Companies and stocks to watch out for today: July 20

A round-up of companies and stocks that are in the news and will likely see action today.

Balrampur Chini: buyback offer opens

The Rs 180-crore buyback offer of Balrampur Chini Mills opens today at a price of Rs 180 a share. The company intends to buy back up to 1 crore shares, representing 4.55 per cent of the paid-up equity shares of the company, from all eligible shareholders as on July 3, the record date. Shareholders whose name had appeared on its book on July 3 are eligible to participate in the buyback offer, which is on a proportionate basis, through the tender offer process.

The buyback offer will close on July 31.

As the current market price is around Rs 125, there will likely be heavy subscription for the buyback offer. According the shareholding pattern (as in March 2020) available with the stock exchanges, about 80,000 shareholders hold around 3.26 crore shares in the company. The latest shareholding pattern may reflect a higher share of retail investors, who may have bought the shares to benefit from the arbitrage opportunity.

The buyback offer reserves 15 per cent for small shareholders, but since the plan provides for buyback of just 1 crore shares, the acceptance ratio will likely be small – perhaps 15-35 per cent.

Results watch: eyes on SBI Cards, ACC

On Monday, a host of companies will declare their quarterly results for the period ended June 2020. Among them are ACC, Bombay Dyeing, Den Networks, IVRCL (March 2020 quarter), Landmark Property (March 2020 quarter), Maharashtra Scooters, NRB Bearings, SBI Cards & Payment Services, and Swaraj Engines.

However, the focus will be on SBI Cards and ACC.

On Friday, SBI Cards closed above its IPO price for the first time since it listed four months ago. The stock closed at Rs 755.95 on the NSE, against the IPO price Rs 755. Also on Friday, SBI Cards appointed Ashwini Kumar Tewari as the Managing Director & CEO; he who will assume charge on August 1.

For the fourth quarter ended March 31, the company had reported a 66 per cent fall in net profit, at Rs 84 crore, against Rs 249 crore in the same period a year ago. However, for fiscal 2020, it has posted a 44 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 1,245 crore (against Rs 865 crore in FY18-19). “Excluding the Covid-19 impact, the net for FY20 would have been at Rs 1,662 crore,” an SBI Cards statement said.

SBI Cards had reported a total revenue of Rs 2,433 crore for the March quarter, against Rs1,983 crore a year ago. Revenues were impacted by a Rs 90-crore fee reversal due to the impact of Covid, the firm said. The focus will be on the Covid-19 impact and the moratarium figures.

ACC will be the first cement company to declare its results for this quarter. Analysts expect a sharp decline in both the topline and the bottomline both year-on-year and sequentially. Most expect ACC’s sales to drop 30-40 per cent (yoy) and 25 per cent (qoq) and net profit by 50-60 per cent (yoy) and 30-40 per cent (qoq). The performance will set the trend for other cement companies, and for a likely rerating of the sector.

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