Singer India hits 10% upper circuit as Rakesh Khanna takes over as VC & MD

Khanna was the MD & CEO of Orient Electric, a leader in consumer appliances, with revenues of over Rs 2,500 crore

Shares of Singer India were locked 10 per cent upper circuit at Rs 80.82 in Thursday's intra-day trade, amid heavy volumes after the appointment of Rakesh Khanna as the Executive Vice Chairman & Managing Director (VC & MD). In the past five trading days, the stock has zoomed 36 per cent.

The average trading volumes on the counter jumped over five-fold as around 9.49 lakh shares already changed hands against an average sub of 1.5 lakh shares traded in past two weeks. Data showed that the pending buy orders were for 2.45 lakh shares.

After over 37 years of stint with Singer India and 13 years as MD, Rajeev Bajaj has decided to step down from the company to pursue other interests.

"The board has considered his request and accepted the same. Mr Bajaj will continue with the company till April 30, 2023 to provide transition and support to his successor," the company said.

His successor, Khanna was the MD & CEO of Orient Electric, a leader in consumer appliances, where revenues amounted to over Rs 2,500 crore. Khanna has also grown with and managed leading brands like Sony, Jumbo Electronics, Hitachi, Wipro, and Eureka Forbes.

Singer India is a long-standing player in the Indian sewing industry under the renowned brands "Singer" and "Merritt". In addition to sewing machines and its accessories, Singer has a presence in the large and growing home appliances segment.

The management said that India is poised for sustained growth in the coming years, resulting in increased demand for consumer products.

Rakesh has an exceptional track record of institution building, development, manufacturing and launch of innovative consumer products.

"In February, the company raised Rs 56 crore by issuing shares on preferential basis to non-promoters at a price of Rs 76 per share. The fund raising would, therefore, strengthen company’s balance sheet, and provide more leverage to chalk out aggressive plans, in order to expand its business," the management added.