Portfolio Choice     

Published: May 31, 2025
Updated: May 31, 2025

SANDUR MANGANESE & IRON ORES
BSE ticker code 504918
NSE ticker code SANDUMA
Major activity Coal
CMD Rhoniparambil R. Raghunandan
Equity capital Rs 162.04 crore; FV Rs 10
52 week high/low Rs 637 / Rs 338
CMP Rs 481.05
Market Capitalisation Rs 7794.69 crore
Recommendation Buy
Manganese mining to steel making

Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores, the flagship com pany of the Karnataka-based Sandur group, is involved in the mining of low-phosphorus manganese and iron ore in the Hosapete-Ballari region of Karnataka. It is one of India’s highly integrated and diversified commodity producers, with a rich heritage and over six and a half decades of experi ence in systematic, safe and scien tific mining. Established in 1954, the company has since expanded from mining operations to the production of ferro alloys, cokes and energy, and continues to work towards further downstream expansion and diversi fication. Marching ahead with its core values of integrity and ethics, the company focuses on sustainable de velopment, environmental protec tion, social impact and innovation.

Sandur Manganese has a pro duction capacity of 0.46 mtpa of manganese ore, 3.8 mtpa of iron ore, 0.5 mtpa of coke, 32 MW/power, 0.125 mtpa of FeMn, 0.095 SIMn/0.135 mtpa of pig iron and 0.050 mtpa of FeSi. It has estimated reserves of 17 mt of manganese ore. Today, the company is the third largest manganese ore miner in India with a mining area spread over 1,999 hectares. It is widely respected for its heritage of trust, integrity and scientific advancement. In short, the company has the largest private sector manga nese ore mines in the country producing the finest low grade, low- phosphorus manganese required to manufacture ferro alloy and steel.

FINANCIAL JOY

Sandur Manganese has made rapid strides on the finan cial front. During the last 15 years, its sale turnover has ex panded multiple times from Rs. 363 crore in the fiscal year 2011 to Rs. 3135 crore in fiscal year 2025, with operating profit shooting up more than 5 times from Rs 140 crore to Rs 785 crore and the profit at net level spurting over 5 times from Rs. 83 crore to Rs 471 crore. What is more, its prospects going ahead are all the more promising. Consider:

  • The company has obtained the Karnataka government’s environment clearance to hike its production capacity.
  • It has received the allocation of maximum permis sible annual production (MPAP) from the monitoring commit tee constituted by the Supreme Court. The received MPAP amounts to 0.504 million tonnes. This includes siliceous hematitic ore in addition to the al ready approved 3.81 mtpa, and this new allocation is for 11 months (from May 2025 to March 2026) of fiscal year 2026. This approval has in creased the permissible production limit for iron ore from the current level of 3.81 mtpa to 4.36 mtpa, suggesting an increase of 0.55 mtpa.
  • EYEING STEEL
  • The company is making a foray into speciality steel with the buyout of Arjas Steel for Rs 3,000 crore. Arjas Steel is among the top five producers of speciality steel products in the country. To begin with, the company has acquired an 80 per cent stake by paying Rs 2,400 crore through a mix of equity and debt. A fourth of the acquisition will be funded via internal accruals, with the rest coming in through debt. With this acquisition, Sandur Manganese will go for for ward integration into the steel space. Arjas Steel operates two plants in India – one in Andhra Pradesh and another, an electric arc furnace in Punjab — through a wholly owned subsidiary. Arjas’s capacity at present is 5 lakh mtpa, to which Sandur will add 1 lakh mtpa. The company is also setting up a 20 MW renewable energy plant, which will be ready within the next six months or so.
  • This acquisition not only unlocks numerous syn ergies but also signifies a strategic shift towards forward in tegration in the steel value chain by becoming an integrated metals and mining company. This will give a big boost to the topline as well as bottomline of the company. Shares of the company with face value of Rs. 10 per piece is quoted around Rs. 480 after moving between Rs. 637 and Rs. 338 during the last 52 weeks. The stock has a lot of steam in its is yet. Discernible in vestors should include these stocks in their portfolio with a long term perspective.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)

Year Net Sales Net Profit EPS (Rs.) Div (%) BV (%)
2023-24 8171.16 18.00 -- -- 59.80
2024-25 (E) 9151.18 91.13 0.70 1.0 61.30
2025-26 (E) 1024.40 110.52 2.10 1.0 63.35
PIRAMAL PHARMA
BSE ticker code 543635
NSE ticker code PPLPHARMA
Major activity Pharmaceuticals
Chairman Nandini Piramal
Equity capital Rs 1323.58 crore; FV Rs 10
52 week high/low Rs 308 / Rs 135
CMP Rs 206.30
Market Capitalisation Rs 27422.39 crore
Recommendation Buy
Back in pharma biz with a bang

Piramal Pharma (PPL) is a part of the Ajay Piramal group, a business conglomerate with diverse interests in financial services, real estate and pharma, among others. PPL offers a portfolio of differentiated products and services through end-to-end manufacturing capabilities across 17 global development and manufacturing facilities and has a global distribution net work. It includes Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS), an integrated con tract development and manufactur ing organisation, Piramal Critical Care (PCC), a complex hospital ge nerics business, and India Con sumer Healthcare, which sells over the-counter products. In addition, one of PPL’s associate companies, Abbvie Therapeutics India Pvt Ltd a JV with Abbvie Inc — has emerged as one of the market leaders in the ophthalmology therapy area. Furthermore, PPL has a mi nority investment in Yapan Bio Pvt Ltd.

The Ajay Piramal group was one of the largest players in the pharma sector, with its flagship company, Piramal Healthcare, created by taking over some foreign companies operating in India, including Nicholas and Roche Products. In 2010, the group sold its domestic pharma business to Abbot but re-entered the pharma business five years ago by setting up Piramal Pharma. The company has made good progress, with its sales turnover rising from Rs 6,315 crore in fiscal 2021 to Rs 9,151 crore in fiscal 2025, and its oper ating profit, which went down from Rs 1,428 crore in fiscal 2021 to Rs 629 crore in fiscal 2023, swiftly recovering to Rs 1,445 crore in fiscal 2025. On the net profit front, after earn ing a net profit of Rs 835 crore in fiscal 2021, the company plunged into the red, incurring a loss of Rs 186 crore in fiscal 2023, but recovered to show a net profit of Rs 91 crore in fiscal 2025. What is more, prospects for the company going ahead are quite healthy. Consider:

BUMPER ORDERS
  • During the first half of fiscal 2024, the company staged an impressive turnaround. At the time, Nandini Piramal, Chairperson of Piramal Pharma, pointed out that the company’s contract, development and manufacturing (CDMO) business returned to mid-term growth with contin ued order inflows, especially for differentiated offerings and inno vation-related work. She had said, “Our capacity expansion for inha lation anaesthesia products is pro gressing well as we look to capital ize on the healthy demand in the global market. Our India consumer healthcare business is delivering steady growth via our power brands. Historically, our H2 has been better both in terms of rev enue and profitability. We hope to continue our momentum in H2FY2024 and fiscal year 2024 with a robust performance.”
  • Remarkable order inflows continued in CDMO during Q2FY2024 with over 40 per cent higher orders in H1FY2024 as compared to the same period a year ago.
  • The company is consolidating CDMO partners through the acquisition of Hemmo Pharmaceuticals (Rs 775 crore), a 27.78% stake in Yapan Bio (Rs 101.7 crore) and a JV with Allergan.
  • PPL’s focus on power brands and the e-commerce route for marketing is expected to fuel growth in the ICH segment.
  • BROWNFIELD PLAN
  • With a view to meeting the rising demand for its prod ucts in the US, the company has decided to go for a brownfield expansion programme involving an investment of $ 90 million. The investment is in line with US President Donald Trump’s policy of manufacturing in the US under his ‘America First’ initia tive. The expansion programme is to be financed through inter nal accruals and bank loans, and is expected to be completed The share with the face value of Rs. 10 is quoted around rs. 206 after fluctuating between Rs. 308 and Rs. 135. Future prospects for the company are extremely healthy.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)

Year Net Sales Net Profit EPS (Rs.) Div (%) BV (%)
2023-24 2356.74 192.02 31.70 350.0 194.10
2024-25 (E) 2456.40 195.10 32.40 350.0 196.40
2025-26 (E) 2630.75 199.45 34.60 375.0 199.45
PATEL ENGINEERING
BSE ticker code 531120
NSE ticker code PATELENG
Major activity Civil Construction
Chairman Janky Rupen Patel
Equity capital Rs 84.44 crore; FV Re 01
52 week high/low Rs 75 / Rs 33
CMP Rs 40.26
Market Capitalisation Rs 3399.46 crore
Recommendation Buy
Pan-India leader in hydel projects

Mumbai-headquartered Patel Engineering, over seven decades old, is a leading infrastructure and construc tion services company with a PQ (pre- qualification) in con struction work in the infrastructure segment like dams, tun nels, hydro-electric projects, irrigation projects, roads, high ways, bridges, railways, refineries, real estate and townships. It has successfully completed over 250 projects, including 87+ dams, 15,000+ MWh hydro-electric projects and 1,200 km+ roads. At present, it has a marketshare of over 45 per cent in under- construction hydro-electric plants in India. The company has also executed projects in Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal and Mauritius.

Key projects executed by the company include the 520 MW Tapovan hydro-electric project, the 412 MW Rampur hydro plant, the 800 MW Parbati hydro, and the 600 MW Kameng project.

Patel Engineering’s financial performance is healthy de spite some challenging situations, including the sudden death of Chairman and Managing Director Rupen Patel. The sales turnover during the last 12 years has expanded from Rs 3,701 crore in fiscal 2014 to Rs 5,093 crore in fiscal 2025, with operating profit moving up from Rs 467 crore to Rs 733 crore and the profit at net level shooting up almost 10 times from Rs 25 crore to Rs 248 crore. Going ahead, though the short-term prospects are challenging, the long-term outlook is strong. Consider:

    ORDERS CUSHION
  • The company continues to receive valuable orders. Though the order book was slightly lower from over Rs 18,000 crore in fiscal 2024 to Rs 15,000 crore in fiscal 2025, it still ensures revenue visibility for at least two years.
  • What is more, in recent months, the company has bagged several ambitious orders. Very recently, NEEPCO awarded a contract valued at Rs 711.29 crore to Patel Engineering for the construction of the 240 MW Heo hydro power project located in Arunachal Pradesh. The company also won a Rs 1,090-crore irrigation project in Maharashtra. On April 28, 2025, it was announced as the lowest bidder for two significant infrastructure projects by CIDCO, Maharashtra valued at Rs 1,318 crore. The company has also been confirmed as the lowest bidder for a hydro power project by the North Eastern Electric Power Corpora tion valued at Rs 718 crore.
  • WINNING BIDS
  • Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development, Pune has de clared PEC the lowest bidder (LI) for the contract involving the construc tion of a pipeline distribution net work for the Nira Deodhar right bank main canal (from km 87 to km 135) and its distributaries. The project is to be completed in a period of 36 months. This is a joint venture project and PEC's share is 20 per cent (Rs 218.09 crore).
  • Over a month ago, the company was declared the lowest bidder for two significant infrastructure projects with a combined value of Rs 2036 crore. The project's focus is on the construction of the Kondhane dam located in Raigad dis trict of Maharashtra.
  • BOUNCING BACK
  • The sudden death of CMD Rupesh Patel unnerved the investing public and the share price charted a downward drift. However, the company soon recreated a management team led by Janky Patel, wife of Rupesh Patel, as Chairperson, and Kavita Saivaikar, erstwhile CFO of the company and a profes sional corporate manager with 26 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, as Managing Director. With this develop ment investors turend hopeful at this juncture, ace investor Vijay Kedia emerged as a leading buyer. These developments led to confidence among investors once again, and the share price, which had gone down to Rs 33, stopped declining further and recovered moderately to Rs 42. The company started doing well, registering positive OCF (op erating cash flow) for the last five years. Research analysts at IDBI Research Bu reau have set the target price at Rs 76.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)

Year Net Series Net Profit EPS (Rs.) Div (%) BV (%)
2023-24 4544.11 234.47 2.46 -- 43.20
2024-25 (E) 5093.36 349.35 4.10 -- 44.80
2025-26 (E) 5235.40 368.53 5.15 -- 46.15

June 30, 2025 - Combined Issue

Industry Review

VOL XVI - 17
June 16-30, 2025

Formerly Fortune India Managing Editor Deven Malkan Assistant Editor A.K. Batha President Bhupendra Shah Circulation Executive Warren Sequeira Art Director Prakash S. Acharekar Graphic Designer Madhukar Thakur Investment Analysis CI Research Bureau Anvicon Research DD Research Bureau Manager (Special Projects) Bhagwan Bhosale Editorial Associates New Delhi Ranjana Arora Bureau Chief Kolkata Anirbahn Chawdhory Gujarat Pranav Brahmbhatt Bureau Cheif Mobile: 098251-49108 Bangalore Jaya Padmanabhan Bureau Chief Chennai S Gururajan Bureau Chief (Tamil Nadu) Ludhiana Ajitkumar Vijh Bhubaneshwar Braja Bandhu Behera

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