IRCON shares drop 8% after govt announces 8% stake stale via OFS

Shares of government civil construction company IRCON International Ltd fell 8% in the opening trade on Thursday after the company announced its plans to sell up to 8% stake in the company via an offer for sale.

The floor price has been set at ₹154 per share, a 10.5% discount to the stock's closing price on Wednesday. The offer will open today from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm and will close on December 8.

"Offer for Sale in IRCON opens tomorrow for Non Retail investors. Retail investors can bid on Friday. Govt. would divest 8% equity including Green Shoe option," the secretary of the department of investment and public asset management under the finance ministry said via X.

The government aims to raise around ₹1,159 crore via the stake sale.

The government currently owns a 73.18% stake in IRCON. It'll initially sell a 4% stake, which an additional 4% will increase if the offer is oversubscribed.

"The promoter proposes to sell up to 3,76,20,629 equity shares of face value of 2 each, representing 4% of the total issued and paid-up share capital of the company on December 7, 2023 (for non-retail investors only) and on December 8, 2023 (for retail investors and for non-retail investors who choose to carry forward their unallotted bids) with an option to additionally sell 13,76,20,629 shares," IRCON says via a stock exchange filing.

The employees will be eligible to apply for shares up to ₹2,00,000. If under-subscribed, the portion may be allotted proportionately, for a value of ₹2,00,000, to an employee not exceeding ₹5,00,000.

In the current fiscal year 2023-24, the government has raised ₹8,859 crore by selling a stake in government PSUs, much below its annual target of ₹51,000 crore.

IRCON shares, meanwhile, opened a gap down at ₹157.95 and fell to an intra-day low of ₹157.50, taking its m-cap down to ₹14,911.88 crore. At the current share price of ₹158.6 on the BSE, the stock is trading 11.8% down as compared to its 52-week high of ₹179.9 touched on December 4, 2023.

In Q2, the company's income stood at ₹3,136.3 crore against ₹2,305.9 crore in the year-ago period, a jump of 36% on Y-o-Y. The revenue during the quarter increased by 33.4% to ₹2,986.8 crore against ₹2,238.9 crore in Q2FY23.

Profit after tax increased by 44% to ₹250.8 crore in Q2 FY24 as against ₹174.2 crore in the year-ago period. The EPS stood at ₹2.67 per equity share of the face value of ₹2 per share.

For the half-year ending September 30, 2023, its revenue during the quarter increased 34.5% to ₹5,704 crore against ₹4,240.8 crore in H1 FY23. Its profit increased 37.5% to ₹438.2 crore in H1 FY24 against ₹318.8 crore in H1 FY23.