Prataap Snacks zooms 30% in two days as GDN Investments buys 1% stake

On Monday, as many as 1.61 million shares representing 6.8 per cent of total equity of Prataap Snacks changed hands on the NSE, the exchange data shows.

Shares of Prataap Snacks hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,055, on rallying 8 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Tuesday’s intra-day trade. In past two trading sessions, the stock of packaged foods has zoomed 30 per cent after GDN Investment son Monday bought 1 per cent stake in the company via open market deals.

On November 20, GDN Investments Private Limited purchased 250,000 shares representing 1.05 per cent equity of Prataap Snacks in two tranches of 125,000 shares at price of Rs 948.87 per share on the NSE via bulk deals, the exchange data shows.

Rajeshbhai Mansukbhai Savani sold 273,254 shares of the company at price of Rs 970.69 per share, the data shows.

On Monday, as many as 1.61 million shares representing 6.8 per cent of total equity of Prataap Snacks changed hands on the NSE, according to exchange data. The names of the other buyers and sellers were not ascertained immediately.

At 09:44 AM; the stock was quoting 2 per cent higher at Rs 997.85, as compared to 0.44 per cent rise in the Nifty 50. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,010 touched on November 22, 2022. It had hit a record high of Rs 1,458.70 on April 10, 2018.

Prataap Snacks is a leading Indian Snacks Food Company. It offers multiple variants of products across categories of Potato Chips, Extruded Snacks, Namkeen (traditional Indian snacks) under the popular and vibrant Yellow Diamond and Avadh brands. It recently launched a range of sweet snacks with different varieties of cakes.

The company had reported a resilient performance in September quarter (Q2FY24); including a 12 per cent increase in sales on quarter‐to‐quarter (QoQ) basis amidst the challenging macroeconomic environment marked by uneven rainfall, sluggish demand and heightened competitive pressure. On a year‐on‐year (YoY) basis, the company had reported a de‐growth of 4.2 per cent in sales compared to the level attained in Q2 last year. The silver lining in the top line performance has been a strong growth in the Namkeen category, the management said.

The profit after tax (PAT)  during  the  quarter  stood  at  Rs  16.5  crore,  growing  4x  when compared to PAT of Rs 3.3 crore in Q2FY23. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin improved 400 bp YoY and 30 bp QoQ at 8.8 per cent. The management said the improved margins realized primarily through the structural improvement in business model due to the compressed distribution structure achieved on the back of efforts over the last 3 years.  The EBITDA margin trajectory has been further augmented by cost optimization measures and cooling of input prices.