KOCHI: As the buzz created by the Cochin Shipyard Ltd’s IPO is yet to die down, it’s time to see which Kerala companies gave the best returns to investors since their listing.‘Express’ looked at the performance of nine companies from Kerala which traded very actively on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and there are some clear winners.The biggest wealth creator is Geojit Financial Services, the stockbroking firm co-founded by C J George. It was listed on the stock exchanges in 1994. Your investment of `1000 in its shares would be worth `4.5 lakh now and you would have earned another `39,000 as dividends.
The state-owned Kerala State Investment Development Corporation, which owns 8.47 per cent equity stake in the stockbroking outfit, is the top beneficiary of Geojit Financial’s share rise. Its investment of `50 lakh in Geojit is currently worth `225 crore based on the ruling stock price. It also received `19.5 crore as dividends. “Geojit has been one of the top 20 wealth creators in the country and not just among Kerala companies as per a recent survey by a magazine,” said George, managing director of Geojit Financial Services. “We have also been consistently giving 75-100 per cent dividends over the years,” he said.
Closely following Geojit is Manappuram Finance, the Thrissur-based gold loan company. An investment of Rs 1,000 in 1995 when the company got listed would fetch you Rs 4.25 lakh. Kizhakkambalam-based Kitex Garments, the world’s third largest kidswear manufacturer, is the third biggest wealth creator among Kerala firms. An investment of Rs 1,000 when the company was listed in 1995 will be worth Rs 3.98 lakh now. Anoop Nambiath, senior analyst at Equity Intelligence India - a Kochi-based wealth management firm run by share market expert Porinju Veliyath - said Kitex’s value had shot up when the stock price went over Rs 1,000-levels. Now, its share price is trading at Rs 247-Rs 250 levels.
“At some point when Kitex’s stock price went over Rs 1000/share, it would have been the biggest wealth creator. But at today’s prices, Geojit is the top wealth creator among Kerala firms,” said Anoop. Equity Intelligence culled out the data for ‘Express’.
V-Guard, founded by Kochouseph Chittilappilly, is the fourth biggest wealth creator from Kerala.
The minimum investment of Rs 8,200 in 2008 when the company launched its IPO at an issue price of Rs 82/share, would be worth Rs 2.7 lakh for investors now. Muthoot Capital’s Rs 1,000 investment in 1995 would have grown to Rs 1.15 lakh now.Wonderla’s IPO, which was priced at Rs 125/share in 2014, is now worth Rs 356/share. Similarly, an investor who made a minimum investment of Rs 17,500 for buying 100 shares in Muthoot Finance IPO in 2011, will be sitting on Rs 46,560 worth of shares. This shows both Wonderla and Muthoot Finance have been a let-down for investors going by the stock market returns.
Thrissur-based South Indian Bank has also not brought cheers to the investors as Rs 1,000 investment in 1998 is worth just Rs 38,313. Kerala Ayurveda shares also disappointed investors as an investment of Rs 1,000 in it in 1995 has risen only to Rs 7,375 now.