Bharat Electronics - Battlefield set... Victory likely - Angel Broking

Bharat Electronics (BEL) is a PSU and a leader in the domestic defense electronics space, with major proportion of its revenue coming in from the Indian Navy and Army.

Defense spending at an inflexion point: After years of lull, government announced 15.4% yoy increase in Defense Capital Budget to Rs. 94,588cr. In our view, we are at an inflexion point where Indian Defense capex cycle, led by government spending is entering new era of growth. Our view strengthens on account of following developments, (1) Defense sector getting high priority in government's 'Make in India' campaign, with increased emphasis on the indigenization aspect, (2) increase in FDI limits in defense from 26% to 49%, and (3) $47bn worth of projects cleared by Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) in last 19 months, indicating faster clearances in place. Also high expectations are being built from soon to be released Defense Procurement Procedures (DPP). Current bid pipeline, which could lead to strong award activity for next few years, along with abovementioned factors indicate that good times are ahead for Defense sector.

BEL to emerge as key beneficiary: At the backdrop of higher allocation made towards defense capex with ~$47bn worth of projects cleared by DAC, we expect good times ahead for defense players, including BEL. BEL in FY2015 had market share of 37% in domestic defense electronics. On considering (1) bid-pipeline dominated by Indian Airforce and Navy's platform projects, which have high Defense Electronics components requirement, (2) BEL's in-house R&D capabilities, (3) tie-up with Thales, France for product development, and (4) zero debt status with potential for further improvement in working capital cycle, all point out that BEL should maintain its strong market positioning in Defense Electronics space. On a whole, we expect BEL to emerge as key beneficiary of the revival in Defense capex cycle.

Outlook & Valuation: At the current market price of Rs. 1,206/share, BEL is trading at FY2016E and FY2017E P/E multiple of 22.3x and 19.6x, respectively. In the last 5 years, BEL's stock has traded at 1-year forward P/E multiple of 14.0x. We expect BEL to report a 12.4% top-line and 13.7% bottom-line CAGR during FY2015-18E; a similar growth rate is expected to be maintained beyond FY2017E as well. We expect BEL to trade at a premium to its historical valuations on account of the uptick in investment cycle, which indicates strong long-term growth prospects. The current low competitive intensity and the contention of it justifiably commanding a scarcity premium, being the largest listed defense player, make the stock all the more attractive. Considering the long-term growth prospects, which should stretch beyond FY2017E, we assign a 1-year forward P/E multiple of 23.0x to arrive at price target of Rs. 1,414/share. Given the 17% upside from the current levels, we initiate coverage on the stock with a BUY rating.

Shares of BHARAT ELECTRONICS LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.1206 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 1193.4. The total number of shares traded during the day was 16025 in over 1158 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 1216 and intraday low of 1200. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 19329534.

Source : Equity Bulls

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