Navin Fluorine gains for third straight day; stock hits fresh all-time high

Shares of Navin Fluorine International were trading higher for the third straight day, up 2 per cent at Rs 960 in intra-day trade on Monday after the company announced a capex plan of Rs 450 crore at Dahej through a wholly-owned subsidiary, which is to be incorporated.

The stock has rallied 8 per cent in the past three trading days, as compared to 1.5 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. In the past two months, it rallied 32 per cent against 6 per cent gain in the benchmark index.

On December 12, Navin Fluorine said in a regulatory filing that it is planning a capex programme at Dahej (Gujarat) through a wholly owned subsidiary with an estimated aggregate capital outlay of over Rs 450 crore over the next 3–4 years.

The board has initially approved capex of about Rs 90 crore for site development and related infrastructure on 74 acres of land to set up greenfield projects at Dahej. The said capital expenditure will be funded by the Company out of its internal accruals. The development of the infrastructure will enable the Company to set up various future Greenfield projects in fluorochemicals, the company said.

The company currently has manufacturing units at Surat (Gujarat) and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh).
The management has sounded optimistic on the growth outlook of specialty chemicals in recent times while remaining confident of its CRAMS business (cGMP-3 plant to operate from Dec’19). The capex will also be for new product developments in the R-gas segment.

Analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services said both the specialty chemicals and CRAMS segments should record strong numbers going forward. The CGMP-3 plant commissioning and improved visibility in specialty chemicals segment bode well for future revenue growth, the brokerage firm said in company update.

The strategy of the company's management to improve its overall margin profile and return ratios by altering the revenue mix toward high-margin businesses while maintaining its balance sheet strength remains on track, the analysts said.

At 12:31 pm, Navin Fluorine was trading 0.33 per cent higher at Rs 941 on the BSE, against 0.06 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 70,136 equity shares have changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE so far.