Promoter pledging rises marginally to 1.36% in June quarter, shows data

Pledged holding as a percentage of the promoter holding increased marginally to 1.36 per cent in the June 2023 quarter from 1.3 per cent in the previous quarter in the BSE 500 universe. According to a report by Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE), the value of pledged promoter holdings stood at Rs 1.8 trillion, 0.7 per cent of the total market cap of the BSE 500 stocks. Promoters in 86 companies in the BSE 500 Index had at least some part of their holdings pledged at the end of the June 2023 quarter. 

Companies whose promoters have pledged more than 80 per cent included Max Financial Services and Suzlon Energy.  Firms where promoter pledged as a percentage of overall equity holding was the highest in Sundaram Clayton (47.3 per cent) and GMR Airports (41.9 per cent). Firms that saw a substantial increase in pledged promoter holdings include Hindustan Zinc, Max Financial Services and Deepak Fertilisers. Emami, NCC, KIMS, Jindal Steel and Power and Kalpataru Projects saw a decline in pledged promoter holdings. Among the Nifty 50 components, highest promoter pledges were seen in Apollo Hospitals (16.3%), Asian Paints (7.3%), IndusInd Bank (45.5%) and JSW Steel (15%). “We clarify that pledging of shares does not imply that a firm or a promoter is under financial stress; banks could have sought additional security in the form of promoter shares,” said KIE.