Bajaj Consumer Care up 5% on share buyback plan; rises 17% in 6 sessions

Shares of Bajaj Consumer Care rallied over 5% in opening trade on Tuesday after the consumer goods company announced that its board will meet on December 9 to consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares. The FMCG stock has been gaining for the last six sessions and has risen over 17% during this period.

“The board of directors of the company will consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company at its meeting to be held on Friday, December 9, 2022, in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 2018,” the Bajaj Group company said in a post market hour filing on Monday.

As of September 30, 2022, the promoters owned a 38.04% stake in Bajaj Consumer Care, the shareholding pattern data shows. Mutual Funds, foreign portfolio investors, and individual shareholders held 15.16%, 12.07%, and 25%, respectively.

Cheering the news, Bajaj Consumer Care share price opened higher at ₹181, up 3.2% against the previous closing price of ₹175.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). In the first hour of the trade so far, the smallcap stock rose as much as 5.3% to ₹184.65, while the market capitalisation climbed to ₹2,699 crore. On the volume front, there was a surge in buying activities as 1 lakh shares changed hands over the counter on the BSE as compared to the two-week average volume of 0.48 lakh stocks. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was trading 353 points lower at 62,481 levels, tracking weak cues from global peers.

The shares of Bajaj Consumer Care have risen 43% against its 52-week low of ₹129.25 touched on June 17, 2022, while it hit a 52-week high of ₹207.45 on December 15, 2021. The stock has given a muted return of 1% in the last one year, while it witnessed strong buying momentum in the last six months and surged 31% during this period. In the past one month, Bajaj Consumer shares have added 11.5% as compared to 2% rise in the BSE benchmark Sensex.

For the second quarter ended September 30, 2022 (Q2 FY23), the FMCG firm has reported a 31.93% decline in its consolidated net profit at ₹31.65 crore as compared to ₹46.50 crore in the July-September quarter a year ago. The Bajaj Group company, operating in the beauty care category, posted 8% growth in revenue from operations at ₹232.45 crore, versus ₹216.17 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. The company, which owns brands such as Almond Drops Hair Oil, Brahmi Amla, and Nomark, saw its total expenses rise by 20.08% to ₹203.96 crore during the quarter under review.