Special dividend, strong Q3 results drive Polyplex shares 17% higher

Shares of Polyplex Corporation surged 17 per cent to Rs 880, also its record high, on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade after the company's board declared a special dividend of Rs 100 per share. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 878 touched on August 21, 2020.

The board of directors declared payment of a third interim dividend (special) for the financial year 2020-21 at Rs 100 per share (of the face value of Rs 10 each). The record date for the purpose of payment has been fixed as February 19, 2021, and is proposed to be paid within the time prescribed under the law, Polyplex said in a regulatory filing.

Meanwhile, the company engaged in plastic films business has reported a strong 81 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 224.73 crore in the December quarter (Q3FY21). It had posted a profit of Rs 123.91 crore in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations grew 13.3 per cent YoY at Rs 1,237 crore.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) was at Rs 329.3 crore, up 54.6 per cent YoY; margin improved 710 basis points (bps) to 26.6 per cent during the quarter.

In December, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) had upgraded Polyplex’s long-term issuer rating to ‘IND AA-’ from ‘IND A+’ with a stable outlook. Ind-Ra believes global BOPET utilisation will remain at a healthy level over the next two years due to strong demand coupled with moderate capacity additions. The Coivd-19 outbreak has boosted the demand for packaging films in FY21, which reported an annual growth rate of 6 per cent-7 per cent globally over the last few years.

The BOPP market after four years of oversupply has shown signs of normalisation, thereby strengthening product spreads and margins. Therefore, Ind-Ra believes the group’s new Indonesia BOPP capacity is slated to start at a favourable time and will aid the company’s profitability.

At 09:37 am, the stock was trading 13 per cent higher at Rs 850 on the BSE as compared to a 0.20 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined around 800,000 equity shares have changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE.