Amtek Auto extends slide for fourth straight session

Stock is down more than 60% this calendar year

Shares of Amtek Auto slid about 29 per cent on Thursday on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), extending the fall to the fourth session, amid heavy volumes. The shares have plunged by about 57 per cent in the past four sessions, and are down by about 64 per cent this year.

The stocks shed nearly 30 per cent on Wednesday after the NSE and the BSE excluded the futures and options (F&O) contracts of the stock from their equity derivatives segment, from October 30.

The company issued a clarification on Thursday that there had been a decline in the operational performance for the three months to June, leading to a decline in sales and profit margins. "There is temporary cash flow mismatch in the company. To ease the situation, the promoters have infused Rs 75 crore and will infuse more funds, if required. The company is also exploring various means of fund-raising," stated the clarification.

The statement added the company was not aware of any reason apart from the stock's exclusion from the F&O segment for the single-day fall in the stock price on Wednesday. "The management repeats that the long-term fundamentals of the company remain strong," the statement said.

An analyst said the steep fall could not be explained by the stock's exclusion from the F&O segment alone. Another said, "The Amtek group has high debt and is finding it difficult to get funding from banks in recent times. There is also a possibility that a lot of margin calls got triggered in Amtek Auto on Thursday."

The stand-alone debt for Amtek Auto for the three months to March was Rs 7,800 crore.