Market movers: Supriya Lifescience gets reality check; Hikal back in demand after 11 sessions

NEW DELHI: Recently-listed Supriya Lifescience, which surged more than 100 per cent in the last three weeks, got a reality check on Friday after the company said its profit fell sharply quarter-on-quarter.

The stock plunged over 17 per cent after the company said its profits declined 32 per cent sequential. Revenue also saw a drop compared to the September quarter. However, year-on-year, both revenue and profits saw an uptick.

The company said the performance was driven by very strong demand for anaesthetic, antiasthmatic and vitamin therapy. The company expects the demand for these therapies to be strong, also expect demand for antihistamine to pick up going forward.

Hikal breaks losing streak
Shares of Hikal, the company which is allegedly involved in the deadly Surat Gas leak case, saw buying demand on Friday after falling for 11 straight sessions. The stock added over 4 per cent.

The counter has plunged 33 per cent since the case came to light. Reports have suggested the gas tanker that was responsible for taking six lives came from Hikal’s Taloja plant. The company denied the charge.

Recently, news reports also said police had arrested three company officials but the Managing Director was absconding when the police went to question him. Many in the investment community criticised this. However, there are still many who believe in the company's fundamentals.

Hung-ho on HUL
Shares of Hindustan Unilever were in demand after a strong set of numbers reported by the company. The stock was also the second biggest Nifty gainer of the day, following Bajaj Auto, even as the market continued to bleed.

The company said its Q3 profits rose 16.76 per cent to Rs 2,243 crore, which beat analyst estimates. Buying was seen even as Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director of the company said that in the near-term, operating environment will continue to remain challenging.

"We remain confident of the medium to long term potential of the Indian FMCG sector and HUL’s ability to deliver a consistent, competitive, profitable and responsible growth," he added. Analysts also remained bullish on the firm.