HCC hits 42-month high; soars over 100% in two months

Lavasa Corporation filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI to raise up to Rs 750 crore via IPO.

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has surged 5% to Rs 49, its highest level since January 2011 on BSE, on back of heavy volumes after the company said its subsidiary Lavasa Corporation is planning to raise about Rs 750 crore through initial public offer (IPO).

Lavasa Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of the company has filed its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on July 01, 2014 in order to undertake an initial public offering of its equity shares of Rs 10 each aggregating to Rs 750 crore, HCC said in a regulatory filing.

The stock opened at Rs 47.65 on BSE and has seen over two-fold jump in trading volumes. At 1245 hours, a combined 10.7 million shares have already changed hands as against an average sub 3 million shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on BSE and NSE. There are pending buy orders for 1.22 million shares on both the exchanges.

Meanwhile, in past two months shares in construction and engineering company has more than doubled from Rs 20.39 on May 02, after reported net profit of Rs 24 crore for the quarter ended March 2014 (Q4FY14), aided by claims approved on certain projects. The company had posted a loss of Rs 50 crore in the same quarter previous year.

The company said, efficient project management and tight cost control has helped to improve margins to 14.8% in March quarter compared to 9% in the corresponding quarter last year.

Inflow of Rs 3,218 crore orders during FY2013-14 will help to improve the turnover in the next few quarters, it added.

HCC is a leading civil engineering and construction company, engaged primarily in the construction of hydel and power projects, irrigation, water supply, urban infrastructure and transportation projects.

Most of its customers are central government bodies/public sector units like NHAI, NHPC, NPCIL and state governments like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.