Hero Honda loses steam, skids 3%

DALAL STREET SPIKES

The Hero Honda scrip, which registered a post-results surge yesterday, slipped on Tuesday with the stock ending 3 per cent lower. The stock closed at Rs 635.75 after hitting an intra-day low of Rs 629.

On Monday, the appreciated 4 per cent to hit a lifetime closing high of Rs 654.35 after it announced the quarterly results towards the end of the trading session. The scrip has been in demand for the past one month, on hopes of a liberal dividend of Rs 20 a share.

The stock turns ex-dividend on Wednesday. Hero Honda's net profit rose 7.5 per cent to Rs 204.45 crore compared with Rs 190.07 crore in the first quarter of the previous year, while operating profit margin declined to 14.78 per cent from 16.5 per cent in the corresponding phase.