Rekha Jhunjhunwala-backed IKS Health shares list at 43% premium in weak market

Rekha Jhunjhunwala-backed Inventurus Knowledge Solutions (IKS Health), which provides healthcare support services, made a stellar debut on the stock market on Thursday, in an otherwise highly volatile broader market. The shares of Inventurus Knowledge Solutions listed at ₹1,900 on the NSE, a premium of 43% over the initial public offering (IPO) price of ₹1,329 apiece. On the BSE, the healthcare-related stock opened at ₹1,856, up 39.6% over the issue price.  On the other hand, the equity benchmarks witnessed sharp selling today, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty falling up to 1.5% as the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish commentary triggered sell-off in global equity market.

Post listing, Inventurus Knowledge Solutions shares gained as much as 47% to hit a high of ₹1,957.45, while it touched a low of ₹1,851 in the first two hours of trade so far.

At the time of reporting, the stock was trading at ₹1,909.30, up 43.6%, with a market capitalisation of ₹32,703 crore.

The listing of IKS Health was better that expected given the bearish trend in the equity market. The stock was commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of ₹421 in the unlisted market, indicating the estimated listing price to be around ₹1750, up 31.7%.

The company raised ₹2,498 crore via IPO, which was entirely an offer for sale of 1.88 crore shares at a price band of ₹1,265-1,329 per share. The issue received a strong response from investors, with the IPO subscribing by 52.68 times. The public issue was booked 14.55 times in the retail category, 80.64 times in the qualified institutional buyer segment, and 23.25 times in the non-institutional investor space.

Ahead of the IPO, IKS raised ₹1,120.17 crore from anchor investors by allotting 84.28 lakh shares to 61 anchor investors at the upper end of the price band.

Most brokerages had recommended “Subscribe” to the IPO with long term perspective, citing steady growth in its top and bottom lines and its niche place in providing administrative support services to healthcare enterprises, including doctors and other healthcare providers.

As of September 30, 2024, IKS Health serves over 778 healthcare organisations, which include health systems, multi-specialty medical groups, and other outpatient and inpatient providers. Some of their key clients are notable entities such as Mass General Brigham Inc., Texas Health Care PLLC, and The GI Alliance Management.

On the financial front, the company has achieved consistent growth in its revenue and profit in the last three years. The revenue stood at ₹784.47 crore in FY22, ₹1,060.16 crore in FY23, and ₹1,857.94 crore in FY24. Similarly, the profit grew from ₹232.97 crore in FY22 to ₹305.23 crore in FY23, and further to ₹370.49 crore in FY24. For the first half of FY25, ending in September 2024, the company reported a net profit of ₹208.58 crore from a total income of ₹1294.61 crore.

On Wednesday, three companies - One Mobikwik Systems, Vishal Mega Mart, and Sai Life Sciences – made debut on the stock market. The shares of Mobikwik listed at a premium of 58.5% at ₹442.25 on the BSE, while Vishal Mega Mart debuted at ₹110, up 41% over the IPO price of ₹78. On the other hand, shares of Sai Life Sciences listed at 20% higher at ₹600 apiece.

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