Deccan: Split gains

STOCK IN THE NEWS

The board's proposal to sub-divide equity shares of Rs 10 each into 5 equity shares of Rs 2 each worked well with the stock hitting an all-time high of Rs 883.75 last week. The stock closed at Rs 850.15, up 6 per cent with average daily volumes of 21,000.

The stock is traded at a price-to-earning multiple of 26.05 times of its trailing 12-month profit of Rs 146.11 crore. The sector P/E is lower at 22.05. The board also declared an interim dividend of 50 per cent (Rs 5 per share) just to celebrate its healthy performance during the quarter ended December 2006.

The company posted 52 per cent rise in the Q3 net profit at Rs 48.44 crore. Income from operations jumped by 44 per cent to Rs 146.39 crore (Rs 101.64 crore. The net profit, however, more than doubled in first nine months (April-December) to Rs 136 crore.