Ashok Leyland up 4% on $200-mn order; m-cap jumps

Shares of Ashok Leyland today settled for the day with gains of nearly 4 per cent, following which the market capitalisation of the company improved by Rs 981 crore after the company bagged USD 200-million order deal.
The company has signed a contract worth USD 200 million with the government of the West African nation for supply of 3,600 vehicles, Ashok Leyland said in a regulatory filing yesterday.
Reacting to the development, shares of the company opened on a bullish note at Rs 97, then jumped 3.98 per cent to touch an intra-day high of Rs 97.80 on BSE.
Similar movement was seen on the NSE as well where the stock opened at Rs 97, then surged 4.14 per cent to an intra-day high of Rs 98.

At the end of today's trading session the stock was quoted at Rs 97.50, up 3.67 per cent on BSE. On NSE, it ended at Rs 97.60, up 3.71 per cent.
Following the rise in the stock, the market capitalisation of the company improved by Rs 981.3 crore to Rs 27,747.30 crore.

Meanwhile, the broader market settled for the day at 26,128.20 points higher by 169.57 points.
"I am proud that the government of Cote D'Ivoire has chosen products from Ashok Leyland. This is the largest contract for this country with any firm in India and also represents the largest such contract till date for the company," Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod K Dasari said.

The company looks forward to building this as a base for further growth in West Africa, he had added.