Large order powers recovery in KEC International

KEC International was down 2.69% to Rs 660 at 12:58 IST on BSE, recovering from session's low of Rs 611.10 after the company said it has bagged a contract worth Rs 482 crore - the single largest order in the history of the company.

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

On BSE, 2,183 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 10,948 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 675 and a low of Rs 611.10 far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 922 on 8 November 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 478.10 on 14 March 2007.

The mid-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till 7 March 2008, declining 4.47% compared to the Sensex’s fall of 8.85%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 21.93% compared to Sensex’s decline of 19.99%.

The company’s current equity is Rs 49.34 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 660 discounts Q3 December 2007 annualized EPS of Rs 55.51, by a PE multiple of 11.89.

KEC International has bagged this contract from Saudi Electric Company (SEC) as part of the consortium of Al Sharif KEC.

In February 2008, KEC International secured two orders worth Rs 97 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India.

On 27 November 2007, KEC International bagged two contracts worth Rs 400 crore in Saudi Arabia and Namibia.

KEC International’s net profit rose 36.9% to Rs 52.30 crore on 23.9% growth in net sales to Rs 708.91 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

KEC's operations range from design, manufacture, supply and construction of turnkey projects of power transmission lines to execution of railway electrification projects, setting up sub-stations and power distribution networks, optical fibre cable (OPGW) installations, turnkey telecom infrastructure services and maintenance of power transmission lines. The company also undertakes rural electrification projects.