Bajaj Auto's loss is Jaiprakash Associates' gain

Jaiprakash Associates rose 2.34% to Rs 211.70 at 10:56 IST on BSE after the Bombay Stock Exchange said Jaiprakash Associates will replace Bajaj Auto in the benchmark Sensex from 14 March 2008.

India’s second largest two wheeler maker by sales Bajaj Auto declined 3.4% to Rs 1,825.

On BSE, 15.01 lakh shares were traded in Jaiprakash Associates counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 27.47 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 215 and a low of Rs 200 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 510 on 4 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 98.60 on 8 March 2007.

The large-cap scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 7 March 2008, declining 39.34% compared to the Sensex’s fall of 8.85%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 47.08% compared to Sensex’s decline of 19.99%.

The company’s current equity is Rs 232.89 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The current price of Rs 211.70 discounts Q3 December 2007 annualized EPS of Rs 5.38 by a PE multiple of 39.34.

Sensex, a basket of 30 constituent stocks, represents a sample of large, liquid and representative companies. The base year of Sensex is 1978-79 and the base value is 100.

Jaiprakash Associates’ net profit rose 52.90% to Rs 156 crore on 1% rise in net sales to Rs 900 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006. The net profit was boosted by 155% jump in other income to Rs 102 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006. The results were declared on 12 January 2008.

Jaiprakash Associates, the flagship company of the Jaypee Group, is involved in construction of major engineering projects for the last four decades, including complex hydro power/river valley projects, and expressways. The company also has it presence in cement, hospitality and real estate business.