Sharda Cropchem IPO - To Invest or to Avoid - Technical Check

Sharda Cropchem Ltd (SCL) is coming out with an initial public offering (IPO) of 2.3 crore equity shares of face value of Rs10 each. Post-issue, the shareholding of the promoters in the company will fall to 75% from 84.13% currently. The issue is priced at Rs145-156 per share and the company intends to raise Rs352 crore at the upper end of the price band. The object of the issue is to get the benefit of listing on the bourses and to carry out the sale of the stake of the shareholders (ie HEP Mauritius, Sharda R. Bubna and Ramprakash V. Bubna).

At the upper price band of Rs156, the company is priced at a price/earnings (PE) ratio of 13x the upper price band of Rs156 and 12x the lower price band of Rs145 on FY2014 earnings. This seems reasonable, given the company's strong balance sheet, healthy return ratios and earnings growth. Also, the offer price is at a discount to the comparable agrochemical companies (for whom the average PE ratio is around 25x FY2014 earnings). Further, the company's asset-light business model and focus on registration of the molecules make its business strategy unique as compared with its peers (that have a capital-intensive business model).

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