CEAT speeds up on sale of Mumbai land

CEAT surged 11.95% to Rs 140.55 at 16:15 IST on BSE, after the company said on Monday it has agreed to sell nearly 7 acres of surplus land at Bhandup in Mumbai for Rs 130 crore..

The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 10 March 2008.

Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was down 82.33 points or 0.52% to 15,893.19 after surprisingly weak US employment data heightened fears of a US recession and knocked Asian markets lower.

On BSE, 40,867 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 1.32 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 150 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 244 on 10 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 104.50 on 9 March 2007.

The small-cap scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 7 March 2008, declining 27.28% compared to the Sensex’s fall of 8.85%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 42.42% compared to Sensex’s decline of 19.99%.

The company’s current equity is Rs 34.24 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 140.55 discounts Q3 December 2007 annualized EPS of Rs 22.45, by a PE multiple of 6.26.

CEAT’s net profit rose 63.2% to Rs 19.22 crore on 5.1% growth in net sales to Rs 564.11 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

CEAT (previously Ceat Tyres), the flagship of the RPG group, manufactures steel-belted radials for passenger cars. The range of tyres manufactured is marketed under the Ceat, Samraat and Secura brand names.