Shares of Cochin Shipyards (CSL) rose 5% to hit a record high of Rs 610.75 on the BSE after gaining 5% in intraday trade on Thursday. Shares of the shipbuilder have surged 12% over the past two sessions. By contrast, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.26% at 60,745 at 12:27 pm.

CSL’s share price hit a new all-time high for the first time in five years. It surpassed the previous high of Rs 598.90 on November 24, 2017. The stock has appreciated 96% over the past four months on expectations of a strong business outlook.

CSL made its stock market debut on August 11, 2017. The company issued shares at Rs 432 per share. Retail individual investors and employees of CSL get a discount of approximately 5% and offer shares at Rs 411 per share.

CSL is mainly engaged in ship construction, repair, and modification of various types of ships, including ship upgrades. As of September 30, 2022, the Government of India held 72.86% of the company’s share capital.

The Government of India has launched various initiatives to unlock the true potential of India’s maritime capabilities and accelerate the development of the port and shipping industry. CSL has delivered two self-driving electric vessels for Norway’s ASKO Maritime AS and has secured an order for eight Eco freighters from Germany’s HS Service GMBH & Co KG.

In its FY22 annual report, CSL said it expected more orders from European customers to be a trailblazer for the company. Orders for the Indian Navy’s next-generation missile ships are in the final stages and are expected to be placed soon.

CSL has also signed a contract to build India’s largest dredger, which will open a new vertical business, and CSL is confident of securing more similar orders. CSL is also optimistic about securing ship repair orders at its main plant in Kochi and ship repair units in Mumbai, Kolkata and Port Blair.

The overall outlook for the ship repair sector looks stable. “With a large order book worth Rs 20,000 crore, encouraging business opportunities in Europe and improving the ship repair business will enable us to continue to grow in the coming years. We also expect our two subsidiaries to contribute effectively from Udupi and Kolkata,” the company said in its annual report.