Satyam loses Rs 10K cr in m-cap

Beleaguered software services major Satyam today bit the dust on the bourses and lost as much as Rs 10,000 crore in market capitalisation in a single trading session, after the scrip dipped to hit an all-time low level.

Satyam saw a massive value erosion and fell nearly 80 per cent, after the management revealed malpractices in accounting methods. The IT firm had a market capitalisation of Rs 12,067.98 crore yesterday and by the end of today's trading session its m-cap stood at Rs 2,691.88 crore.

The scrip, which fell by as much as 83 per cent to witness an intra-day low of Rs 30.70, managed to close with a fall of 77.69 per cent at Rs 39.95 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"In the long run the scrip can witness levels down to as much as Rs 20. The company was operating at a margin of three per cent -- the lowest by any firm. It was doing business on cost basis and the books were kept inflated," Arun Kejriwal of Kejriwal Reserach and Investment Services said.

On the National Stock Exchange, the scrip plunged to a low of Rs 41.05, down 77.06 per cent from its previous close. The scrip had witnessed the day's low of Rs 30.80, down 82.78 per cent over last closing.

The counter saw frantic selling after the news broke out, and over 48 crore shares had changed hands on both the bourses.

Satyam stock holds a 1.56 per cent weight in the 30-share bluechip index, the Sensex. Following the same, the benchmark index also plunged over 749 points or over seven per cent to settle at 9,586 points on the BSE.

Ramalinga Raju, today resigned as Satyam's chairman after admitting to financial wrong doings in the company's balance sheet. He was under attack over the $1.6-billion acquisition fiasco of firms promoted by his family.