MRF

** Shares of tyre maker MRF MRF.NS up 1.8% to a record 155,670 rupees

** Auto dealers saw increased footfalls as buyers thronged dealerships in large numbers on Monday to buy vehicles with lower price tags under the new GST regime, PTI reports, citing Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) President C S Vigneshwar

** Increased vehicle demand positive for tyre manufacturers; rivals CEAT CEAT.NS, JK Tyre JKIN.NS up 0.6%, 0.8% respectively

** Separately, MRF says Tamil Nadu plant partially active despite some workers' strike

** Avg rating of 10 analysts is "hold"; median PT is 133,282 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, MRF up 17% vs CEAT's 7% gain vs JKIN's 3% fall vs Nifty Auto's .NIFTYAUTO 20% advance

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

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Aug 12 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• MRF Q1 PROFIT FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS 4.84 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF Q1 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 75.6 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of tyre maker MRF MRF.NS climb 0.5% to 141,110 rupees

** CLSA raises PT on India's priciest stock to 168,426 rupees from 128,599 rupees; retains "outperform" rating

** CLSA's new PT is the highest among brokerages tracking the stock, compared to the previous Street high of 160,000 rupees by Anand Rathi

** Brokerage says it expects MRF's margins to improve significantly on lower crude oil-based raw material costs and easing Indian rubber prices

** Brent crude futures LCOc1 have dropped 18% so far this year

** CLSA estimates EBITDA margin will improve to 17.3%-17.8% by FY27 from 14.3% in FY25

** Adds, MRF's better portfolio has helped it outperform peers and should also help it generate free cash flow of 27 billion rupees ($318.7 million) in FY27

** Avg rating on the stock is a "hold", compared to "buy" for CEAT CEAT.NS, Apollo Tyres APLO.NS and JK Tyre JKIN.NS - data compiled by LSEG

** MRF stock's 7.8% YTD climb this year trails only CEAT's 16% rise

($1 = 84.7200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of MRF ltd MRF.NS up 3.7% at 140,000 rupees

** Tyre maker reports Q4 profit from cont ops of 4.98 billion rupees, beating analysts' estimate of 3.57 billion rupees, per data compiled by LSEG

** Rev came largely in line with estimates at 69.44 billion rupees

** MRF also declares dividend of 229 rupees per share

** Trading volume pick up post earnings announcement, currently at nearly 2x the 30-day avg

** Stock up 7% so far in 2025

(Reporting by Nishit Navin)

(([email protected];))

Feb 6 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• MRF Q3 PROFIT FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS 3.07 BILLION RUPEES; IBES PROFIT EST. 4.20 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF Q3 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 68.83 BILLION RUPEES; IBES EST. 67.33 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF - DIVIDEND 3 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text: ID:nBSE38Y7rK

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

Nov 8 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• Q1 PROFIT FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS 4.55 BILLION RUPEES; IBES PROFIT EST. 4.25 BILLION RUPEES

• Q1 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 67.60 BILLION RUPEES; IBES EST. 65.74 BILLION RUPEES

• DIVIDEND 3 RUPEES PER SHARE

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of tyre maker MRF MRF.NS rise as much as 4.3% to 140,470 rupees

** Co's Q1 profit from cont. ops fell about 3.3% y/y to 5.63 bln rupees ($67.1 mln), but beat analysts' estimate of 4.25 bln rupees, as per LSEG data

** Co set to snap a five-day losing streak, if gains hold

** More than 17,000 shares change hands, 1.6x its 30-day avg

** Analysts' avg rating on stock is "sell", their median PT is 104,500 rupees - about 30% lower than last closing price

** At current levels, MRF stock has risen ~9% YTD

($1 = 83.9600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

By Praveen Paramasivam

May 8 (Reuters) - Rockwell Automation ROK.N is mulling expanding its technology workforce and opening more factories to boost manufacturing in India, a senior executive said on Wednesday, days after unveiling plans to construct a plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The industrial automation equipment maker, which completed 40 years in India in 2023, counts many manufacturing giants, including Reliance Industries RELI.NS, Mahindra Group and MRF MRF.NS, as its customers.

"We see India as a technology hub for our current and future product development, hardware and software," Rockwell Asia Pacific Regional President Scott Wooldridge told Reuters on Wednesday.

Rockwell, which currently employs 4,500 people and has a majority of its Indian tech workers in Noida, Pune and Bengaluru, also plans to sharpen its focus on hardware and software product development by hiring more people for its technology centers.

"We'd continue to expand at a similar rate to what we've expanded the last five or six years, where we went from 500 to 3,500," Wooldridge said.

Rockwell's plan comes at a time when Indian IT majors are going slow on hiring due to clients cutting back spending and deferring projects due to macroeconomic challenges.

Last week, Rockwell, which has products that are deployed in a range of manufacturing sectors including tyremaking machines and vaccine production lines, said it would open a factory in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

Rockwell has plans to open more factories in India, which is benefiting from global manufacturers vying to expand their production footprint beyond China.

"We see (the Chennai plant) as a start of a manufacturing campus strategy ... We're looking for the opportunity to build more manufacturing capacity and move more products to India," Woolridge said.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

May 3 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• MRF Q4 PROFIT FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS 3.80 BILLION RUPEES; LSEG IBES PROFIT EST. 5.05 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF Q4 REV FROM OPS 62.15 BLN RUPEES; LSEG IBES EST. 61.68 BLN RUPEES

• MRF YR AGO Q4 PROFIT 4.11 BLN RUPEES; REV 57.25 BLN RUPEES

• DIVIDEND 194 RUPEES PER SHR

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];;))

Feb 9 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• MRF Q3 PROFIT FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS 5.08 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF Q3 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 60.48 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF YEAR AGO Q3 PROFIT 1.69 BILLION RUPEES; REVENUE 55.35 BILLION RUPEES

• MRF LTD - DIVIDEND 3 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];;))

Jan 31 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• CO DIRECTED TO PAY ENVIRONMENTAL COMPENSATION OF 1.3 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

Jan 3 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• ENTERED INTO A CAPTIVE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH FIRST ENERGY 8

• WILL BE ACQUIRING UPTO 27.2% OF PAID UP EQUITY OF FIRST ENERGY 8

• COST OF ACQUISITION AT 358.7 MILLION RUPEES

• ENTERED INTO CAPTIVE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR PURCHASE OF WIND POWER UNDER CAPTIVE POWER POLICY OF GOVERNMENT

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE2vkB3J

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

Nov 30 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• ENTERED INTO A CAPTIVE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH FIRST ENERGY 5

• AGREEMENT FOR PURCHASE OF WIND POWER UNDER CAPTIVE POWER POLICY OF GOVERNMENT

• IN THIS CONNECTION WILL ACQUIRE UPTO 11.95% OF PAID UP EQUITY OF COMPANY

• COST OF ACQUISITION 113.5 MILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

Nov 10 (Reuters) - MRF Ltd MRF.NS:

• ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT WITH FIRST ENERGY 6 FOR PURCHASE OF SOLAR POWER

• WILL ACQUIRE UPTO 11.57% OF PAID UP EQUITY OF FIRST ENERGY 6

• FIRST ENERGY 6 DEAL FOR 51.7 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEK6163

Further company coverage: MRF.NS

(([email protected];))

BENGALURU, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's MRF MRF.NS reported quarterly profit broadly in line with expectations on Friday, as the tyremaker benefited from softer raw material prices and steady demand for commercial vehicles.

Standalone profit from continuous operations jumped over fourfold to 5.72 billion rupees ($68.71 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, while analysts, on average, expected a profit of 5.71 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

Steady demand for replacement tyres, and for commercial and passenger vehicles will drive up India's tyre volumes in the current fiscal year, analysts at Crisil Ratings had said in September.

Analysts expected price hikes and premiumisation to help revenue growth in auto and auto ancillary firms in the second quarter despite the delay in the festive season.

A dealers body said last month that India's retail vehicle sales rose 20% in September and forecast a strong festive season, with easing monsoon worries and higher rural demand helping sentiment.

MRF's cost of materials consumed fell 9.7% to 37.15 billion rupees in the quarter, while total expenses also dipped 4.4%.

The Chennai-based company's revenue from operations grew 6.4% to 60.88 billion rupees in the quarter.

Rivals CEAT CEAT.NS and Goodyear India GDYR.NS also reported a rise in their quarterly profits on lower input costs.

MRF shares, which have gained nearly 23% in market value so far this year, fell 2.3% after the results.

($1 = 83.2520 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

(([email protected]; +91 8921483410;))

CHENNAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Indian tyremaker MRF MRF.NS reported a more-than-five-fold surge in first-quarter earnings on Thursday, beating estimates, as raw material prices eased and demand for higher-priced vehicles from consumers in urban areas held steady.

Standalone profit from continuous operations jumped 417% to 5.81 billion rupees ($70.21 million) for the quarter ended June, from 1.12 billion rupees, a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of almost 3.83 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Earlier this week, MRF's larger rival CEAT CEAT.NS posted a nearly 16-fold jump in profit.

Tyre companies reaped the benefits of a fall in rubber prices, a key raw material for the industry, with prices having fallen by 20%-25% over the last year through May, according to HDFC Securities.

This was reflected in MRF's cost of materials consumed, which fell 8% to 37.22 million rupees.

Total expenses, however, grew 2.5% from a year ago thanks to higher sales.

High-income consumers have largely shrugged off the impact of high inflation to splurge on popular utility vehicles and premium motorcycles, while easing supply-chain bottlenecks also helped gradually ramp up production.

Indian automakers recorded an increase in passenger vehicle (PV) demand in recent months, aided by demand for new models, while premium two-wheeler makers reported sales growth on steady urban demand.

Consequently, revenue from operations rose 13% to 63.23 billion rupees.

Rival JK Tyre JKIN.NS reports results later this week.

Shares of MRF, which reappointed K. M. Mammen as its managing director for five years effective February 2024, rose over 2% post-results to hit a record high, extending gains to 18% this year.

The company, which began as a toy balloon manufacturer a year before India's independence, makes a slew of products, including racing car tyres, paints and toys.

($1 = 82.7575 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

BENGALURU, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Tyre manufacturer Goodyear India GDYR.NS reported a higher quarterly profit as a drop in raw material prices helped make up for its first revenue fall in 12 quarters on low demand.

The Indian unit of U.S.-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co GT.O said standalone profit rose 4% to 392.6 million rupees ($4.8 million) in the first quarter.

While revenue from operations fell about 12% to 7.2 billion rupees, that was more than offset by a roughly 13% drop in expenses due to lower raw material prices.

Rubber prices, a key raw material for the tyre industry, have fallen by about 20%-25% over the last year through May, according to HDFC Securities.

However, Goodyear's revenue was hurt by lower sales volumes due to subdued demand and index-based price reduction to vehicle makers, the company said.

The company sells tyres to both car and other passenger vehicle makers as well as to commercial vehicle makers, especially tractor makers, whose sales have suffered this quarter.

While automaker Maruti Suzuki India MRTI.NS reported strong sales, the likes of Mahindra and Mahindra MAHM.NS and Escorts Kubota ESCO.NS have reported a drop in tractor sales.

"While the current economic environment remains challenging, we expect the industry to bounce back, specially in the light of good monsoon which should help stimulate the rural demand", said Goodyear India Chairman and Managing Director Sandeep Mahajan.

The company's larger rival CEAT CEAT.NS, however, reported a near 16-fold jump in profit as rubber prices fell and demand for passenger vehicles climbed. MRF MRF.NS and JK Tyre JKIN.NS will report results later this week.

Goodyear India's shares ended the day nearly 3% lower, ahead of the results, but have gained 24.5% so far this year. CEAT's shares have surged nearly 50% in that period, while MRF has risen 16% and JK Tyre 38%.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber will report its quarterly results later in the day.

($1 = 82.5440 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91 7982114624;))

** Shares of MRF MRF.NS rise as much as 1.5% to a fresh all-time high of 100,439.95 rupees

** Stock above its 50-, 100-, and 200-day exponential moving averages since April 27, suggesting bullish bias

** Stock's Relative Strength Index climbs above 70 in early trade, indicating it is overbought

** Stock rose nearly 7% since MRF's Q4 earnings on May 3

** Trading volume at ~6,400 shares, just over 0.5x the 30-day avg

** Average rating of ten analysts at equivalent of 'sell'; median PT is 79,200 rupees - Refinitiv data

** Including session's gains, stock last up 13% so far this year

(Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

May 4 (Reuters) -

Indian tyremaker CEAT Ltd CEAT.NS reported a more-than-five-fold increase in its fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, aided by low raw material costs and strong domestic demand.

CEAT's consolidated net profit rose to 1.34 billion rupees ($16.40 million) in the three months ended March 31, from 252.5 million rupees a year ago.

Analysts, on average had expected a profit of 908.3 million rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES.

Indian car and bike makers have reported strong domestic growth, which, in turn, has boosted demand for tyre makers. They have also hiked prices that, analysts said, would boost margins.

The Mumbai-based CEAT's revenue rose about 11% to 28.75 billion rupees. Its total expenses rose 5% but the cost of materials consumed fell 6.1%.

That, and the price hikes, helped CEAT's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin increase to 13.1% from 7.2% last year.

"On exports, we continue to face pressure as a result of global economic headwinds, largely spurred by the ongoing war and the currency devaluation," Vice Chairman Anant Goenka said in a statement.

However, while wholesale commercial and passenger vehicle sales growth moderated in April, analysts expect demand for replacement tyres would provide cushion to tyremakers including CEAT rivals MRF Ltd MRF.NS, Apollo Tyres Ltd APLO.NS and JK Tyre & Industries Ltd JKIN.NS in the coming quarters.

"We have begun to see some recovery in exports and the replacement market, especially in the commercial category. We are hopeful that the coming quarters will see a further uptick in growth," CEAT said.

Earlier this week, MRF Ltd MRF.NS said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled.

CEAT's shares closed 1.07% higher. The company recommended a final dividend of 12 rupees per share.

($1 = 81.7320 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of MRF Ltd MRF.NS rise as much as 4.86% to 92,900 rupees, highest in nearly three months

** Company reports 162% Y/Y rise in March quarter profit, revenue up 10%, core profit up 60%

** The tyre manufacturer also approves final dividend of 169 rupees per share for FY23

** Stock is most active in nearly three months since Feb. 9, with a trading volume of 21,046 shares as of 1:34 p.m. IST, five times the 30-day avg - Refinitiv data

** The relative strength index of the stock is 75, suggesting it is overbought

** Of 10 analysts tracking MRF, one maintains "buy", eight recommend "sell" and one suggests "hold"; median TP is 75,250 rupees

($1 = 81.8300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463))