Shares of Marico Ltd. jumped on Friday as the company expects strong gross-margin expansion in the March quarter.
The Parachute hair-oil maker's gross margin is likely to expand as copra prices inched up in line with forecasts, while edible-oil and crude-oil derivatives remained stable, it said in its business update. "We expect low double-digit operating profit growth on the back of a healthy expansion in operating margin, thereby staying on track to deliver on the margin guidance for the full year."
The consolidated revenue moved in the positive territory after three quarters as it grew in low single digits, the company said. "We expect consolidated revenue growth to trend upwards, with domestic revenue growth outpacing volume growth in the quarters ahead."
On the NSE, shares of the company rose as much as 3.3% intraday to the highest level since March 15. It was trade 3% higher compared to a 0.07% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 at 12:56 p.m.
The stock has risen 1.93% a year-to-date basis. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.99 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 50.88.
Of the 43 analysts tracking the company, 23 have a 'buy' rating on the stock, 14 recommend 'hold' and six suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 14.5%.
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