By Amanda Lee


Mahindra & Mahindra shares gained ground after sales of the Indian automaker's sport utility vehicles jumped in the latest quarter.

Shares were 5.5% higher at 1,749.00 Indian rupees ($21.06) Thursday afternoon, on track for their biggest one-day percentage gain since May 2021.

The company said late Wednesday that revenue in the quarter ended December rose 15% compared with the same period a year earlier, helped by its highest ever auto sales volume for the period. That segment's strength was offset by lower sales of tractors, part of the company's second-largest segment.

Jefferies analysts Nitij Mangal and Sagar Sahu described the results as good overall, noting that Ebidta came in higher than they expected. However, the analysts flagged that the tractor slowdown as "intensifying after an elongated upcycle." The company's auto order book has "come off sharply in the last three months although new order inflow is holding up well," they added. Jefferies maintained the stock's hold rating while raising its target price to INR1,615 from INR1,580.

Nomura analysts Kapil Singh and Siddhartha Bera described the results as in line with expectations, adding that an for about five to six months "gives visibility that MM's growth will remain well ahead of the industry." They kept a buy rating and raised their target price to INR2,143 from INR1,980.


Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-15-24 0231ET