The Hindu Business Line : Bell Ceramics active on gas supply hopes

THE Bell Ceramics stock saw an upward price movement with huge volumes on Tuesday on the back of improvement of gas supplies to its plant near Vadodara.

According to dealers, the gas supply to one of the two plants was causing a bottleneck and preventing the reaping of full benefits of expansion plans. The company has already increased its capacity by over 50 per cent.

Analysts said that the company had reported a 551 per cent jump in net profit and a 28.9 per cent rise in sales in 2004-05 after the expansion plans were put in place.

Better pricing , following an increasing buzz in the construction industry; a steady rise in demand for the company's products such as tiles and a reduced threat from Chinese imports after a cut in excise duty have boosted its fundamentals.

The stock on Tuesday closed at Rs 29.15, giving it a market capitalisation of around Rs 60 crore against the 2004-05 sales of Rs 163.39 crore.

Poddar Pigment hits new high on value buying

THE Poddar Pigment counter was spiced up by a section of market players on increasing demand for its products such as master batch for plastics and engineering plastic compounds.

The stock logged a volume of 1.27 lakh shares on the BSE on Tuesday, over three times its two-week average.

According to market sources, the completion of its debt restructuring and capacity expansion (without equity dilution) have lent strength to its topline and bottomline in 2004-05. A quantum jump in profitability in 2005-06 is expected. With a market capitalisation under Rs 35 crore compared to the 2004-05 sales figure of Rs 73.53 crore, many are seeing a re-rating opportunity in the stock. The stock on Tuesday touched its 52-week high at Rs 22.40 but finished at Rs 20.62. The counter has improved by 32.35 per cent in the last one week.

Kitply betting on performance

KITPLY Industries on Tuesday witnessed a sustained buying spree as unconfirmed news of accumulation of carbon credit for its agro-forestry business spread.

The counter, though closing flat at Rs 18.10 on theNSE, had a total traded quantity of 2.53 lakh shares. Incidentally, the stock recently saw a 52-week high at Rs 19.10.

The current buzz, according to market players, also follows substantial improvement in figures.The company reported a significant reduction in losses after providing for depreciation of Rs 10.24 crore in 2004-05, following the implementation of a debt restructuring plan (ironed out with ICICI Bank and IIBI); increase in production; exports of laminates and cost cuts. The performance marked a difference: Its net loss was down at Rs 10 crore against a net loss of Rs 21 crore in 2003-04.

Jayanta Mallick

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