ET Awards 2018 for Emerging Company of the Year: Page Industries

Up Close & Personal: The Inside Story of India’s Biggest Cover-up

The old horse racing proverb ‘Don’t bet the horse, bet the Jockey,’ couldn’t be truer when used for Page Industries, owner of the Jockey brand in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and the UAE.

Since its listing in 2007, analysts have pointed out several risks in owning the company stock from rising competition to high valuations. Some sceptics also said it is just a manufacturer and distributor of Jockey International, a US-based inner wear company, and runs the risk of non-renewal of licence.


But, in this case, those who bet on the jockey — the Genomal family, promoters of Page Industries — are now sitting on one of the biggest wealth creators.

The Bengaluru-based company is named after the first two letters of the name and surname, Parpati Genomal, the founder’s mother. The company, which hit the primary market in 2007 with the IPO price of `360, made a recent new high of `36,370, more than 100x the IPO price.

Page Industries, helmed by Sunder Genomal, managing director of the company and the youngest of three brothers who own the brand, has shown a compounded growth of 30% in its sales as well as net profit.

It has also maintained strong financial discipline, never exceeding a debt-to-equity of 0.5, or compromising on profit margins (steady between 20% and 22%) or disappointing investors by missing a dividend. The return on capital too has gradually risen from 36% in FY08 to 63% in FY18.

This remarkable performance has not gone unnoticed. The confidence that the street has displayed in Page and the business model it has created reflect in the company’s valuations. The company is valued at `36,500 crore, or more than $5 billion.

Contenders
* Adani Transmission
* Alkem Laboratories
* Dilip Buildcon
* L&T Infotech
* PNB Housing Finance
* Quess Corp
* RBL Bank