Indian cables maker RR Kabel up 15.8% in debut trade at $1.62 bln valuation (updated)

R R Kabel

20/09/2023 05:47

(Adds analyst comment in paragraph 4, market share in paragraph
5)
    By Rama  Venkat
       BENGALURU, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Indian wires and cables
maker RR Kabel  RRKA.NS  climbed as much as 15.8% to 1,198
rupees in trading debut on Wednesday, valuing the company at
135.16 billion rupees ($1.62 billion) in a weak broader market.
        Shares of private equity firm TPG-backed RR Kabel opened
at 1,180 rupees and managed to stay above its initial public
offer price of 1,035 rupees in a subdued broader market with the
benchmark Nifty 50  .NSEI  down 0.89%.
  
        It competes with companies like Polycab India  POLC.NS 
and Finolex Cables  FNXC.NS , whose shares have doubled so far
this year, fuelled by government infrastructure spending and a
real estate boom. 
  
    "We see high demand in the cable industry domestically and
from an exports perspective. The company's valuation seems fair
... at its position in the industry and investors can keep
trailing the issue price, with a target of 1,340 rupees in the
short-medium term," said Ravi Singhal, CEO at GCL Broking. 
        Profit for the company, which also makes electrical
appliances, switchgear and lights, fell 11.3% to 1.90 billion
rupees in the financial year 2023 from 2.14 billion rupees in
the previous year.
  
        Its revenue from operations jumped 27.7% to 55.99
billion rupees. 
  
    RR Kabel joined a slew of companies, including Aeroflex
Industries  AERO.NS  and Concord Biotech  CONB.NS , who have had
successful debuts in the recent days as robust foreign inflows
and domestic appetite for new listings lifted the confidence of
firms heading for the capital market.
 
($1 = 83.2050 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen
Soreng and Sohini Goswami)
 ((ramavenkat.raman@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/ramavenkat0607;
 +91 8095218099;))