KOCHI: Who’s the richest entrepreneur in Kerala in terms of the value of the shares listed on the stock exchanges? Who made the maximum gains over the past 12 months after the bellwether stock index, Sensex, raced past the 60,000-mark for the first time last week?
TNIE has calculated that C J George, the founder of Geojit Financial Services, received the maximum returns in the ongoing bull-run as the value of his individual shareholding in the Kochi-based financial services company nearly doubled in the past 12 months. He owns Geojit’s shares worth Rs 331 crore, as per Friday’s closing price, an increase from Rs 169.78 crore over a one-year period. The value of his 18.17% stake in the company has increased by Rs 162 crore, or 95.95%, from September 24, 2020.
But George is not the richest entrepreneur. His wealth in terms of shareholdings is far below the likes of the Muthoot family, the Chittilappillys or the Kalyan Jewellers founders. The combined shareholding of Muthoot family in the gold finance firm, Muthoot Finance, is worth Rs 44,307 crore as per Friday’s prices.
The value has registered a hike of around 48% from Rs 29,947 crore over 12 months, thanks to the bull run. The 10.88% stake held by three brothers — George Alexander, George Jacob and George Thomas Muthoot — in Muthoot Finance is worth Rs 6,566.31 crore each.
Kalyan Jewellers misses out on Sensex boom
That is an increase of Rs 2,129 crore each for the brothers during the period. At the same time, V P Nandakumar of Manappuram Finance has taken a small hit as the stock price of the Thrissurheadquartered company fell from Rs 212 it had registered on August 5 to Rs 173 on September 24.
Still the value of his 28.79% stake in Manappuram has risen from Rs 3,711.18 crore to Rs 4,215.52 crore, an increase of Rs 504.34 crore or nearly 14%. Compared to the high the Manappuram stock price hit in August, the value of his holdings has come down by Rs 950 crore from Rs 5,166 crore. The Kochouseph Chittilappilly family’s two companies are listed on the stock market -- V-Guard Industries and Wonderla Holdings.
And both have benefitted from the stock market boom, increasing the value of the family’s holdings. Kochouseph’s elder son Mithun, who is the MD of V-Guard, individually owns 20.08 % stake in the company. The value of his holding stands at Rs 2,225 crore, an increase of 56.62% from Rs 1,420.63 crore. Kochouseph’s 10.55% stake in V-Guard is worth Rs 1,162.37 crore, as per Friday’s price. The total holding of the Chittilappilly family in V-Guard stands at Rs 6,173 crore.
In Wonderla Holidays, with Kochouseph’s younger son Arun Chittilappilly managing its affairs, there has been a similar wealth creation due to the stock boom. The value of Arun’s 35.75% stake in Wonderla has gone up to around Rs 463 crore, an increase from Rs 309.70 crore (49.49% growth) last September. The total value of the Chittilappilly family in Wonderla Holdings stands at Rs 906.24 crore. Kitex Garments’ promoter Sabu M Jacob too has received the benefit of the Sensex rise.
The value of his individual holdings in Kitex is worth Rs 370.85 crore, which is an increase of nearly 70% from Rs 220 crore last September. Perhaps the biggest laggard in the bull market is Kalyan Jewellers, which was listed in March. T S Kalyanaraman owns shares worth Rs 1,500.57 crore as per Friday’s closing price. His sons Ramesh and Rajesh Kalyanaraman own Rs 1,294 crore worth of shares. However, if one considers the IPO price of Rs 87 apiece, the value of Kalyanaraman’s shareholding of 20.94% has come down by Rs 376 crore from Rs 1,876.24 crore.
‘Richie Rich’ of listed companies from Kerala
C J George of Geojit Rs 331 cr (95%)*
Sabu M Jacob of Kitex Rs 370.85 cr (70%)
Arun Chittilappilly of Wonderla Holidays Rs 463 cr (49.49%)
V P Nandakumar of Manappuram Finance Rs 4,215.52 cr (14%)
Mithun Chittilappilly of V-Guard Rs 2,225 cr (56.2%)
Muthoot Finance’s Alexander, Jacob and Thomas Rs 6,566 cr each (48%)
* increase in value of stake (Only personal holdings calculated)