Massive offloading of shares and slowdown in demand have taken a toll on the share price of Bajaj Consumer Care (BCC), the maker of almond drop oil. The share price of the company has crashed by around 16 per cent in just two trading sessions.

Stake-sale move

Around 22 per cent of the promoters’ stake in BCC has been sold in the open market in a block deal, according to BSE data.

Bajaj Resources, one of the promoters entity, sold 3.226 crore shares at an average price of ₹194.56. The buyers include Natwest Bank, Birla Sun Life, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, ICICI Prudential MF, HDFC Mutual Fund, ICG Q and Steiberg India Emerging Opportunities Fund.

Edelweiss was the advisor to the ₹630-crore deal. A large chunk of promoter shares has been pledged. Currently, promoters hold 60.02 per cent stake in the company. Bajaj Resources, which holds 8.83 crore shares (or 59.92 per cent stake), has pledged 5.375 crore shares.

The lender has not revoked the pledge on the shares.

The stock of BCC extended its decline for the second straight day post the company’s announcement of the second-quarter financial results. The stock hit the lower circuit at ₹193 on the BSE. On Tuesday, the stock fell by nearly 15 per cent to close at ₹195. The commentary by BCC that demand has slowed down has taken a toll on the company share price.

The company’s consolidated net profit rose 11.2 per cent year-on-year to ₹56.03 crore and revenue picked up by 3.2 per cent to ₹214.22 crore in the second quarter of financial year 2020.

The effective tax rate has reduced to 17.5 per cent from 21.5 per cent earlier, the company said. However, growth had been sluggish across channels with rural demand seeing a substantial sequential slowdown, it added. Urban retail also saw a sharp decline, the company said.

 

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