Arvind Mills slides on denying demerger plans

Arvind Mills slides on denying demerger plans

Arvind Mills fell 2.60% to Rs 50.55 at 10:51 IST on BSE after the company denied the media reports that suggested the company might demerge its brands and apparel retailing businesses.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 104.92 points, or 0.65%, to 17413.49.

On BSE, 6.41 lakh shares of the scrip were traded. The stock had an average daily volume of 26.37 lakh shares on BSE in past one quarter.

The scrip had touched a high of Rs 52.65 and a low of Rs 50.10 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 93.50 on 31 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 35 on 22 January 2008.

The scrip had underperformed the market in the one month to 6 February 2008, falling 36.86% as against the Sensex's 13.10% decline. It had also underperformed the market in the past three months, slipping 23.24% against the Sensex's 4.82% slide.

The mid-cap apparel manufacturer has an equity capital of Rs 209.38 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

At the current price of Rs 50.55, the scrip trades at a PE multiple of 46.80, based on Q3 December 2007 annualised EPS of Rs 1.08.

According to reports, Arvind Mills was likely to hive off its retail (Mega Mart) and brands segment (Arvind Brands) into separate companies going forward. The company had shifted its focus on brands and retailing since last few quarters due to slide in its denim business.

The Arvind Mills stock, on Thursday, 7 February 2008 had ended 1.80% down at Rs 51.90 after touching a high an intra-day high of Rs 56.90.

Arvind Mills net profit fell 94.6% to Rs 5.67 crore on 19.9% rise in sales to Rs 536.84 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

Arvind Mills is one of the leading textile manufacturers in the country. It owns various brands like Flying Machine, Newport and Ruf & Tuf jeans and Excalibur shirts. The company services the entire domestic market besides exporting to neighboring countries.