Zenith Birla surges on stock split, bonus proposal

Zenith Birla India surged 4.99% to Rs 63.15 at 9:57 IST on BSE, after the company said its board will consider a 5-for-1 stock split in a meeting to be held on 28 January 2008.

The company made this announcement after trading hours, on Friday, 18 January 2008.

Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was down 429.44 points or 2.26% to 18,584.26, as Asian markets fell after a proposed US stimulus package failed to soothe fears the US will tip into recession.

On BSE, 250 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 2.50 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 63.15 and a low of Rs 63.15 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 79.70 on 4 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 29.40 on 28 March 2007.

The mid-cap scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 18 January 2008, declining 10.22% compared to the Sensex's decline of 0.78%. It had outperformed the market in the past one quarter, rising 62.35% compared to Sensex's rise of 8.28%.

The company's current equity is Rs 40.07 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The current price of Rs 63.15 discounts Q2 September 2007 annualized EPS of Rs 4.13 by a PE multiple of 15.29.

The board would also consider issuing bonus equity shares at the meeting to be held on 28 January 2008.

Zenith Birla India's net profit declined 8.2% to Rs 4.14 crore on 7.6% growth in net sales to Rs 110.22 crore in Q2 September 2007 over Q2 September 2006.

The diversified and company has four divisions. The engineering division at Khopoli manufactures steel pipes, industrial tools and knives; the chemical division at Boisar manufactures dye-intermediates; the textile division at Khamgaon manufactures spinning yarn; and the tool divisions at Nashik and Aurangabad manufacture tools.