Eveready Industries inducts Burman family into board; stock up 1%

Eveready Industries, the country’s largest dry cell battery maker, announced that its board at its meeting on Tuesday passed resolutions to induct Burman family members into the board, subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company. The development came nearly a month after the Burman family – promoters of Dabur India – acquired 14.3% shares in the open offer made to public shareholders of Eveready Industries.

The battery maker in an exchange filing on Tuesday said that its board has approved the appointment of Anand Chand Burman, the chairman of Dabur India, and Mohit Burman, the vice-chairman of Dabur, as non-executive directors (additional directors), effective from July 12, 2022.

The board also approved the appointment of Arjun Lamba as an additional director in the capacity of a non-executive & term of director of the company, effective July 12, 2022. Lamba, 41, is the founder-director of Guardian Advisors Private Limited, which is a SEBI registered portfolio management company that has been in operation for 15 plus years.

Besides, the board passed a resolution to appoint FMCG industry veteran Sunil Kumar Alagh as an independent director (additional director) of the company for a period of five years, effective July 12, 2022, subject to requisite approval. Alagh is the managing director of SKA Advisors, a business advisory and consultancy service with an emphasis on marketing and brand management strategies. He has 40 years of hands-on experience and has developed and incubated several successful brands and has held very senior positions in the private and public sector. He was the Managing Director & CEO of Britannia Industries from 1989 - 2003.

The restructuring of the board follows the completion of the open offer by the Burman Group, which has subsequently received promoter status in the company. The Burmans currently own a 38.3% stake in Eveready Industries after a recent open offer and is the largest shareholder in the company.

As per the report, the Burmans would be appointed as the new chairman of the company in the next board meeting when Eveready announces its June quarter earnings report. The post has been vacant since March this year after Aditya Khaitan, younger son of late Brij Mohan Khaitan, resigned as non-executive chairman, following an open offer and expression of interest from the Burman family to take control of the company.

Following the announcement, Eveready Industries shares opened marginally higher at ₹321.25, against the previous closing price of ₹319.7 on the BSE. In the first hour of trade, the stock gained as much as 0.8% to hit a high of ₹322.35. The stock has gained after three sessions of consecutive falls and lost 1.75% during this period.

The smallcap stock trades higher than 5-day, 20-day, and 50-day moving averages, but lower than 100-day and 200-day moving averages. The share price has gained nearly 1% in a week, 2.5% over a month, and 9.5% in the calendar year 2022 (year-to-date basis). In the last one year, the stock has delivered a muted return of 2%, while it has surged 340% over a three year period.