Nicholas Piramal 3.29 pc high to Rs 341 at BSE

Mumbai, Apr 24 (UNI) Nicholas Piramal India Limited today surged by 3.29 per cent to Rs 341 at 1500 hrs on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), after reporting 317.16 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 112.3 crore on 33.51 per cent growth in net sales to Rs 516.98 crore in fourth Quarter ended on March 2008, over Q4 March 2007.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up by 9.97 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 16,708.01, as some Asian shares got a lift after a stamp duty cut, to slash dealing costs, gave the flagging Shanghai index in China a boost, while a modest dollar rebound supported exporters.

In BSE, 73,880 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 55,855 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 347 and a low of Rs 335, so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 383 on 19 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 231.25 on 21 August 2007.

The mid-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till April 23, 2008, gaining 11.21 per cent compared to the Sensex's return of 2.96 per cent. It had also outperformed the market in the past one quarter, gaining 17 per cent compared to Sensex's decline of 3.04 per cent.

The Company's current equity is Rs 41.80 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The current price of Rs 341 discounts its Q3 December 2007 EPS of Rs 14.13, by a PE multiple of 24.13.

Nicholas Piramal India's net profit rose by 60.12 per cent to Rs 301.48 crore on 18.18 per cent growth in total income to Rs 1,938.07 crore on FY 2008, over FY 2007.

On April 15, 2008, Nicholas Piramal signed an agreement with Khandelwal Laboratories for the purchase of its anti-spasmodic Anafortan and antibiotic CEFI brands for a total consideration of Rs 116 crore.

In January 2008, the company acquired pharmaceuticals business of Healthline, Bangalore for a consideration of Rs 15 crore.

UNI AR SR AG1612