Binani Cement Overseas acquisition

Binani Cement rose 2.09% to Rs 58.40 at 13:07 IST on BSE on reports it is close to acquiring an African cement company for around $100 million.

The stock hit a high of Rs 61.95 and a low of Rs 58 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 130 on 16 October 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 56 on 5 June 2008.

The company has an equity capital of Rs 203.10 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 58.40 discounts its Q4 March 2008 annualised EPS of Rs 12.63, by a

PE multiple of 4.62.

The company will be raising $125 million to fund the acquisition which is likely to be sealed by the end of current calendar year

Binani has already acquired a 70% stake in Chinese cement manufacturer Shandong Binani Rongan Cement, which is licensed to produce 2.2 metric tonne of cement. Moreover, it is setting up two grinding units overseas one in Mauritius and the other one either in the Ivory Coast, Ghana or Nigeria reports added.

Binani Cement is engaged in manufacturing and marketing cement and non-ferrous metal. The group operates in three segments: cement, zinc and by-products and glass fibre.

Binani Cement’s net profit rose 151.8% to Rs 64.13 on 80.3% growth in net sales to Rs 336 in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.