Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hits All-Time High, Stock Turns Ex-Dividend

Shares of state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) hit fresh lifetime highs as the stock turned ex-dividend on Thursday.

An ex-dividend date is the day on which a stock starts trading without the benefit of the next scheduled dividend payment.

The HAL stock gained as much as 2.7 per cent in trade on Thursday to hit a new all-time high of Rs 4,138.80 per share in the morning session on BSE. However, it soon erased all its gains to trade in the negative at Rs 3,989, down 1 per cent, by 11:25 AM.

A spurt in trading volume was also seen, with the number of shares changing hands on BSE jumping 1.2 times the daily average during the morning session itself.

To recall, the board of directors of the company had declared a final dividend of Rs 15 per equity share of Rs 10 each fully paid up (150 per cent) for the financial year 2022-23.

The record date for the payment of the final dividend, if approved by the shareholders in the company's annual general meeting (AGM), was set as August 24, 2023. The dividend shall be paid to the shareholders within 30 days from the date of its approval.

The 60th AGM of the company will be held on August 31, 2023, at 1500 Hours through video conferencing (VC) or other audio-visual means (OAVM).

Earlier in March 2023, HAL had paid an interim dividend of Rs 20 per share to the eligible shareholders for fiscal 2022-23. Before that, in calendar year 2022, the company had paid dividends thrice to its shareholders -- Rs 20 per share in November, Rs 10 per share in August and Rs 26 per share in February.

The company had recorded 31 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 814 crore for the first quarter ended June 2023 (Q1 FY24) compared with Rs 620 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operation