New Delhi, 24 March (H.S.):

Agrochemical player GSP Crop Science Limited made a strong debut on the stock exchanges today delivering listing gains for investors in its Rs 400 crore initial public offering.

Shares issued at Rs 320 apiece in the IPO opened at Rs 332.30 on the BSE and Rs 328 on the NSE giving investors an immediate listing gain of around 3 percent. Post listing the stock saw sharp swings rising to Rs 362.30 on buying support before slipping to Rs 327.35 amid profit booking. By 1130 am the shares were trading at Rs 329.50 on the BSE and Rs 329.60 on the NSE still leaving IPO allottees with gains of more than 2.90 percent over the issue price.

The book built IPO was open for subscription from March 16 to March 18 and drew a muted overall response closing at 1.64 times subscription backed mainly by institutional and non institutional demand. The qualified institutional buyers portion excluding anchor investors was subscribed 2.66 times while the non institutional investors bucket drew 3.14 times bids. The retail quota however remained undersubscribed at just 0.42 times.

The issue comprised 1.25 crore equity shares of face value Rs 10 including a fresh issue of 75 lakh shares aggregating Rs 240 crore and an offer for sale of 50 lakh shares worth Rs 160 crore. The company plans to deploy the fresh capital towards reducing existing debt funding working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes as outlined in its offer documents.

Regulatory filings with SEBI show the companys profitability has strengthened steadily over recent years. Net profit rose from Rs 17.57 crore in FY23 to Rs 55.54 crore in FY24 and further to Rs 81.42 crore in FY25 while in the first half of the current financial year April to September 2025 it had already earned Rs 81.07 crore. Revenue moved from Rs 1206.05 crore in FY23 to Rs 1158.23 crore in FY24 before climbing to Rs 1301.06 crore in FY25 with Rs 847.61 crore recorded in the first half of FY26.

During this period the companys debt levels fluctuated ending FY23 at Rs 324.26 crore easing to Rs 235.44 crore in FY24 and then rising to Rs 296.60 crore in FY25 before touching Rs 321.13 crore by September 30 2025. Reserves and surplus expanded from Rs 336 crore in FY23 to Rs 344.46 crore in FY24 and Rs 411.02 crore in FY25 and further to Rs 490.84 crore in the first half of FY26. EBITDA improved from Rs 81.28 crore in FY23 to Rs 130.41 crore in FY24 and Rs 164.03 crore in FY25 with Rs 138.86 crore reported for the April to September 2025 period underlining a progressively stronger operating performance.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar