Date:28/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/04/28/stories/2005042802011500.htm

Back Eveready off to a good start

Kohinoor Mandal

Kolkata , April 27

EVEREADY Industries India Ltd started off with a bang at the BSE and NSE on Wednesday.

The shares of the company were freshly listed at the bourses after the company was demerged and the erstwhile tea business was hived off into a new company called McLeod Russel India Ltd.

At the NSE, Eveready Industries opened at Rs 75. Subsequently, it reached a high of Rs 98.40 and closed at Rs 84.80. Approximately 82 lakh shares were traded throughout the day but actual delivery was as low as 15 per cent.

At the BSE, the stock opened at Rs 63.4 and closed at Rs 84.85 after registering a high of Rs 98.2. More than 43 lakh shares were traded during the day. Market sources said that heavy volumes changed hands during the first couple of trading hours.

The process of demerging Eveready Industries began in June, last year and was finally over in the beginning of this year. At present, Eveready Industries deals only in batteries, torch-lights and packet teas.

The erstwhile Eveready scrip closed at around Rs 80. Thereafter it was delisted. However, at that time the capital base of the company was Rs 55.78 crore. As a part of the demerger plan, the equity base was halved between the two companies. The face value of the scrip was also reduced to Rs 5 from Rs 10.

When contacted, Mr Deepak Khaitan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Eveready Industries, was jubilant about today's activity of the scrip. "It is a good opening," he told Business Line.

The company, which is scheduled to announce its annual results for 2004-05 on Thursday, is a major player in the dry cell market. Its market share is approximately 45-46 per cent.

Meanwhile, the company has conducted road shows in Hong Kong and Singapore to present a proper perspective of Eveready Industries. "We met 40-50 fund managers and analysts during those road shows," Mr Khaitan told reporters last Sunday.

According to him, several investors had expressed keen interest in picking up stake in Eveready but nothing has been finalised. Everything would depend on the price movement of the scrip on the bourses.

It might be noted that the brand Eveready is also celebrating its centenary year of presence in India. Apart from several functions, the company has decided to extent the brand to a non-battery product and it would be announced in the next three months.