Market movers: Why Sapphire Foods jumped 17%

The positive impact of the reopening of the economy following a devastating second wave of the pandemic was evident in earnings of Sapphire Foods, which operates Pizza Hut and KFC stores in India.

The recently-listed company reported highest ever restaurant sales, Ebitda, net profits and restaurant additions in the December quarter. Ebitda margins were also highest at 23.2 per cent, the company said.

The firm acknowledged that the third wave of the Covid pandemic has again resulted in some operational disruptions in January and February in few markets. But it sounded confident of recovery.


Following the earnings, investors lapped up shares of the quick service restaurant operator. The stock jumped 17 per cent on Friday to Rs 1518.

Gold financiers lose sheen
Shares of gold financiers tumbled on Friday after the 40-year record inflation in the US led to outflow from gold, pushing price for yellow metal significantly lower. Higher inflation usually means higher dollar, and in turn lower value of gold.

MCX gold fell by Rs 250, following international market trend. Falling gold prices are negative for gold financiers as the value of their mortgage falls over time, resulting in bigger losses in case of defaults.

Many see volatility to continue in the bullion prices. This will likely keep shares of Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance under pressure. Both shares fell 3-4 per cent during the day.

Not walking the talk?
Shares of Policybazaar tanked 11 per cent after the reports said the founders of the company have further trimmed their stake in the firm by selling shares in block deals. The development comes after they had already sold shares during the initial public offering.

It was not sure why Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal were reducing their stake in the company they believe so much in.

Market participants did not approve this move as they read it as going back from their words. Yashish Dahiya, who co-founded the company with Alok Bansal, had said in a post listing interview that he was “here to build a fantastic company.”