Spencer's Retail surges 18% as RK Damani picks up 2% stake in Dec quarter

Shares of Spencer’s Retail soared 18 per cent to Rs 87.90 on the BSE on Tuesday after the company said Radhakishan Damani picked up over 2 per cent stake in the company during the December quarter.

Radhakishan S Damani acquired 1.66 million equity shares, or 2.09 per cent stake, in the company during the recently concluded quarter, reveals shareholding pattern data, filed by the company. The veteran investor had nil or less than 1 per cent holding in the company at the end of September quarter, data shows.

Radhakishan S Damani is anticipated to have bought these shares from the mutual funds, as their holding in the company declined to 4.81 per cent in the December quarter from 6.28 per cent in the September quarter.

Canara Robeco Mutual Fund A/C Canara Robeco Emerging Equities, and Reliance Capital Trustee Company Limited A/C Reliance Growth Fund have sold more than one percentage point stake in the company during the quarter.

Moreover, Canara Robeco Mutual Fund sold an additional 0.65 per cent or 520,732 equity shares at Rs 75.58 per share on Friday, January 17, 2020, the NSE bulk deal data shows. The name of the buyers could not be ascertained immediately.

Radhakishan Damani is the promoter of Avenue Supermarts, which runs the DMart chain of stores in India.

Spencer’s Retail, part of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, is a multi-format retailer providing a wide range of quality products across categories such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), fashion, food, staples, general merchandise, personal care, home essentials, electrical and electronics to its consumers.

Spencer’s Retail posted consolidated net loss of Rs 42 crore in the first half (April-September) of the financial year 2019-20. It had reported a net profit of Rs 0.67 lakh during the same period last fiscal.

The retail business of CESC and its subsidiary was demerged from October 1, 2017 and spun off into a standalone company called Spencer’s Retail. The stock, which debuted at the bourses on January 25, 2019, underperformed the market and fell 73 per cent in calendar year 2019. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 15 per cent during the year. It touched a 52-week low of Rs 53.80 on December 26, 2019.

Thus far in the calendar year 2020, the stock has outpaced the market by surging 55 per cent, as against a 0.50 per cent rise in the benchmark index.

At 12:32 pm, Spencer’s Retail was trading 14 per cent higher at Rs 85 on the BSE, on the back of a three-fold jump in the trading volumes. A combined 6.5 million equity shares have changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE so far.