Voltas Trips

Price on 20/06/97: Rs 1650.00

Price on 27/06/97: Rs 2060.00

The scrip gained 24.5 per cent in the previous week on announcement of open offer for acquisation of 20 per cent by Messer Grieshman Gmbh. The acquirers are making an open offer to all the existing shareholders of Bombay Oxygen to purchase 30,000 shares at a price of Rs 3,000 per share, which is higher than the average 26-week price. The offer period opens on August 14 and will remain open for a month.

Hoechst AG owns a majority stake in the Messer group. And currently, the Messer group or its group companies do not hold any shares in the Indian company. The company has sought approval from the Foreign Investment Board approval. However, it is still not known whether the approval has been received.

 

Zandu Pharmaceuticals

Price on 20/06/97: Rs 2850.00

Price on 27/06/97: Rs 3149.00

This scrip gained 10.52 per cent in the previous week. Bullish sentiments in this scrip are attributed to the of issue of bonus shares in the ratio 1:5. This Mumbai-based ayurvedic pharmaceutical company has made several bonus issues in the past. For the year ended March 1997, the sales increased by 20 per cent to Rs 91.35 crore. Its gross profit improved by 14.50 per cent to Rs 6.00 crore. But its net profit declined by 16.83 per cent to Rs 2.63 crore. Still, the company has maintained a dividend of 30 per cent.

Voltas

Price on 20/06/97: Rs 28.00

Price on 27/06/97: Rs 23.25

The company declared one its worst performance in the last eight years and as a result its share price, which had edged up on the eve of results dipped 20 per cent in the previous week. For the year ended March 1997, Voltas posted a net loss of Rs 16.82 crore as against a net profit of Rs 15.70 crore in the previous year.

The loss for the year would have been higher if it had not sold off its property. Slowdown in its textile machinery business and general industrial activity are attributed as the main reasons for the loss. The company's total turnover rose marginally to Rs 1,469.40 crore in 1996-97 from Rs 1,459.46 crore in the previous year.

As a part of its restructuring, Voltas is likely to hive off its white goods business to a new company. It has already tied up with Air International Group, an Australian air conditioner maker, for manufacturing transport air-conditioning equipment and its accessories.

Vashisti Detergents

Price on 20/06/97: Rs 48.25

Price on 27/06/97: Rs 40.25

The stock price of this company, where Hindustan Lever holds a majority stake has been following its parent's footsteps. It only dropped 10 per cent last week owing to offloading by market operators on announcement of its results. The company has done very well, with the net loss reducing to Rs 6.05 crore in 1996-97 against Rs 15.63 crore in the previous year. Gross turnover stood at Rs 116.85 crore against Rs 60.13 crore in the same period.

Last year, the company completed a Rs 51.39-crore rights issue. In accordance with the one-time settlement with FIs, the company also retired its long term debts.