HUDCO share up 298% in one yr; co to raise ₹40,000 cr in FY25

The board of PSU Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) Ltd today announced an interim dividend of ₹1.5 per share for the financial year 2023-24.

In an exchange filing, the state-owned financial institution says its board in its meeting on March 20, 2024, has approved the declaration of interim dividend for 2023-24 at 15% i.e. ₹1.50 per equity share of ₹10 each. The board has fixed March 29, 2024, as the date to determine the eligibility of shareholders for payment of the interim dividend.

The HUDCO board in its meeting also announced to raise funds through the issue of bonds or debentures, up to a maximum amount of ₹40,000 crore during the financial year 2024-25.

The HUDCO board has also sought an increase in the overall borrowing limit to ₹1,50,000 crore from the existing limit of ₹1,00,000 crore as earlier approved by shareholders u/s 180(1)(c) of the Companies Act, 2013.

The process for payment of interim dividend will be completed in 30 days, the company says.

Shares of HUDCO closed 0.85% down at ₹175.7 on the BSE today. The stock opened a gap up at ₹179.95 and surged an intra-day high of ₹181.40 before settling at ₹177.20. The scrip is currently trading 22.5% down compared to its one-year high of ₹226.95 touched on February 2, 2024. At the current share price, HUDCO's m-cap stands at ₹35,173.38 crore.

HUDCO is the premier techno-financing public sector enterprise in housing and infrastructure development. With an authorised capital of ₹2,500 crore, as of date, HUDCO has a paid-up equity of ₹2,001.90 crore.

The PSU stock has risen a staggering 298.07% in the past year while recording a significant 35.82% rise in the calendar year 2024 alone. In the past six months, the stock has risen 142.87%.

HUDCO had recently said it was planning an investment worth ₹14,500 crore for financing the housing and urban infrastructure projects in Gujarat. The Gujarat government intends to develop the state by implementing various housing and infrastructure projects, it said.

The company's net sales stood at ₹2,012 crore in the quarter ending December 2023, while its net profit was recorded at ₹519 crore. In the July to September quarter of FY24, the company's net profit surged by 14% to ₹451.69 crore, as against ₹396.35 crore in the same period last year. The company’s higher total income stood at ₹1,880.85 crore vs ₹1,746.87 crore in the same period last year.

HUDCO had sold a 7% stake in the state-run company via an offer for sale (OFS) in October 2023. The government still owns 75.17% of the company, while 24.83% is owned by the public.

Global brokerage Jefferies, in its February 2024 report, had said despite a massive bull run in PSU stocks, there was still a lot of room left for gains. Taking into account valuation metrics like price to book (P/B) and price to earnings (P/E), Jefferies had pointed out that there is a significant valuation upside in most PSU stocks compared to its 2006-2012 average premium /(discount) over Nifty-50.

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