This story is from September 18, 2009

Trouble-hit stocks gain 3-10 times from lows

Kumar Shankar Roy / TNN / Sep 18, 2009, 00:56 IST

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Brave investors who bet on Satyam (10.4 times), Aban Offshore (7.22 times), Maytas (4.4 times), JSL (3.17 times) and Wockhardt (2.52 times), have managed to bag great returns.

Trouble-hit stocks gain 3-10 times from lows

CHENNAI: Stocks of Indian companies, which faced serious financial trouble in the recent slump, have given 3-10 times return from their one-year lows as firms started dealing with debt problems. Brave investors who bet on Satyam (10.4 times), Aban Offshore (7.22 times), Maytas (4.4 times), JSL (3.17 times) and Wockhardt (2.52 times), have managed to bag great returns.
The stock of Aban wilted under pressure of foreign currency loans which analysts put at $3 billion. It hit its one-year low of Rs 224.10 on the BSE on March 9. The stock started reviving as the rig operator started winning new longer-duration contracts, easing cash flow concerns on debt repayment. The counter now trades at Rs 1,619.90 �� seven times its 52-week low hit in March.
Under pressure from its Rs 3,400-crore debt, the stock of Habil Khorakiwala's Wockhardt hit its 52-week bottom at Rs 67.50 on March 13. As the CDR package was approved in June, Wockhardt sold its German arm, Esparma, (Rs 120 crore), animal healthcare (Rs 170 crore) and nutritional division (over Rs 600 crore) and then offloaded 10 Wockhardt hospitals to Fortis for Rs 909 crore in August. The stock is now trading at Rs 170.70 �� two times the 52-week low.
"The stories are same. Excessive optimism and then too much pessimism. The sentiment of the broad market has also helped these 'sick' stocks and companies to recover," said the equity head of foreign brokerage.
The stock of stainless steel major JSL Ltd, part of the OP Jindal group, hit its 52-week low of Rs 26.35 in December '08 as plants were partially shut down for major part of the year.

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