Astral hit a day low of Rs 1,215.50 on NSE, down 12%, after the pipe maker’s Q2 profit fell 5.6% even as sales rose 26% from a year earlier.

The results came out after market hours on Thursday. Astral Limited reported consolidated net profit of Rs 127.30 crore for the September quarter, against Rs 134.80 crore a year ago, a fall of 5.6%.

Sales held up well. Revenue from operations climbed 26% to Rs 1,988.30 crore.

Operating profit, known as EBITDA, rose just 1.5% to Rs 272.30 crore, which means costs grew faster than sales.

In plain terms, Astral sold a lot more but kept less. The pipes business, called plumbing, held up better. Its EBITDA grew 6.9% to Rs 227.60 crore.

Paints and adhesives went the other way, with EBITDA down 19.2% to Rs 44.70 crore, according to the company’s exchange filing.

The selling was sharp. By 10:20 am, around 27 lakh shares had changed hands across NSE and BSE, and the day low of Rs 1,215.50 is also a 52-week low.

The stock now sits nearly 31% below the Rs 1,768.70 peak it hit on 11 March this year, while the broader market was higher, with the Nifty up 0.28% at 11:21 am.

Separately, Astral said on 3 November it had received a GST demand order over how some products were classified for tax.

It plans to contest the order and expects no material impact on its finances.

On payouts, the company went ex-dividend on 14 August this year for Rs 2.50 per share.

At 11:21 am, it’s trading at Rs 1,226.50 on NSE, down by 161.50 points or 11.64% from the previous close of Rs 1,388.00.

The stock opened at Rs 1,369.60, which was also its high for the day. Over the past month, it has lost 12.54%, and it is down 14.52% so far this year.

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