Bajaj Auto scoots up on improved net

Reshma Krishnan

Bajaj Auto: The market was cheered by Bajaj Auto's sizable performance in the latest quarter and was in favour of the company.

The shares went up by Rs 22.45 to end the week at Rs 329.20. The company saw its second quarter net profit go up by 167 per cent. It's profit after tax for the July - September 2001 went up to Rs 143.70 crore from the previous corresponding quarter's Rs 53.83

ICICI Bank: The stock market finally saw ICICI take the final step towards universal banking. The boards announced during the week that they were to consider ICICI's merger with ICICI bank, and the swap ratio for the same is one share of ICICI Bank for every two shares of ICICI. ICICI Bank stock reacted to the news by and rose by Rs 22 to Rs 106.25.

Nirma: Nirma saw a marginal rise in the value of its shares. The stock went up by Rs 2 to Rs 246.70. This might have been as part of a reaction to the company's decision to embark on another capacity expansion of its soda ash plant involving a cost of Rs 110 crore

Godrej Consumer: This company saw itself in investor favour as it went up by Rs 5.80 to close the week at Rs 58.35. This rise was probably triggered by the company's decision to step up its dividend pay out. The company has pegged its interim divided at the rate of Rs 2 per share.

Sterlite Industries: The company saw a small rise in the value of its share. The removal of the ban on Sterlite Industries by the securities tribunal was likely to have engineered this rise. The removal of the ban ensures that Sterlite Industries can carry out its buyback programme. The share went up by Rs 5 to end the week at Rs 109.75.

MTNL: Despite the fact that MTNL has been set apart as the next disinvestment candidate following the successful privatisation of CMC Ltd, the share price still fell through the course of the week. The share fell by Rs 2.85 to Rs 131.50. The Ministry of Disinvestment has now revived a dormant proposal to further disinvest the Government's stake in MTNL.

Larsen and Toubro: This company saw itself out of investor favour despite a good financial performance. The share price fell by Rs 8.35 to end the week at Rs 161.35. This was despite its net profit surging by 224 per cent to Rs 40.5 crore for the quarter ending September 30, 2001 as against Rs 12.49 crore in the same quarter last year.