CTC dethrones JKH

Wednesday, 14 August 2013 00:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc (CTC) yesterday dethroned John Keells Holdings (JKH) as Sri Lanka’s most valuable listed corporate, a development that added a bit of excitement in an otherwise depressed stock market.

As speculated in the Daily FT yesterday via article titled ‘Will CTC pip JKH to No. 1?’ the multinational’s gain of 10 cents yesterday was good enough to win the crown of most valuable stock with a market capitalisation of Rs. 224.8 billion. JKH on the other hand saw its price dip by Rs. 2.30 to Rs. 260, after hitting an intra-day high of Rs. 263, up by 70 cents from Monday’s close. CTC closed at Rs. 1,200.10 after peaking to Rs. 1,201 and had 187.323,751 shares in issue. JKH’s issued quantity is 857,776,904 shares. In terms of share, CTC’s market cap was 9.41% of the total whilst JKH was 9.34%. On Monday JKH was on top with 9.44% and CTC trailing behind with 9.43%. On 20 May, JKH accounted for a record 10.14% of CSE’s market capitalisation with a staggering value of Rs. 254.73 billion with share price at Rs. 297.10. At that price, JKH reflected an increase of 35% from end 2012 closing of Rs. 219.90. Its year-to-date gain is over 19%. CTC’s performance has been impressive. In May, the tobacco giant was ranked number two but had to contend with a wide margin as its market capitalisation was Rs. 158.2 billion or 6.48%. CTC finished 2012 with its stock price at Rs. 830, up by 44% year-to-date. Despite the changes in rankings, there is no apparent battle for supremacy between JKH and CTC since they share a common Chairman in Susantha Ratnayake. Both shares have convincingly over-performed in the market, year-to-date gain of which is at 8.86%. Analysts pointed to the performance of sound blue chips to drive home the point that investors, especially retailers, stand to benefit significantly if their choice of stocks are determined by fundamentals rather than guesswork.

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