Speciality Restaurants soars 20% in 2 days; hits record high in weak market

Shares of Speciality Restaurants hit a record high of Rs 268.10, as they rallied 6 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes in an otherwise weak market. The stock of restaurant company has surged 20 per cent in past two trading days. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.15 per cent at 60,263 at 10:11 AM.

Currently, Speciality Restaurants, a leading fine dining restaurant operator with Mainland China, Asia Kitchen by Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta and Sigree-Global Grill as its key brands, quoted 4 per cent higher at Rs 264.30, on back of over three-fold jump in trading volumes. A combined 1.2 million shares representing nearly 2.5 per cent of total equity of the company changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

Speciality Restaurants is engaged in the business of operating restaurants and confectionaries across India, Qatar, UAE and United Kingdom for more than 25 years.

As on September 30, 2022, the company had 83 Restaurants and 38 Confectionary stores across 14 cities in India, 2 ‘Asia Kitchen by Mainland China’ restaurants in UAE and 1 ‘Riyasat’ restaurant at Doha, Qatar. The company also operates 1 restaurant under the brand name ‘Chourangi’ in London under Joint Venture.

In the past six months, the stock has rallied 122 per cent, as against 12 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. Moreover, in the past one year, it has zoomed 183 per cent, as against 1.1 per cent gain in the benchmark index.

On December 21, 2022, the board of directors of Speciality Restaurants approved issue of 6 million warrants, each convertible into, or exchangeable for, one equity shares of the company at a price of Rs 212.05 each aggregating up to Rs 127.23 crore to other than promoters on preferential basis.

For obtaining the approval of the shareholders of the company for the aforementioned matters, the board of directors are scheuled to meet in an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) on January 18, 2023.

Meanwhile, the food and beverages industry in India has a strong potential and there are significant growth opportunities in the domestic markets. The company has positioned to capitalize on these growth opportunities and its brands are well-equipped to cater to the taste buds of consumers, the management said.

The company continues its focus on controlling the costs and improving value proposition for Guests. Delivery through kitchen within kitchens and cloud kitchens continue to be a significant proportion to total revenues. The company strives to maintain profitability by improving overall margins, mitigating inflationary pressure on input cost and to continue to be a debt free company, the management said.