Big Whale Ashish Kacholia Raises his Stake in this Multibagger Stock

The stock market has been falling and retail investors are in a queue to know what market gurus have been up to.

The wait comes to an end as the results season is here.

Data shows that market gurus have been busy as ever.

They seem to be making most of the market correction and loading up on fundamentally strong stocks.

Among the market gurus, one prominent name is Ashish Kacholia. He has increased his shareholding in a couple of stocks during the June 2022 quarter.

The stock in focus here is Xpro India.

During the quarter, the ace investor bought 0.32% in Xpro India. This takes his total shareholding in Xpro India to 3.89%.

Find out more...

Who is Ashish Kacholia?

Ashish Kacholia is one of the leading investors in the Indian stock market. He is very well known for his stock picks in the smallcap and midcap space.

Ashish Kacholia co-founded Hungama Digital with none other than the big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and started his own company Lucky Securities in 2003.

He started his career at Prime Securities and also had a brief stint at Edelweiss Capital before establishing Lucky Securities.

As per a report, the fondly called 'Big Whale' of the Indian stock market, Ashish Kacholia, publicly holds 35 stocks with a net worth of over Rs 14.8 bn.

Why did Ashish Kacholia increase his stake in Xpro India?

While we can't know for sure why the star investor bought into it, there are some reasons that we can guess...

#1 Improved financial performance

For the year ended March 2022, the company reported more than fivefold increase in its net profit.

During the same period, net sales grew 26.3% YoY reaching 47.2 bn.

Have a look at the table below showing net sales growth and some key fundamental ratios over the past five years.

Xpro India Financial Snapshot (2019-2022)

	2019 - 2020	2020 - 2021	2021 - 2022
Net Sales (Rs m)	3,548	3,734	4,717
Net Sales Growth (%)	2.3	5.2	26.3
Net Profit (Rs m)	4	84	449
Net Profit Margin (%)	0.1	2.2	9.5
Return on Assets (%)	6.1	8.1	17.5
Return on Equity (%)	0.5	9.3	33.4

Data Source: Equitymaster

The company has significantly reduced debt over the past five years. The debt-to-equity ratio that stood at a substantial 1.7x in 2018 has shrunk to 0.5x in 2022.

The dramatic decrease in interest payment has boosted the profitability of the company.

#2 Significant presence in the industry

Xpro India is a strong player in the polymer processing industry. There is no competitor as the business is capital-intensive.

It operates in three divisions Biax, Coex, and Thermoset.

The company is the leading manufacturer in India of coextruded plastic sheets, thermoformed liners, and speciality films.

As per the management, the company is the only manufacturer of dielectric films in India (Biax division) and has a market share of about 33% in the domestic market besides exports.

The company is also one of the leading players in the coextruded cast films and sheets (Coex division).

The products manufactured under the Coex division are used for refrigerator liners, disposable containers, automotive parts, etc.

It's a leading supplier of sheets and liners in India for white goods of most leading brands.

On the other hand, the products manufactured under the Biax division are used in food packaging, electronics, print lamination, adhesive tape, and others.

#3 Experienced management

Mr. Sidharth Birla, Chairman, is the past president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Sidharth Birla has a wide-ranging experience in areas of corporate governance, company law, financial structuring, and industrial operations.

At Xpro India, he looks after the matters relating to corporate governance, communicating with stakeholders, holding of high level of strategy/plans etc.

Mr. C Bhaskar is the MD and CEO of the company for last 16 years and looks after its overall operations. The board has a majority of independent and professional directors.

How the stock of Xpro India has performed recently

Xpro India share price has given multibagger returns of 350.4% in the past one year. Despite weak sentiment in the overall market, the stock has rallied 15.1% in the past month.

Xpro India has a 52-week high quote of Rs 1,113.3 touched on 25 March this year while the stock touched its 52-week low of Rs 159.6 on 11 August last year.

Xpro India currently trades at a price-to-book value multiple of 10 times with a marketcap of Rs 14.2 bn.

As of June 2022, promoters hold 50% stake in the company. Institutional holding in the company decreased by 0.1% and stood at 0.6% as of June 2022.

To know more, check out Xpro India's latest shareholding pattern.

About the company

Xpro India is a Birla group company, one of the country's largest industrial house with a global presence in manufacturing and trading activities.

Incorporated in 1997, Xpro India is engaged in the polymers processing business primarily in India.

The company has four manufacturing units located in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

To know more about the company, you can check out Xpro India's company fact sheet and Xpro News and Analysis here.

You can also compare Xpro India with its peers.

Xpro India vs AMD Industries

Xpro India vs Duropack

Xpro India vs Jindal Polyfilms

To know more, check out Xpro India's 2021-22 annual report analysis.

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. Learn more about our recommendation services here...