BIL moves up as third most valuable stock

• Rise partly due to dip in share prices of DIST and Dialog 

Colombo Bourse’s new sensation Browns Investments PLC (BIL) yesterday moved up to be ranked as the third most valuable stock, largely owing to a dip in the share prices of Distilleries and Dialog.

A 30 cent or 4% gain yesterday to close at Rs. 7.50 – an all-time high – was good enough for BIL to command a market capitalisation of Rs. 107.7 billion. It began the week in fifth, a sharp rise from ninth in December and 19th in November.

BIL saw 357.3 million of its shares changing hands via 9,188 trades for Rs. 2.7 billion. 

Distilleries, which ranked third, declined by 50 cents to close at Rs. 22.40, and its market value was Rs. 103 billion. Dialog, which closed unchanged at Rs 12.70, moved up to fourth place with a value of Rs. 103.8 billion.

As exclusively reported on Monday, BIL during the first trading week of 2021 saw heightened interest. Around 2.15 billion shares (nearly 15% stake) changed hands via 37,629 trades for Rs. 12.67 billion. The price set a new 52-week high of Rs. 7.10 before closing at Rs. 6.50 or up Rs. 2.20 or 51% up from the previous week. Net asset value per share is Rs. 2.51 as at 30 September 2020, down from Rs. 3.48 as at 31 March 2020.

BIL contributed 72% to the ASPI’s gain last week and 38% of the turnover. 

In the quarter ended on 31 December 2020, BIL saw 4.16 billion of its shares changing hands via 61,786 trades for Rs. 14.8 billion. It closed the quarter at Rs. 4.30 up by 59% after hitting a high of Rs. 4.50 and a low of Rs. 2.20.