This whisky maker's shares surged 19x in a year; did you miss the party?

Shares of Piccadily Agro Industries, makers of the world-known Indian single malt "Indri", has turned multi-bagger in the last one year, driven by improvement in its profitability thanks to diversified product portfolio. Once a penny stock, the share price of the company, which manufacturers malt spirits, ethanol, extra neutral alcohol (ENA), CO2, and sugar, has zoomed multi-folds, from its 52-week low of ₹46.01 on May 26, 2023, to ₹860 in intraday today. Last week, the smallcap stock touched its all-time high level of ₹903.05 on May 22, 2024.   

In the last 12 months, the stock has given as much as 19 times returns to its shareholders. In simple terms, an investment of ₹1 lakh in this stock on May 26, 2023, would have become ₹19.6 lakh in just one year.

On Monday, Piccadily Agro shares opened higher at ₹858.40 after ending 5% lower at ₹835.55 on the BSE. In the early trade, the stock hit a high of ₹860, but soon lost momentum and dropped as much as 4.6% to hit an intraday low of ₹797.

With a market capitalisation of ₹7,716 crore, the stock has delivered 280% returns in the past six months; 130% in three months; 200% in the calendar year 2024; and 29% in a month. The counter has seen a correction of nearly 4% in a week. In the long-term horizon, the counter has given 5,750% returns in three years, 8,592% in 5 years, and 327,080% since its listing in 1997.

Incorporated in 1994, Piccadily Agro Industries has been engaged in the sugar industry for 27 years and in distillery products for 15 years, with a manufacturing plant in Karnal, (Haryana) covering an area of around 168 acres. The facility comprises a 5,000-tonne-per-day crushed sugar production unit and a 150 KLPD distillery unit. It also has a co-gen power capacity of 14 MW for sugar and 3MW for distillery units.

The company is one of India’s premier independent producers and distributors of malt spirits, which includes the award-winning single malt whisky “Indri” and a variety of other brands such as Kamet Single Malt and Camikara Rum.

For the full fiscal FY24, Piccadily reported revenue of ₹829 crore, while net profit stood at ₹112 crore. In the financial year 2024, the company derived 67% of its revenue from distillery products and 33% from the sugar segment as compared to 56.88% from the distillery division and 43.12% from the sugar business in FY23. The profitability was boosted by an increase in capacity utilisation leading to higher volume and higher sales realisation in both segments (sugar and distillery).

During the fiscal, the company achieved a historic milestone by selling over 1,00,000 cases (9lts per case) to become the ‘fastest growing single malt whisky in the world’. The company, which commands 30% of the Indian single malt whisky market in India, became the largest exporter of Indian single malts from India with a 35% share of total volumes.

(DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by investment experts on fortuneindia.com are either their own or of their organisations, but not necessarily that of fortuneindia.com and its editorial team. Readers are advised to consult certified experts before taking investment decisions.)