United Phosphorous (UPL), the agrochemicals company, leaped up 0.21 per cent to close at Rs 164.85 on the BSE, mainly on expectation of good monsoon. The market sees improved prospects for the company if the monsoon proves adequate.
In afternoon trades, the scrip was up 7.5 per cent to Rs 177. The scrip even hit a high of Rs 180.80 earlier in the day. Nearly 3.5 lakh shares of the company changed hands on BSE by the end of first half of trading.
The stock staged a recovery from a low of Rs 121 around mid-April 2003. From that low, the stock recovered to the current Rs 177. The rally on the counter has come amid intermittent corrections.
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The stock is the favourite of local mutual fund Alliance Capital Mutual Fund, which had a holding of over 4 per cent in UPL as on May 31.
The latest surge on the counter comes on expectations that the monsoon this year would be near normal as has been predicted by the weather department.
The fortunes of the agrochemicals sector are linked to monsoon. The monsoon has already hit Kerala and it is expected to progress into other parts of the country gradually.
UPL is a leading international producer of generic crop protection products, intermediates and other industrial chemicals.
The company has also been focussing on exports with product registrations abroad. The US and the UK are its majors markets accounting for over 75 per cent of exports.
UPL, currently, has eight product registrations in the US and 30 across Europe. It is targeting 2-3 product registrations in the US over the next few years. It is also looking at inorganic growth in this market.