Page Industries hits record high

The stock has outperformed the market by surging 54% so far in the 2013 compared to 5.1% rise in S&P BSE Sensex.

Page Industries is trading higher by 4% at Rs 5,187 on the bourses in otherwise weak market. The stock opened at Rs 5,000 and touched a high of Rs 5,307, also its record high on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Shares of apparels and accessories maker have outperformed the market by surging 54% so far in the current calendar year 2013 as against 5.1% rise in benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.

The company consistently reported a strong performance despite overall weakness in the macro-environment as is visible in other consumer companies’ during the first half (April-September) of the current financial year 2013-14.

Page Industries had posted 32% year-on-year (yoy) growth in net profit at Rs 84.03 crore on back of 35% yoy jump in net sales at Rs 592 crore for the six months ended September 2013.

Analyst at ICICI Securities believes Page Industries will continue to deliver consistent growth on the back of brand strength and distribution network. Our confidence in the company’s execution capability stems from its consistent strong performance while competition such as Fruit of the Loom has struggled and recently shut down operations in India.

On account of ability to pass on the increase in the raw material prices, we expect the operating margin for the company to expand by 114bp over FY2013-15E to 20.2% for FY2015E. Consequently the profit is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.0% to Rs 185 crore, said analyst Angel Broking in a report dated November 18.