Heard on the Street

Punters cash in on Orient Paper expansion

Punters are said to be accumulating shares of CK Birla group company Orient Paper & Industries. The company, which has a presence in cement, fans and paper segments, is in an expansion mode. The stock rose 4% to close at Rs 32.

Analysts tracking the counter say the firm is set to start commercial production of a new tissue paper plant in the next few weeks, which will start adding to its revenues from the last two quarters of this year. It had invested close to Rs 120 crore for the same.

They say the tissue paper market in India is growing at a fast pace. Further, the company���s improved debt position is also expected to result in significant cost savings for the company. The stock has gained close to 15% over the past month.

Fund houses, US ops closure prop up Titan scrip
Shares of Titan have risen over 8% in a week, even after the company reported disappointing earnings in the March quarter. Grapevine has it that some private mutual funds were buyers of the stock in the past few sessions, albeit in smaller quantities compared to their usual purchases in most other stocks.

Brokers tracking the stock said the company���s move to shut down its US operations has gone down well with investors, despite the fact that the country is the world���s largest market for organised retail jewellery. This is because Titan would have had to raise funds from the market to expand its operations there to a meaningful size.

The company owned two stores in the US. Brokers said expanding its US operations did not make sense at the moment, especially when consumer spending there has taken a hit because of the recession. Also, fund raising would involve raising expensive debt or dilution of equity.

Contributed by Apurv Gupta & Nishanth Vasudevan