Shoppers` Stop lists at 56% premium

24th May 2005: The Shoppers’ Stop scrip made a sparkling debut on the bourses on Monday. The counter closed at Rs 372.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 56.60 per cent higher than its issue price of Rs 238.

The counter had opened at Rs 335 on the BSE — a 40.9% premium over the issue price. More than 4.22 million Shoppers’ Stop shares were traded on the BSE on Monday. On the National Stock Exchange, the counter closed at Rs 371.60 with a more than 7.67 million shares being traded.

Shoppers’ Stop had priced its issue at Rs 238, closer to the higher end of the offer price band of Rs 210- 250. The strong Shoppers’ Stop debut would lead to a re-rating of the retail sector stocks, analysts said.

EXL Services, first Indian BPO company seek listing on Nasdaq

24th May 2005: The first Indian BPO company to seek a listing on the Nasdaq, EXL Services, has recently filed an amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company, whose initial public offering (IPO) is pegged at $75 million, has revealed that it generated revenues of $60.5 million in 2004, compared to $27.8 million in 2003, an increase of 117.6%. Unlisted companies do not generally share their revenues and profitability figures with the members of the public. The revenue growth, states the document, can be credited to the growth of its client base, the increase in size and number of services it provided and the addition of new services, such as advisory services.

“We added 10 clients for our services, including advisory services, during 2004 compared to two new clients during 2003. Revenues generated from new clients were $6.4 million for 2004 accounting for 10.6% of revenues of which $2.5 million represented revenues from advisory services. As a result of providing services for the entire year in 2004 as compared to part of the period during 2003, we generated more revenue in 2004 (an increase of $20 million) from the clients added in 2003.”

EXL derived a substantial portion of revenues from a limited number of large clients. In 2004, two largest clients, Norwich Union, a United Kingdom-based company, and Dell (including Dell Financial Services), accounted for 76.5% of revenues under several contracts. Of that amount, revenues from Norwich Union have grown significantly, from $11.9 million in 2003 to $31.7 million in 2004. EXL expects Norwich Union and Dell to continue to contribute significantly to its revenues.

EXL had sold 5,26,316 shares some six months ago to Norwich Union (an Aviva company) for $12.5 million, which brings the valuation per share to a little under $24. Market conditions being favourable, the stock should be priced at least at the previous sale levels or higher. It will also take the networth of promoters Mr. Vikram Talwar, CEO and vice-chairman, and Mr. Rohit Kapoor - president, vice-chairman and director, soaring to over $25 million each. Some senior and mid-managers are also expected to be worth a few million dollars each post IPO, which is expected to be floated during the second half of 2005.

Extension of date of ensuring compliance with revised clause 49 of the Listing Agreement

24th May 2005: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the date of ensuring compliance with the revised clause 49 of the Listing agreement to December 31, 2005.

Ref: PR No.66/2005, dated March 29, 2005