Petronet LNG disappoints and tanks

Petronet LNG has disappointed investors and traders alike with a poor set of Q1FY15 numbers and this has led to the share price tanking, figuring amongst the top losers of the day. The stock is currently down 4.5% at Rs.171.75, closer to its intra day low at Rs.170.75.

The company, for Q1Fy15 posted a 30% (YoY) decline in net profit at Rs.157 crore and this was mainly on the back of higher interest outgo, which rose by a whopping 225% to Rs.78 crore. This rise in interest charges was on account of capitalizing the books of accounts of its Kochi LNG terminal. Lower margins ar Dahej terminal also added to the woes. Following this performance, a slew of brokerage houses have downgraded the stock, with Credit Suisse downgrading from ‘neutral’ to ‘underperform’ and ditto for HSBC too.