Top 4 Oxygen Stocks to Add to Your Watchlist

Editor's note: In April 2021, shares of Oxygen suppliers were in focus amid increasing demand for oxygen following a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Later in January 2022, the Omicron variant brought oxygen stocks back to the limelight.

This time around, oxygen stocks are in focus amid the sharp rise in covid cases in China.

Mind you, the recent surge of infections in China has prompted warnings that the country could witness over a million deaths in the coming months.

After following a zero-Covid policy for the past three years, China is seeing a surge in cases. This is happening ever since it relaxed the restrictions last month following public protests.

Owing to the recent developments, pharma stocks have started to rally and so have oxygen stocks.

The same thing happened back in April 2021 and in January 2022 when there was Covid fear all around. Shares of oxygen companies rallied as states prepared for the supply of oxygen.

Amid a surge in Covid cases, states were asked to immediately strengthen health infrastructure, maintain buffer stocks of essential drugs, and ensure that oxygen supply equipment is fully functional.

At a meeting held this week, Prime Minister Modi asked states to ensure the operational readiness of hospital infrastructure, including oxygen cylinders, oxygen plants, and ventilators.

In January 2022, we wrote about the top oxygen stocks and why they should be on your watchlist.

Oxygen Stocks in India

Company Name	CMP (Rs)	1 Month	3 Months	1 Year
Bhagawati Oxygen Ltd.	41.6	14%	8%	-3%
Linde India Ltd.	3,321	9%	-3%	38%
National Oxygen Ltd.	171.45	56%	21%	55%
Refex Industries Ltd.	237.4	-5%	43%	92%

Source: Equitymaster

This list is extremely relevant today as states prepare for availability of oxygen in case there's a spike in India too.

Continue reading to know more about these stocks and what happened the last time when there was shortage of oxygen...

Frenzy-driven rally?

India is witnessing a strong wave of cases for the past 2-3 weeks. This in turn has boosted the demand for medical oxygen.

And the companies producing oxygen are just starting to come back in to focus because of this.

The last time there was an oxygen crisis, investors went head over heels over oxygen stocks. Even stocks of companies with the word 'Oxygen' in their name skyrocketed.

Bombay Oxygen Investments, which is an NBFC firm and has nothing to do with Oxygen, was pumped up unnecessarily just because it had Oxygen in its name.

But this time around, that's not the case. Shares of Bombay Oxygen are trading in a range while other actual oxygen supplier stocks are on a roll.

During the second wave, many hospitals ran out of medical oxygen that was critical for saving lives of Covid-19 patients. This scarcity led to loss of several lives that could have been prevented if early preparations were made.

So how are oxygen companies preparing for the third wave?

Let's take a look at the top oxygen companies in India.

#1 Linde India

Linde India, formerly known as BOC India, is a member of Linde Plc. and one of the leading industrial gases company in India.

The Linde group is the world's leading supplier of industrial, process and specialty gases, with operations across 100 countries.

It's among the multibagger stocks of 2021. The stock delivered over 150% gains in the past one year.

The reason behind this? Increased demand for oxygen.

As Covid cases increased, it resulted in scarcity of medical oxygen. This put Linde India in limelight as the company is a supplier of medical oxygen to hospitals and industrial gases to corporations.

According to Haitong, an MNC brokerage, Linde India delivers more than 200 tonnes of medical oxygen every day to hospitals.

However, in a recent interview, the company's head of gases at the company said the oxygen demand has gone away. In fact, in Q4 of the calendar year, there was pick-up in industrial gases.

Also, the usage of foreign vaccines in India would be an added positive for Linde India. The government has already announced it would fast-track approvals of foreign vaccines.

Foreign vaccines need to be transported in cryogenic containers that use liquid nitrogen or dry ice to maintain sub-zero temperature. Linde India is the maker of these two important ingredients for sub-zero temperature.

Interestingly, Linde India is also involved in the all-hyped green hydrogen business.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the urgency to ramp up the hospital infrastructure in the country as well as the supplies of medicines and oxygen, which bodes well for the company.

To know more, check out Linde India financial factsheet and its latest quarterly results.

Update: Linde India share price has seen a 11% rise in the month of December 2022 so far. Foreign investors have stayed bullish on the company for quite some time now.

FIIs have increased their stake from 1.55% in June 2021 to 2.77% at present.

To know more, check out the latest shareholding pattern of Linde India.

#2 Refex Industries

Refex Industries is engaged in the business of refilling of eco-friendly refrigerant gases. The company's portfolio consists of trading and re-filling of refrigerant gases.

It's also involved in the sale of electrical energy based on the generation of power and sale of solar accessories and job service related works.

Back in April 2021, when the Delhi government notified the oxygen production promotion policy to make it easier for companies to manufacture medical oxygen, Refex Industries was a major beneficiary.

In just a matter of weeks, the company's stock gained over 50%.

The subsidies announced included giving capital subsidy of Rs 20 lakh per metric ton on cost and machinery, a provision of 100% reimbursement of stamp duty, refund of state Goods and Services Tax (GST), etc.

The company has also recently forayed into the power trading business.

Refex Industries has shown improvement on the profitability front over the years. Apart from this, it has also reduced its debt significantly.

Financial Snapshot

Financials at a glance
(Rs m, Consolidated)	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21
Net sales	377	769	4,611	6,607	6,327
Sales growth (%)	-51.60%	103.80%	499.90%	43.30%	-4.30%
Operating profit	39	38	301	561	721
Operating profit margin (%)	10.30%	4.90%	6.50%	8.50%	11.40%
Net profit	5	9	316	331	409
Net profit margin (%)	1.20%	1.20%	6.90%	5.00%	6.50%
Total Debt	350	412	4	17	1
Debt to Equity (x)	3.44	3.71	0.01	0.02	0

Data Source: Ace Equity

To know more about the company, check out Refex Industries financial factsheet.

Update: For the year ended March 2022, Refex Industries reported a 10% growth in bottomline despite a degrowth of 30% in revenues.

The company's shareholding has remained unchanged with Indian mutual funds and FIIs staying away from the stock.

To know more, check out the latest shareholding pattern of Refex Industries.

#3 National Oxygen

National Oxygen is the top gainer among all the oxygen stocks. Shares of the company have been on a tear for the past twelve months, rising from Rs 32 to Rs 219 today.

That's a massive gain of over 400% in such a short span of time.

The company has a low equity base of only 4.8 m shares, out of which over 69% is owned by promoters. This leaves few shares available for trading. Hence, investors are jumping on board at every chance they get. This has resulted in the stock being locked in upper circuit since 22 December 2021.

National Oxygen is a producer and supplier of industrial gases both in liquid and gaseous form to industries and hospitals.

In 1980, the company installed and commissioned the first oxygen plant of 60 cubic meters per hour capacity at Mathur Village, Pudukottai District, and Tamil Nadu. Currently, it has a capacity of 2,500 meters per hour of oxygen/nitrogen gases and 200,000 meters per annum capacity of dissolved acetylene gas.

After posting losses for several quarters, the company is back in the black, having posted profits for the past four quarters.

To know more, check out National Oxygen's latest quarterly results.

Update: National Oxygen once again seems to be the biggest beneficiary. Shares of the company have rallied more than 40% in the past three days.

Interestingly, ace investor Dolly Khanna has this stock in her portfolio.

The shareholding pattern of National Oxygen shows that she holds 1.08% stake or 51,784 shares of National Oxygen as of September 2022.

Khanna added National Oxygen to her portfolio in the quarter ending June 2022.

#4 Bhagwati Oxygen

Another stock which has seen a similar rally like National Oxygen is Bhagwati Oxygen.

From trading at a mere Rs 11 a year ago, the stock currently trades at Rs 82. Just like National Oxygen, shares of Bhagwati Oxygen too are locked in 5% upper circuit since 22 December 2021.

Bhagawati Oxygen was incorporated in 1972. The company is engaged in manufacturing and selling of oxygen gas, trading of Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) and running a windmill. The company has its manufacturing unit for oxygen gas at Ghatshila in Jharkhand.

Bhagwati Oxygen has a contract with Hindustan Copper for selling of oxygen gas. This has been going on since two decades.

Even though 2021 should have been a good year for oxygen companies, that was not the case for Bhagwati Oxygen. The company's financial performance has deteriorated in the past three years. This is because its oxygen manufacturing plant was closed during most of fiscal 2021.

Bhagwati is dependent on Hindustan Copper and it was a major blow when Hindustan Copper's smelter plant in Ghatsila was non-operational as they it was focusing on the sale of copper concentrates.

Despite all this, shares of the company gained around 400% in the past one year.

Update: After underperforming throughout 2022, Bhagwati Oxygen share price has started to see an uptrend due to recent developments.

The underperformance could be attributed to the company's manufacturing plant being closed for months now.

Equitymaster's Technical View on Oxygen Stocks...

We reached out to Brijesh Bhatia, Research Analyst at Equitymaster, and editor of the premium monthly recommendation service Fast Profits Report, for his technical view on oxygen stocks.

Here's what he has to say:

• Keeping your ear to the ground in the market is a sound investment.
  
  - Amah Lambert
  
  When you are investing, understanding the need of the hour business and its future demand plays a key role and such is the scenario for oxygen stocks.
  
  During the second wave of Covid, most of the hospital faced the shortage of oxygen and as the cases are increasing in last few weeks, the need of the hour will be oxygen again.
  
  Technically, most of the oxygen stocks like Linde India, Bombay Oxygen and Refex Industries are on the verge of consolidation breakout. An increase in volumes indicates the liking for these stocks by traders and investors.

 

• As most of the stocks are from small cap and micro-cap, it is recommended to trade with strict stop loss.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.

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