Coromandel slips 6% after block deals; EID Parry hits 52-week high

Shares of Coromandel International slipped 6 per cent to Rs 802 on the BSE on Wednesday after more than 2 per cent stake of the fertilser company changed hands in opening deals.

At 09:15 am, around 6.51 million equity shares, representing 2.2 per cent of total equity of Coromandel International, had changed hands via block deal on the BSE, the exchange data shows. The names of the buyers and sellers were not ascertained immediately. The stock of Coromandel International hit a record high of Rs 880 on Tuesday, December 29, on the BSE.

Earlier, in June 2, Coromandel International’s holding company viz., E.I.D. - Parry (India) had sold 5.85 million equity shares held in the Company through open market at a price of Rs 629.91 per share. EID Parry had said the proceeds of sale will be used to bring down the debt of the company.

Meanwhile, the stock of EID Parry hit a 52-week high of Rs 365.75, rallying 10 per cent on the BSE in early morning trade in an otherwise range-bound market. At 09:29 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.19 per cent at 47,524 points.

Analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services have ‘buy’ rating on Coromandel International with target price of Rs 910 per share. “We continue to remain positive on the company’s long-term opportunity, we believe that the delay in subsidy payment by the government will lead to deterioration in working capital by 10 days,” the brokerage firm said in September quarter result update.

Coromandel International’s crop protection revenue increased 25 per cent yoy to Rs 640 crore on the back of new products launched in the last two years in the domestic market and strong demand across B2B channels (especially in Mancozeb and domestic formulation). EBIT (earnings before interest tax) margin increased by 540bps yoy to 21.7 per cent on the back of improved product mix and higher utilization of the Mancozeb plant. We expect EBIT margins to improve further in H2FY21 as well on the back of better product mix, it said.