Debutants put up a good show; Medanta soars 24%, Bikaji Foods up 6%

Medanta's stock hit a high of Rs 424.65 and a low of Rs 390.55 on the NSE, where Rs 2,000 crore worth of shares changed hands

Shares of Global Health (Medanta) and Bikaji Foods International finished above their initial public offering (IPO) price during their trading debut on Wednesday. Medanta ended at Rs 417.3, up 24.2 per cent over its issue price of Rs 336. The stock hit a high of Rs 424.65 and a low of Rs 390.55 on the NSE, where Rs 2,000 crore worth of shares changed hands. 

Meanwhile, shares of Bikaji Foods finished at Rs 317.5, with a gain of 5.83 per cent over its issue price of Rs 300. Its stock hit a high of Rs 334.7 and a low of Rs 314.2 on the NSE and nearly Rs 900 crore worth of shares got traded.

The IPO of Medanta and Bikaji Foods evoked mixed responses. The former was subscribed less than 10 times with the retail portion going undersubscribed. Bikaji’s IPO was subscribed 24 times. Both issues saw a strong response from institutional investors.

Medanta was founded by renowned cardiovascular surgeon Naresh Trehan and is a leading multispeciality tertiary care provider operating in the north and east regions of India. It operates five hospitals in five cities and has an installed bed capacity of nearly 2,500. Bikaji Foods is a leading ethnic snacks company with a presence in international markets. It is the largest manufacturer of Bikaneri bhujia and the second-largest manufacturer of handmade papad.

At the last close Medanta was valued at around Rs 11,500 crore—nearly 25 times its EV/EBITDA for FY22.  In FY22, it had clocked net profit of Rs 196 crore on a topline of Rs 2,166 crore. Meanwhile, during the first quarter of FY23, it logged net profit of Rs 59 crore on a topline of Rs 617 crore.

Bikaji Foods is currently valued at nearly Rs 8,000 crore — over 100 times its FY22 earnings. In FY22, it clocked a net profit of Rs 76 crore on a topline of Rs 1,611 crore.