Shares of agrochemical company Dharmaj Crop Guard made a strong debut on the domestic stock exchange on Thursday, with the share price listing at ₹266.05, up 12.3% against the upper end of the price band of ₹237 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the share of Ahmedabad-based company opened at ₹266.
Post listing, Dharmaj Crop shares gained as much as 17.7% to touch a high of ₹278.90 on the BSE, while market capitalisation stood at ₹937.7 crore. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was trading 178 points higher at 62,584 levels.
The strong listing of Dharmaj Crop was in line with Dalal Street as the stock was commanding a double-digit premium in the grey market, an unofficial market where investors trade for applications or shares prior to the official listing on the exchanges.
The Gujarat-based agrochemical company has received overwhelming response for its ₹251 crore initial public offering (IPO), which was subscribed 35.5 times. The issue, which opened between November 28-30, saw strong bidding by qualified institutional buyers and high net worth individuals, with the quota reserved for them subscribing by 48 times and 52 times, respectively. The portion for retail investors received 21.5 times bids. The price band for the offer was ₹216-237 per share.
The IPO comprised of a fresh issue of up to ₹216 crore and an offer for the sale of 14,83,000 equity shares by the existing shareholders, including an anchor allocation of 31,62,540 equity shares. The lot size for the issue was 60 equity shares and multiples of 60 equity shares after that.
Ahead of the IPO, the company had raised ₹75 crore by allocating 31.62 lakh equity shares to anchor investors, at Rs 237 per share. Elara India Opportunities Fund, Rajasthan Global Securities, and Resonance Opportunities Fund participated in the anchor round, buying shares worth ₹34.94 crore, ₹25 crore, and ₹15 crore, respectively.
The IPO proceeds from the fresh issue of equity shares will be used for setting up a manufacturing facility in Gujarat, and meet working capital requirements along with repaying some debts.
Established in 2015, Dharmaj Crop Guard is engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing, and marketing of a wide range of Agro chemical formulations such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulator, micro fertilisers and antibiotic to the B2C and B2B customers. It exports its products to more than 20 countries in Latin America, East African Countries, Middle East and Far East Asia.
The company's total assets as of July 31, 2022, stand at ₹305.7 crore, while total equity is worth ₹103.2 crore. Current liabilities as of July 31, 2022, stand at ₹162.6 crore. As of the quarter ending July 31, 2022, Dharmaj Crop's total income stood at ₹221.1 crore, while the company recorded a quarterly profit of ₹24.5 crore.
