Sudarshan Chemicals extends gain as Fidelity Pacific Fund buys stake

Shares of Sudarshan Chemicals gained 5 per cent higher to Rs 512 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade on Friday, thereby rising 8 per cent in the past two trading days after Fidelity Pacific Fund bought nearly one per cent stake in the company via open market.

On Thursday, December 3, Fidelity Pacific Fund has bought 568,924 equity shares, representing 0.82 per cent, at Rs 463 per share on the NSE, the bulk deal data shows.

Meanwhile, Sudarshan Chemical’s promoters Archana Anuj Rathi sold 727,000 shares or 1.05 per cent stake at Rs 464.34 per share and NJR Finance sold 1.09 million shares (representing 1.58 per cent holding) at Rs 463 per share, the exchange data shows. The names of the other buyers were not ascertained immediately.

One of the largest pigment manufacturers in its home market (with a 35 per cent market share) and the fourth-largest globally, Sudarshan’s strong brand equity, leading position, regular capacity additions and focus on high-margin products have been its key strength.

Sudarshan invested Rs 550 crore over FY17-20 (with plans to invest Rs 350 crore in FY21) to achieve its target of Rs 1,000 crore capex in a few years. Global pigment manufacturers (BASF, Clariant) are quitting by the end-2020, due to keen competition from India and China. Analysts at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers believe that the capex would help the company strengthen its market position and expand its geographic reach.

At 01:55 pm, the stock was trading 4 per cent higher at Rs 505 on the BSE, as compared to a 0.50 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter nearly doubled with a combined 1.1 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE so far.