Santa's Christmas picks

It is that time of the year when an unshaved and overfed geriatric in outrageous colours creates bell-induced cacophony but more than makes up by reaching into his gift sack and widening his cheerful influence.

I can't be him but what's the harm in trying?

I would give a Blu-Ray copy of Invictus to the managing director at Jubilant Life Sciences. When 2015 started, some analysts were on the verge of writing this company's obit because of warning letters at two facilities, Chinese dumping and large debt. Tough decisions later, we have a surprise: A loss of Rs 11 crore in the December quarter of 2014 has transformed to a profit of Rs 116 crore in the September quarter of 2015; its market cap has strengthened from Rs 2,751 crore at the start of 2015 to Rs 6,625 crore at near-close. Wow!

I would send a copy of Jan Carlzon's Moments of Truth (he was chief executive of a losing Scandinavian Airlines before he turned it around) to Ajay Singh at SpiceJet. At the start of 2015, I would have given the "your clothes don't fit" look to anyone suggesting that we do an advance booking on SpiceJet's flights. SpiceJet has posted a dramatic turnaround since: Losses for six successive quarters, followed by profits across two back-to-back quarters (ending September 2015). Besides, the company's market capitalisation has rebounded from a low of Rs 1,099 crore to a 2015 high of Rs 4,157 crore. Analysts are now putting "buy" calls on this counter.

I would send a copy of execution by Ram Charan and Lawrence Bossidy to the managing director at Dish TV. There were nine successive quarters of losses until the company turned around in the last quarter of 2014-15. Then see the magic: Turnover declined from Rs 784 crore in the third quarter of 2014-15 to Rs 750 crore in the second quarter of 2015-16; net loss of Rs 2.64 crore transformed into a net profit of Rs 87 crore. Even guru Ram Charan would want to examine this.

I would send a 3D version of the timeless Escape to Victory film to the top boss at Navin Flourine. The company has demonstrated that you can milk a fleeting opportunity only so much and that it takes foresight to create a sustainable growth story thereafter. Proof: An increase in net profit across each of the past five quarters - from Rs 10.3 crore to Rs 23.2 crore; an increase in Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin from 15.75 per cent to 27 per cent; an increase in quarterly revenue from Rs 130 crore to Rs 160 crore. Its stock price virtually trebled in 2015.

I would send a copy of Built to Last by Jim Collins to Anil Jain at Indo Count Industries. If you go completely by the market cap, the company has virtually reinvented textile sector valuations: From Rs 346 at year-start to Rs 1,063 on the latest traded afternoon. Quarterwise turnover increased by Rs 104 crore across five quarters but PBDT (profit before depreciation and tax) increased by Rs 46 crore during the period, while Ebitda margin rose 400 basis points.

Who knows, next year this time, there could be such a robust list that dear old Business Standard might be tempted to run an extra supplement!

The author is a stock market writer, tracking corporate earnings and investor psychology to gauge where markets are not headed