Shares of Archies Greetings hit the 20 per cent upper limit of the circuit-breaker in afternoon trades on sustained buying, following a block deal in the stock of the greetings & gifts major. However, it closed at Rs 132.90, up 11.9 per cent over its previous close. Over 2.08 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE, while about 4.43 lakh shares changed hands on the NSE.
In the last four trading sessions, the scrip has moved up by 50 per cent -- to Rs 111.80 on March 6, 2002, from Rs 75.10 on February 28, 2002. In the same period, volumes touched a high of 1.76 lakh shares on March 6, 2002, and a low of 7,350 shares on February 28, 2002.
The rally on the Archies counter was attributed to the block deal that took place in morning trades between two US-based investment houses. An analyst said operators as well as some institutions were active on the counter in the last few trading sessions. He said the buying spree is purely on expectations of higher revenue in the current quarter. With the equity base of the company being low at Rs 6.51 crore, the stock has a tendency to spurt even when investors show slight interest, he said.
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Analysts from a local brokerage said there has been a turnaround in the company's business. The recent restructuring undertaken by the company is another positive development. They said the diversification of the Archies product range, and signing up of new franchisees is expected to help the company's growth. However, they said the core business of greeting cards is still facing tremendous competition.
Recently, the company de-listed its shares from six stock exchanges, including Delhi, Pune, Madras, Calcutta, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, due to negligible trading. However, they will continue to be listed on the NSE and BSE.
For the third quarter ended December 31, 2001, the company had posted a 22.64 per cent decline in its net profit to Rs 3.52 crore, compared with Rs 4.55 crore in the corresponding period last year. Sales, on the other hand, rose marginally by 22.11 per cent to Rs 29.05 crore from Rs 23.79 crore in the December quarter of 2000.