Uniply Industries debuts, draws premium

DALAL STREET SPIKES

Uniply Industries debuts at 23 per cent premium on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). After debuting at Rs 29.60, the stock hit an intra-day high of Rs 32.20 before closing at Rs 29.95. The counter was actively traded with over 2 crore shares changing hands at the counter on BSE.

The issue was priced at Rs 24. Uniply is engaged in manufacture of plywood and has manufacturing unit at Chennai. It markets its products under the Uniply brand name and has a market share of 60 per cent in the branded category in the southern market.

Uniply came out with an IPO in June 2005 to fund its expansion plan for increasing capacity and to reduce cost. Post-issue, the promoters' stake has come down to 45.12 per cent. The company is expected to report a strong performance and a full year profit of around Rs 8 crore, said an analyst with a domestic broking firm.