Shipping Corporation of India shares surge over 20%, post best day in over six years; here is why

Shares of Shipping Corporation of India posted their best day in over six years on Monday, February 9, after it reported December quarter earnings post market hours on Friday.

Shipping Corporation of India shares climbed as much as 20%, its biggest single day gain since January 1, 2020, to hit an intraday high of ₹266.16 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). On the BSE, Shipping Corporation of India shares were locked in a 20% amid spike in trading volumes.

The state-run shipping company of post market hours on Friday reported net profit of ₹405 crore in the third quarter of current financial year (Q3FY26), marking an increase of over five times from ₹76 crore in the same period last year.

The sharp jump in profit came on the back of lower expenses as its total expenses declined 2% to ₹1,253 crore and finance cost also dropped by 24% to ₹48 crore.

Its revenue from operations advanced 23% to ₹1,612 crore in October-December period from ₹1,316 crore in the year-ago period.

Shipping Corporation of India posted strong operational performance as its operating profit also known as EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) jumped 90% to ₹678 crore from ₹357 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The company's EBITDA margin expanded to 42% from 27%.

Shipping Corporation of India's board approved a second interim dividend of ₹10 per share and it will be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration. The total outgo on this account will be approximately ₹163.03 crore.

"The proposed strategic disinvestment of SCI is being handled by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) with the engagement of Transaction Advisor. In this regard, Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) for inviting expression of interest was released on 22.12.2020. The Virtual Data Room is open and is being managed by the Transaction Advisor for the process of due diligence by the Qualified Interested Parties," Shipping Corporation of India said.

Shipping Corporation of India shares were witnessing higher than usual trading activity as trading volume spiked by 29 times on the NSE to 4.34 crore shares compared with an average trading volume of 14.96 lakh shares.

As many as 25.51 lakh shares changed hand on the BSE compared with an average of 2.54 lakh shares traded daily in the past two weeks.

As of 3:23 pm, Shipping Corporation of India shares were locked in 20% upper circuit, outperforming the NIFTY 500 index which was up 1.15%.