Steel Authority of India Limited Just Missed Earnings - But Analysts Have Updated Their Models

Steel Authority of India Limited (NSE:SAIL) came out with its third-quarter results last week, and we wanted to see how the business is performing and what industry forecasters think of the company following this report. Steel Authority of India beat revenue expectations by 3.7%, at ₹274b. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at ₹0.91, some 9.0% short of analyst estimates. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

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After the latest results, the 17 analysts covering Steel Authority of India are now predicting revenues of ₹1.17t in 2027. If met, this would reflect a reasonable 7.0% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to soar 70% to ₹11.49. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of ₹1.17t and earnings per share (EPS) of ₹11.69 in 2027. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for Steel Authority of India

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at ₹136. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on Steel Authority of India, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at ₹190 and the most bearish at ₹90.00 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. The period to the end of 2027 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 5.6% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 5.7% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 12% per year. So it's pretty clear that Steel Authority of India is expected to grow slower than similar companies in the same industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Steel Authority of India's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at ₹136, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Steel Authority of India. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Steel Authority of India going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Steel Authority of India (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.