NTPC shares slip 5%, near 52-week low after multiple block deals

Shares of NTPC slipped 5 per cent to Rs 78.20 on the BSE on Wednesday after more than three-million equity shares of the company changed hands through multiple block deals. The stock of the state-owned electric utility company was trading close to its 52-week low of Rs 74, touched on March 23, 2020.

Till 01:20 pm, a combined 31 million equity shares, representing 0.3 per cent of NTPC's total equity, had changed hands on the NSE and BSE, the exchange data shows.

NTPC, after market hours yesterday, announced that the company has decided to raise Rs 4,000 crore on October 15, 2020, through private placement of unsecured non-convertible bonds in the debentures at a coupon of 5.45 per cent p.a. with a door to door maturity of 5 years on October 15, 2025.

The proceeds will be utilized for, inter alia, funding of capital expenditure, refinancing of existing loans and other general corporate purposes.

The bonds are proposed to be listed on both NSE & BSE. Bond Trust Deed for these bonds will be duly executed as per the requirements of and within the period of time prescribed under the Companies Act and rules specified therein, it said.

“In its endeavor to become a 130 GW Company by 2032, the Company has envisaged an aggressive capital expenditure plan which is also aligned with the National Infrastructure Pipeline of the Government of India. An action plan has been prepared by the Company for capital expenditure of over Rs 1 trillion for the period of 2019-2024. The Company has adopted a dynamic debt strategy for raising long term debt at optimal cost for meeting its capital requirement”, NTPC said in 2019-20 annual report.

In the past year, NTPC has underperformed the market by falling 33 per cent, as compared to 5.6 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.