STOCKS BENIFITTED BY RAILWAY BUDGET

Select stocks rise as rail budget signals new initiatives

Stocks of the companies that cater to Indian railways gained after Indian Railways Minister Lalu Prased Yadav on 26 February 2008 announced some new initiative towards easing infrastructure bottlenecks in the Railways.

Train wagon manufacturing companies Texmaco (up 5% to Rs 1712) and BEML (up 2.70% to Rs 1180), rose after the Railway Budget laid down plans to procure a record 22,000 train locomotives for the coming year. These two companies derive sizable portion of their revenues from from the manufacture of of wagons for the Railways.

Kalindee Rail Nirman (up 1.11% to Rs 475), rose on expectations that the firm may benefit significantly from the setting up of dedicated freight corridors by the Railways. This may translate into topline growth for the company from the next financial year. Kalindee Rail Nirman is a frontrunner in railway related infrastructure works such as construction of new line and gauge conversion.

Kernex Microsystems India rose 5% to Rs 230.30 on expectations that they may benefit from the Government’s focus to strengthen railway safety through automatic devices such as anti-collision device (ACD).

Nitin Fire Protection Industries (up 5.64% to Rs 509.05) rose on Railways' proposal to increase anti-fire security measures inside trains. Nitin Fire Protection manufactures fire protection equipments.

Bartronics India (up 5.18% to Rs 235.50) rose on Railways’ proposal to extend the usage of smart cards from Western Railways to other rail divisions. Bartronics is a leading provider of smart card-based technology.

MIC Electronics (up 4.72% to Rs 820) rose on Railways’ plan to introduce estimated time of arrival (ETA) display on the coaches of long-run trains. MIC Electronics make light-emitting diode (LED) display systems.

Zicom Electronic Security Systems (up 5% to Rs 170.20) rose on Railways' plan to install close circuit television at all important stations. Zicom is a market leader in the electronic security equipment space.

Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (up 3.11% to Rs 758.50) rose on Railways' proposal to float special purpose vehicle for rail links to Mundra, Kandla and Krishnapatnam ports.