Avanti Feeds shares jumped 12.06% in morning trade on Thursday, brushing aside a severe second-quarter profit squeeze. The stock snapped a two-day losing streak to lead gainers across the Nifty 500 index. Buyers flooded the counter at the opening bell, shrugging off a broader contraction in operational margins.
The reaction surprised traders. Just twenty-four hours earlier, the stock fell over 2.5% as investors digested a steep drop in earnings. Yet institutional buying absorbed that sell-off within minutes of Thursday's open, propelling the stock to its sharpest single-day climb since April 10, when it logged a 13.46% jump.
According to the company's financial filing, net profit for the quarter ended September slumped 54.9% year-on-year to ₹69 crore, down from ₹153 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Operating leverage took a direct hit. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) tumbled 59.8% to ₹78 crore compared to ₹194 crore a year ago.
EBITDA margins shrank sharply to 4.45% from 12% in the prior-year period.
But the topline told a more resilient story. Revenue from operations climbed 8.9% to ₹1,752.5 crore against ₹1,609 crore logged in the second quarter of the previous year. Value buyers appeared to focus on that sustained topline expansion rather than the transient compression in unit margins.
| Financial Metric | Q2 Current Fiscal | Q2 Previous Fiscal | YoY Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from Operations | ₹1,752.5 crore | ₹1,609.0 crore | +8.9% |
| EBITDA | ₹78.0 crore | ₹194.0 crore | -59.8% |
| EBITDA Margin | 4.45% | 12.00% | -755 bps |
| Net Profit | ₹69.0 crore | ₹153.0 crore | -54.9% |
Trading desks witnessed unprecedented volume. More than 67 lakh shares exchanged hands during intraday trade on Thursday, clocking 25.63 times the counter's 10-day average volume. The sharp burst of liquidity helped the stock decouple from its recent weakness.
Year-to-date, Avanti Feeds remains down 10.19%. Over a trailing 12-month period, however, the equity has gained 7.55%. Thursday's rebound positioned the shares 20.4% above their 52-week low of ₹655.30, a trough recorded on October 30.
Market Context: Shrimp feed manufacturers have faced severe pricing pressure, export cross-currents, and escalating raw material costs over the past two quarters. The market's aggressive absorption of Thursday's selling pressure suggests institutional desks are pricing in an operational bottom for processing margins heading into the second half of the fiscal year.
Ahead of upcoming market sessions, traders will watch whether the counter can defend these high-volume intraday gains and absorb ongoing cost headwinds across overseas aquaculture supply chains.