Navkar Corp gains 8% on debut

Shares end at Rs 166.85 from issue price of Rs 155, even as Sensex rises 800 points or 4% in two sessions

Shares of Navkar Corporation closed with a gain of nearly eight per cent during its stock market debut on Wednesday.

The positive listing was amid buoyancy in the market which lifted the BSE exchange's benchmark Sensex by 800 points or four per cent in two days, due to stability in the China market.

Shares of Navkar ended at Rs 166.85 from the issue price of Rs 155. The stock moved between Rs 152 and Rs 169.5 on the National Stock Exchange.

The company had raised Rs 600 crore through the Initial Public Offer (IPO), which ended on August 26. Those in the sector said the listing gain would help improve the investor sentiment on primary issuances. The volatility in the market over the past month has put a question mark over further issuances in the near term.

Navkar is a  Maharashtra-based company, in the fast-growing logistics business. The company has three container freight stations at Panvel (Navi Mumbai), tapping the export and import business from Jawaharlal Nehru Port. It will use the IPO proceeds to set up a new logistics park and enhance capacity at the existing ones.

The container sector is expected to grow at an annual nine to 11 per cent, to Rs 6,000 crore, between FY15 and FY17. Navkar has high operating profit margins and fares well in capacity utilisation, say analysts.

At the current price, it is valued around 23 times its FY15 earnings. Gateway Distriparks, its closest competitor, commands a price to earnings multiple of around 20 times.