Indus Towers hits 52-week low as stock turns ex date for interim dividend

The company has fixed Tuesday, May 17, 2022, as the 'record date' for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for the payment of interim dividend of Rs 11 per share.

Shares of Indus Towers hit a 52-week low of Rs 185.30, down 2 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade in an otherwise firm market. The decline comes after the stock turned ex-date for interim dividend of Rs 11 per share. The stock of the telecom infrastructure company fell below its previous low of Rs 193.45 that it had touched on May 6, 2022. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.90 per cent at 53,408 points at 10:37 am.

On May 5, 2022, the company had declared an interim dividend Rs 11 per share. It has fixed Tuesday, May 17, 2022, as the ‘record date’ for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for the payment of interim dividend.

In the past one month, the stock has underperformed market falling 15 per cent after the company reported a weak operating performance on adjusted basis for the quarter ended March 2022 (Q4FY22). In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 9 per cent during the same period.

Meanwhile, the company’s consolidated net profit was up 34 per cent year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 7,116 crore and revenue grew 10 per cent YoY at Rs 7,116 crore in Q4FY22. The company reported net addition of 685 co-location versus 2,555 in Q2FY22. Besides that, EBITDA rose by 3 per cent at Rs 3,515 crore QoQ and margins remained flat at 53.5 per cent QoQ.

In the past three years, Indus’ share price has been down 30 per cent owing to concerns over its key tenant and Vodafone Idea (VIL) survival.

“Despite likely VIL survival, near term growth challenges remain with likely competitive renewals terms. We also await further details on potential of growth in the adjacent areas such as small cells or in building solutions etc. We maintain 'hold' stance on the stock,” analysts at ICICI Securities said.

However, analysts remain hopeful of opportunities arising from adjacent areas (viz. small cells/smart cities/in building solutions/active network sharing) and demand from 5G transition to drive growth in the near-term.