Radhakishan Damani, via his company Derive Trading, has recently sold a small chunk of shares in VST Industries, a renowned tobacco company, in bulk deals. As per exchange data, Damani offloaded about 2.62 lakh shares or roughly 1.7% stake in the company at Rs 4,102 per share, bagging a cool Rs 107 crore in the process.
As per the latest shareholding pattern data, public shareholders hold the majority ownership with a 67.47% stake, leaving the promoters with the rest. Among the public shareholders, Damani himself held about 34.66% stake in the company. During the June quarter, Damani had increased his stake in VST Industries by 2%, marking a growth from the previous quarter where he held 32.7% stake.
VST Industries is a leading manufacturer and trader of tobacco-containing cigarettes and unmanufactured tobacco products. Their popular brands include Total, Editions, Charms, Special, Moments, Total Active Mint, and Total Royal Twist. The company has manufacturing units in Hyderabad and Toopran, Telangana.
The upcoming board meeting of VST Industries on July 25 will discuss the issuance of bonus shares, along with announcing the first quarter results. In the recent March quarter, the company’s revenues remained flat at Rs 300 crore due to a consumer shift towards RSFT cigarettes, leading to an 11% decline in volumes year-on-year.
It is predicted by brokerage Centrum Broking that the slower industry growth may prompt VST to rethink its strategies, focusing on ramping up offerings in the RSFT segment, expanding networks in new states, emphasizing on the premium brand ‘Total’, and enhancing trade visibility.
After the bulk offloading by Damani, shares of VST Industries saw a 16.4% dip on Wednesday, reaching Rs 3,899 on NSE. #RadhakishanDamani #VSTIndustries #Tobacco #BulkDeals #BonusShares #StockMarket #RSFTCigarettes #IndustryGrowth #PremiumBrands #TradeVisibility #CentrumBroking #Hyderabad #Telangana