Top Ten Companies With Highest Public Holding

Whenever we analyse a company, apart from the financial performance, another factor also forms an integral part of such an analysis. This relates to the promoters' background and how much a promoter's stake is there in the company. It is a vital tool of analysis as it clearly indicates whether the promoters have faith in their business. In simple terms, a higher promoter holding provides solace to those who invest in that company. On the other hand, lower promoter holding clearly indicates operational and financial weakness in the company. Although this is not the rule of the thumb, it can be taken as a guidance point. Herewith we have provided a list of some companies which have lower promoters’ holding or higher general public holding.

Sunitee Chemicals
BSE Code 531945

Founded in 1992 as a chemicals company, Ahmedabad-based Sunitee Chemicals has one of the lowest promoter shareholding. The public shareholding in this firm is up to 98 per cent. The stock of the company in the last eight years has consistently yielded negative returns. There is no EPS reported by the company in many years while the operating profits are also in just a few thousand rupees. Besides this, no other information about the company is available.

Innovation Software Exports
BSE Code 517433

Innovation Software Exports (ISEL), as the name suggests, is in the field of software exports. The surprising factor is that while most IT companies have grown by leaps and bounds, ISEL has witnessed continuous decline on the sales front since FY08. An additional surprising factor is that the promoters’ holding in the company is zero. Rather, it has consistently gone down from 7.16 per cent in the March 2010 quarter. As on March 2012, the public holding stands at 96.26 per cent while private corporate bodies hold 3.74 per cent.

Shimoga Technologies
BSE Code 513418

Shimoga Technologies seems to be a bit better placed than ISEL in terms of promoter holding which stands at a miniscule 0.42 per cent. The general public holds 92.65 per cent and private corporate bodies hold 6.93 per cent. Even Shimoga has witnessed a continuous decline in sales since FY08. The company has a face value of Re 1 but is trading at just 24 paise. The worst part is that it has accumulated huge losses.

Fintech Communication
BSE Code 531754

The company is supposed to be engaged in software trading, sourcing customers & suppliers and marketing telecommunication & financial products but as mentioned in the annual report of FY11, the company is not active on any front and the management is looking for the right opportunity to make the company operational. Its operations have been held due to a scarcity of working capital. The promoter and the promoter group hold 3.5 per cent of the total outstanding shares. The volumes for the stock are negligible and the stock price has not seen any upward movement in a year.

Nu-Tech Corporate Services
BSE Code 526313

The firm is undertaking efforts to recover its dues from NPAs arising out of leasing/hire-purchase activities and the company also has huge amounts of income-tax liabilities to the extent of Rs 20.4 crore, ultimately resulting in no funds and cessation of all activities. The company has also defaulted on loan payments to the extent of Rs 35.87 crore. For each quarter since the last three years, the company has consistently been posting a loss of above Rs 0.60 crore. No shares are held by the promoters in this company.

Venus Universal
BSE Code 530769

Venus Universal Ltd was incorporated in 1991 as Venus Eyevision Ltd and is in the business of IOL lenses and other ophthalmic equipment. The scrip at present is available at a CMP of Rs 0.24 with a face value of Rs 2. The promoter of the company holds only 3 per cent of the total shareholding while 91.13 per cent of the shares are held by the public. The scrip has been beaten down in the last one year and is trading at an all-time low.

Bisil Plast
BSE Code 531671

Bisil Plast Ltd at presently is trading at its all-time low on BSE at Rs 0.50. The company has a presence in the containers’ packaging sector. We tried to get more information from the company’s website which, however, has not been updated. From whatever data is available, the promoter of the company holds a mere 0.04 per cent of the stake while 90.8 per cent of the shareholding is with the public. The scrip has been beaten down in the last one year and is trading at an all-time low.

Stocknet International
BSE Code 512640

The first thing that comes to mind for an IT software company is that it would have a very functional website. Surprisingly then, there is no website for this Howrah-based company and even the one mentioned on the stock exchange does not open. On the BSE the status of the company is shown as suspended for penal reasons and the market cap is not mentioned. The company has also not filed its annual reports for the last two years. The share price of the company has been in the range of Rs 1-3 over the last 10 years and the trading volumes have also eroded. The promoters’ shareholding is almost zero while the public shareholding is more than 99 per cent.

Lloyds Finance
BSE Code 507870

Lloyds Finance (LFL), promoted by R N Gupta, was established in 1985 as Magnificent Leasing & Investment. It got its present name in September 1991. The company’s activities include leasing, hire purchase, corporate finance, consumer finance, merchant banking, investment banking, project finance, portfolio management, equity research and forex advisory services. The company also provides services like stock broking, factoring, housing finance, registrar to issues and share transfer agency through subsidiaries and affiliates. The general public holds around 90.34 per cent of the total shareholding of the company.

Synergy Cosmetics (Exim)
BSE Code 531115

Synergy Cosmetics (Exim) has general public shareholding of around 89.92 per cent. It is listed as a ‘B’ group company and it is belongs to the commercial trading and distribution industry. The current market capitalisation of the company is only Rs 1 crore. One should note that the promoter has zero per cent holding in the company, implying no confidence in the business.