Indian engineering firm Thermax's Q3 profit rises on strong industrial demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian engineering company Thermax reported an 11% year-on-year rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strong demand for its industrial products.

Consolidated profit before tax and exceptional items rose to 1.83 billion rupees ($22.1 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, from 1.65 billion rupees a year ago.

Engineering companies in India have been benefitting from the government's push on infrastructure, clean energy and indigenisation through increased capex and production-linked incentive schemes.

The order flow at capital goods majors such as Larsen & Toubro, Siemens and Thermax have risen by an average of 28% YoY for the last six quarters, brokerage Jefferies estimated last month.

Among peers, KEC International reported its profit surged more than five-fold in the quarter, while Cummins India said its profit increased 20.6%.

Thermax's sales of industrial products -- such as for heating, cooling, water and waste management -- increased 19.5% in the quarter.

Revenue from its industrial infrastructure business, which includes building large boilers, turnkey power plants, and wastewater treatment plants increased by 9.7%.

These two businesses accounted for more than 90% of the company's total revenue, which rose 13.4% to 23.24 billion rupees.

Thermax, which serves industries ranging from aviation, and cement to renewable energy, said its order booking for the quarter was 17% higher year-on-year at 11.54 billion rupees.

It also approved an additional capital expenditure of 450 million rupees to set up an ion exchange resin manufacturing plant.

Thermax's shares jumped 6.8% to a record high after the results, before reversing course to trade down 2.4%. The stock had risen 56.6% in 2023. ($1 = 82.9832 Indian rupees)

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