The Hindu Business Line : S.A.L Steel lists at 40% premium

IN line with new issues listing at a premium to the offer price, the S.A.L Steel (SAL) stock today listed on stock exchanges. The company's share, which was offered at Rs 14 through book building issue, listed at Rs 23.50 on the BSE, also the day's high, touched a low of Rs 19.30 and closed at Rs 19.50. Based on the closing price, the stock has provided return of 40 per cent over the issue price. A total of 64.10 lakh shares were traded on the BSE.

On the NSE, the stock opened at Rs 20, touched day's high of Rs 21.90, low of 19.10 and closed at Rs 19.55. A total of 1.26 crore shares were traded and out of this 48 per cent of the shares were for delivery. Delivery data on the BSE was not available.

SAL had come out with an IPO of 4.2 crore shares in early November 2004. The issue was priced at the higher end of the Rs 12-14 price band. The paid-up equity capital of the company is Rs 84.96 crore. The issue was oversubscribed 18.63 times.

The funds raised through the IPO were to undertake a backward integration green field project in Kutchch district of Gujarat for manufacturing sponge iron and ferro alloys, and for setting up rolling mills. The project will also house a 40-MW captive power plant. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 203.31 crore. A project for forward integration into cold rolled products is also under implementation at SAL.

On listing of the company's shares, Mr Rajendra Shah, Chairman of the company, said: "It is a great moment. We were overwhelmed with the response to our issue and today the brisk trading in the stock is another shot in the arm."