Avanti Feeds surges by 18 per cent as company assures 10 per cent growth

To investors’ relief, prawn and fish feeds manufacturer Avanti Feeds shot up by over 18 per cent on the bourses in Thursday’s intraday trade. The stock had dipped by over 40 per cent on the bourses since April 2018.

Preceded by an aggressive upsurge through 2017, the stock has been coming down in tranches since December 2017. Earlier, the stock has managed to chart a dream run from Rs. 4.90 per share in January 2010 to its highest Rs. 2,888 per share as on November 10, 2017 on BSE, in less than a decade.

In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, the company posted a marginal decline of 2.6 per cent in its net profit to Rs. 83.47 crore on year-on-year basis. However, the company’s revenue increased by 24.2 per cent to Rs. 834.38 crore in the Q4FY18 on a yearly basis. The company posted a 21 per cent increase in its other expenses in Q4FY18 on YoY basis. The company’s total debt reduced to Rs. 5.5 crore as on March 31, 2018 as against Rs. 13.5 crore as on March 31, 2017.

In a recent media interaction, the company attributed the fall in the stock prices to a shrink in the global demand for shrimp following the impact of an extended winters in the US and a sharp decline in farm gate prices. However, the company is expecting a revival of demand and a 10 per cent growth in capacity utilisation and a 10-15 per cent growth in its PBT in FY19.

In Thursday’s trade, the stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 1,921 per share and an intraday low of Rs. 1,679 per share on BSE. At 14:33 hours IST, the Avanti Feeds was trading at Rs. 1,900 per share, up by 17.10 per cent on BSE.