Fertilizer producer Pradeep Phosphates gains on exchange debut

New Delhi, May 27

Shares of Paradeep Phosphates made a relatively firm market debut on Friday as it got listed at Rs 43.55 with a 4 per cent premium over its issue price.

The issue price was set at Rs 42 per share.

The rally didn't stop there as the stock of the fertilizer company surged as high as at Rs 47.25 later, NSE data showed.

The IPO issue witnessed 1.75 times subscription. The portion alloted for retail investors was subscribed 1.37 times, high-networth individual portion 82 per cent and the institutional investor category saw three times subscription.

The listing of the fertilizer company took place days after shares of much-anticipated Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) made a weak listing on the stock exchanges.

Between LIC and Pradeep Phosphates, shares of logistics company Delhivery too made its debut on the exchanges, but with a mild premium.

The fertilizer company proposed that the net proceeds of the fresh issue would be utilised to partly finance the acquisition of the facility in Goa, repayment or prepayment of certain borrowings and other general corporate purposes.

Founded in 1981, Paradeep Phosphates is one of India's largest producers of non-urea fertilizer and of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP).

"The company is one of the largest manufacturers of non-urea-based fertilizers and has competitive advantages in terms of backward integration and location. However, the company is operating in a highly regulated industry, with a very high dependency on the agriculture sector; the business is subject to climatic conditions and is cyclical in nature," said Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart.

Nevertheless, the issue was reasonably priced and interested investors may accumulate the shares post listing for the long-term, Meena said.

"Those who applied for listing gains can maintain a stop loss of Rs 40."