors. The industry will establish a new peak this time, he said. The industry-wise sales could go up as high as 870,000 units which is 15-20% jump. The first quarter is also expected to see a double-digit growth. After this, it will depend upon how the monsoon as   per cent growth. There will also be a base impact and since the demand in June 2020 was quite high, the growth is likely to fall a bit. He expected a flat or single digit grow.      

On new launches by Escorts  

He said that there are launches planned by Escorts in the next financial year across the verticals. 

On Budget 2021 Expectations 

The five-year plan presented by the government indicates that the Railway business outlook is quite strong. It has been taling about spending Rs 1.3 lakh cr annually. The growth is expected to continue in this sector. There were some temporary issues because of the pandemic and the government buying was slow. But, it is expected to pick up, going forward, Madan said.