Grasim Industries tanks 9% on Q2 loss

Shares of Grasim Industries Thursday dived 9 per cent following the Aditya Birla Group firm's announcement of Rs 1,300 crore consolidated net loss in the September quarter.

The loss is on account of an exception item related to the merger of Aditya Birla Group's telecom arm Idea Ltd with Vodafone Ltd.

Grasim Industries stock cracked 8.88 per cent to the day's low of Rs 799 on the BSE. At 1340 hours, the stock was trading at Rs 804.00, down 8.32 per cent from the previous close.

On the NSE, the scrip dropped by 9.08 per cent a low of Rs 796.70. The scrip is currently quoting at Rs 804.00, which is 8.26 per cent lower from the previous close.

In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Wednesday, Grasim Industries reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,299.86 crore for the quarter ended September 2018. It had posted a net profit of Rs 799.03 crore during the July-September period of last fiscal.

"The exceptional item of Rs 2,003 crore represents the difference between book value and fair value of Vodafone Idea Ltd as on August 30, 2018. This has been charged to the Profit and Loss Account, consequent to Vodafone Idea Ltd ceasing to be an Associate," the company said.

The company's revenue from operations was up 23.76 per cent to Rs 16,795 crore during the period under review as against Rs 13,570.45 crore of the corresponding quarter last fiscal.