Ramco Cements Exits Ramco Industries, Sells Stake Worth Rs 326 Crore

The Ramco Cements Ltd. has exited associate company, Ramco Industries Ltd., after it offloaded a stake worth Rs 326 crore to the promoter group companies on Tuesday through open market transactions. Ramco Management and Rajapalayam Mills were among the buyers.

Ramco Cements sold its entire 1.4 crore shares, representing a 16.23% stake, at Rs 232.05 per share, according to block deal data on the National Stock Exchange. Ramco Management and Rajapalayam Mills bought 12.32% and 3.9% stakes respectively at Rs 232.05 apiece.

As of Sept. 30, Ramco Cements held a 16.23% stake in the company, while Rajapalayam Mills held a 9.68% stake and Ramco Management held a 2.19% stake.

Ramco Cements also sold part of compulsorily convertible preference shares of Swiggy Ltd. for a consideration of Rs 50 crore, the company said through an exchange filing. This comes after the company announced that it will monetise Rs 1,000 crore non-core assets.

The company also mentioned that the stake sale will reduce the borrowings of the Tamil-Nadu based company. The net debt of the company as of June 30 stood at Rs 4,975 crore.

The Tamil Nadu-based firm has increased its cement grinding capacity by nearly 1 million tonnes per annum after it carried out debottlenecking of cement grinding capacity at its Kalavatala Plant in Andhra Pradesh.

In addition, at its Valapady Grinding Unit, in Salem District, Tamil Nadu, it has carried out debottlenecking of cement grinding capacity leading to increase of capacity from 1.6 MTPA to 2 MTPA.

Shares of Ramco Cements closed 0.93% higher at Rs 864.90 apiece on the NSE, compared to a 0.52% advance in the benchmark Nifty 50. The share price has fallen 12.11% in the last 12 months and 14.73% on a year-to-date basis.

Out of 35 analysts tracking the company, 16 maintain a 'buy' rating, eight recommend a 'hold,' and 11 suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a potential downside of 5.2%.