Nomura hikes stake in homegrown FMCG major Mishtann Foods

As the domestic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector shows resilience against elevated inflation and global commodity headwinds, driven by price-led growth, foreign institutional investor Nomura Singapore has hiked its stake in leading Gujarat-based FMCG company Mishtann Foods. 

The company in a statement said that Nomura Singapore has increased its shareholding to over more than 2 per cent. It now owns 2.19 per cent stake or 2,18,82,762 equity shares in the company.

Before this, Nomura held a 1.28 per cent stake or 1,28,25,854 equity shares in an Ahmedabad-based FMCG company which primarily deals in various types of rice, wheat and pulses segments among others.

A constituent of the S&P BSE SmallCap index, Misthann Foods commands a market capitalisation of Rs 1,365 crore.

In the Q1 of the current financial year, Mishtann Foods reported a more than 500 per cent jump in profit after tax (PAT) YoY to Rs 68.91 crore on the back of strong volumes. The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 11.02 crore in the same quarter of the last financial year.

Mishtann Foods has a 100,000 metric tonne per annum rice processing facility in Ahmedabad. It claims that all of its products are grown using environmentally friendly farming practices.

Meanwhile, the statement said that the board has also approved the incorporation of two wholly-owned subsidiaries to operate in the field of environmental sustainability including grain-based ethanol and components of electric vehicles (EVs). 

In another related development, the company has recently announced plans to set up a grain-based ethanol manufacturing facility in Gujarat. It has signed a MoU with the Gujarat government for setting up the plant at an outlay of Rs 2,250 crore. The operations at the quarter will likely become operational from the second quarter of FY2024.

Ethanol is an organic compound which blended in petrol. At present, 10 per cent ethanol is blended in petrol. The government has set a target to double this to 20 per cent by 2025.