Shares of Technocraft Industries hit an all-time high of Rs 1,271, rising 8% on the BSE in Wednesday’s intraday trade in an already sluggish market.

Shares in the steel company were up 5.5% at 1:40 pm, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.1%. It has gained 40% in the past five weeks from Rs 909 on February 7, 2023. Moreover, it has gained 37% over the past three months, while the S&P BSE has lost 6%.

Technocraft is one of the leading barrel lid manufacturers with a global market share of approximately 36% (excluding China) and caters to major barrel manufacturers.

The scaffolding segment includes the scaffolding and formwork business, with 70% to 75% of revenue from overseas markets. The company also started manufacturing complex engineered formwork systems for construction and infrastructure projects. The company supplies products to various end markets, including oil and gas, power, refineries, petrochemicals, infrastructure and commercial buildings.

Last month, Technocraft bought back 1.5 million shares through a tender at Rs 1,000 each. When announcing the buyback offer in December 2022, the company had said that the buyback could help improve return on equity by reducing the equity base, leading to long-term growth in shareholder value.

Meanwhile, in its quarterly update for the December quarter (Q3FY23), Technocraft said margins in the barrel lid business were under pressure due to higher material costs, ocean freight and other inflationary impacts on consumables and services, as well as demand pressures. Margins were also hit by turmoil in Europe and other overseas markets.

The company expects pressure to ease in the medium to long term. The company’s China business continues to show better performance. It added that no major capital expenditures are planned for the segment soon other than maintenance capex.