BPL
Price on 26/06/98: Rs 172.30
Price on 19/06/98: Rs 229.70
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The BPL share price lost 25 per cent last week. Apart from the on-growing payment crisis at this counter, reports that the company has given up its restructuring plans for consolidation of the group's activities in consumer electronics also added fuel to the stock. Last year, the BPL group had last year appointed Mumbai-based chartered accountants, NM Raiji & Co and Dalal & Shah to prepare a recast plan and undertake valuations of group companies. The idea was to consolidate the consumer electronic companies into one entity.
Currently, the BPL group has six such companies in various segment like washing machines, refrigerators and colour televisions. The telecom business was not a part of the proposed restructuring. The other companies in the BPL group are BPL Automation, Dynamic Electronics, BPL Systems Projects, Electronic Research, BPL Systems Technologies, BPL Engineering and BPL Electronics. BPL's net profit rose by 77 per cent in 1997-98 to Rs 85.57 crore while sales increased by 35.7 per cent to Rs 1,746 crore.
Swaraj Mazda
Price on 26/06/98: Rs 38.65
Price on 19/06/98: Rs 31.55
The stock prices of Swaraj Mazda (SML) spurted by 22.5 per cent following the announcement of its financial performance. In 1997-98, the company defied the sectoral constraints and the general slowdown to post impressive results.
Swaraj Mazda's net profit increased by 35 per cent to Rs 6.67 crore. Its total revenues slipped by 7 per cent. The pre-tax profit increased by 51 per cent to Rs 7.46 crore even though its sales dipped. The company's operating profit also grew 39 per cent to Rs 6.87 crore.
The company has procured orders from the defence services to supply 200 four wheel drive jeeps. The jeep was not part of its product portfolio but was developed entirely by the company's indigenous R&D efforts. Swaraj Mazda manufactures tempos, jeeps and other similar LCVs.
Ipca Laboratories
Price on 26/06/98: Rs 123.50
Price on 19/06/98: Rs 109.40
Ipca Laboratories gained 13 per cent in the last week. This was mainly on account of its financial performance. Its turnover grew by eight per cent to Rs 292 crore in 1997-98. This was mainly on account of higher exports.
Export sales increased by 20 per cent, to Rs 146 crore from Rs 122 crore last year. While net profit grew 14 per cent rise to Rs 19.45 crore. However, total expenditure increased to Rs 254.27 crore from Rs 236 crore. In the past few months, there have rumours that existing promoters plan to sell their stake.
However, Ipca has not been able to attract attention from any major investors except Jardine Fleming. This could be for obvious reasons of overdependence on moderate growth and matured products with 29 per cent turnover coming from anti-malarial. In anti-malarial, chloroquine phosphate based Lariago, is the leading brand and it contributed around 30 per cent to the total formulations turnover in 1996-97.
Indo Rama Synthetic
Price on 26/06/98: Rs 8.95
Price on 19/06/98: Rs 11.25
Indo Rama Synthetics scrip lost 20 per cent last week on account of bad performance. It posted a net loss of Rs 87 crore for 1997-98 as compared to a net profit of Rs 1.54 crore last year. Sales turnover grew at 23 per cent to Rs 1,453 crore. Net profits slid sharply with high interest and depreciation charges. Higher interest costs and depreciation costs was on account of project expansions carried out by the company.
The dismal performance is attributed to mismatch in domestic demand and supply of polyester products leading to lower than optimal capacity utilisation by the company. The sharp decline in product prices both in global and domestic market with the fallout of Asian crisis also contributed in the poor performance.