Small investors, HNIs hike Kingfisher exposure

On the other hand, the total promoter holding has dipped to 36%

The small individual investors and HNIs seem to be on a share buying spree in Kingfisher Airlines, even as the stake of promoters themselves has hit a record low in the debt-ridden airline.

The small individual shareholders currently own 12.56% stake in Vijay Mallya-led group's Kingfisher Airlines, while another 8.55% holding is now with the high-networth individuals.

The holding of small investors (defined as those holding up to Rs one lakh worth shares in a company) has almost doubled in about 15 months, while that of HNIs (individuals with shares worth over Rs one lakh) has more than tripled.

The latest shareholding data of the company shows that the numbers of small individual and HNI shareholders have also grown considerably during this time.

On the other hand, the total promoter holding has dipped to 35.86% -- the lowest since the carrier became a publicly listed company after acquisition of Deccan Aviation.

Besides, the promoters have pledged over 90% of their shares with various lenders, leaving them with a non- encumbered stake of just 3.55%.

The promoter holding has come down sharply from over 50% at the close of last fiscal (March 31, 2012) and close to 60% a year before (as on March 31, 2011).

Burdened by a huge debt pile, Kingfisher has been flying through turbulent times for many months now and its market value has seen a significant erosion in the past one year.

Its shares hit an all-time low of Rs 10.05 early last month and are currently trading near Rs 11 level. About a year ago, the stock was trading over Rs 40 level.

The recent decline in promoter holding is not because of sale of shares but because of increase in total number of the company's shares, following the conversion into equity of warrants issued to certain entities.

The shareholding of institutional investors has also come down in the recent quarters and has nearly halved to 14.3% currently, from 27.18% as on March 31, 2011.

Speculations have been doing the rounds for a long time that some strategic or financial investors could acquire stake in Kingfisher -- a reason being attributed for large-scale share purchase by individual investors.

As a result, the shareholding of small individuals has grown considerably from 9.56% as on March 31, 2012 and 5.36% as on March 31, 2011.

The HNIs' stake has also come up from 4.21% as on March 31, 2012 and 2.31% as on March 31, 2011.

More than 1.76 lakh small individuals currently own Kingfisher shares -- up from about 1.35 lakh at the beginning of the current fiscal and about 95,000 as on March 31, 2011.

The total number of HNI shareholders currently stand at more than 1,800 -- as against 668 as on March 31, 2012 and just 265 a year before that.