SML Isuzu shares jump 18% after reporting strong sales

Shares of SML Isuzu jumped more than 18 per cent during the early trading session on Monday after the automobile company reported strong sales numbers in the March 2023 month and in the year ended on March 31, 2023. Even with the muted performance in terms of cargo vehicle sales, its overall performance impressed Dalal street.

In March 2022, passenger vehicle sales of SML Isuzu jumped 167 per cent to 1,778 units from 665 units in March 2022. The company reported a 296 per cent rise in the sale of passenger vehicles at 8,284 units in the entire 2022-23 year. Its passenger vehicle sales in the previous year stood at 2,092 units.

However, its cargo vehicle sales in the month of March 2023 dropped 44 per cent to 391 units from 698 during the same month in the previous year. Also, its overall cargo vehicle sales for the year declined 22 per cent to 4,158 units, compared to 5,300 units in the year-ago period.

Despite this performance, the total sales of SML Isuzu surged 59 per cent to 2,169 units in the month of March, compared to 1,363 units in the year-ago period. The auto company sold a total of 12,442 units in the entire FY 22-23, 68 per cent higher than the previous year when it sold 7,392 units.

Following the announcement, shares of SML Isuzu surged more than 18 per cent to Rs 872.65 on Monday, before giving up some gains to trade at Rs 836.70 at 11.45 am. The scrip had settled at Rs 737.10 on Friday.

Even with a flat performance in the year-to-date (YTD), shares of SML Isuzu have jumped about 30 per cent in the last 5 sessions. However, the stock has gained 20 per cent in the last one year, whereas it has surged about 300 per cent in the last three years.

Incorporated in 1983, SML Isuzu, formerly known as Swaraj Mazda, is a vehicle manufacturer which produces and sells buses, ambulances and customized vehicles. Sumitomo Corporation and Isuzu Motors hold a 44 per cent and 15 per cent stake in the company respectively.

The company manufactures light commercial vehicles like trucks, buses, school buses, ambulances, police personnel carriers, water tankers and special vehicles. It exports its products to countries like Nepal, Zambia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Seychelles, Syria, Jordan.