Shares of Ponni Sugars (Erode) rose 11% in an already weak market on Thursday to hit an all-time high of Rs 479.15 in intraday trade. In less than three months, sweetener stocks have jumped 100% from Rs 240.10 touched on September 28. It surpassed the previous high of Rs 455 on December 19, 2022.

At 11:47 am, Ponni Sugars (Erode) was up 7.5% at Rs 462.65, while the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.45%. Average OTC volume on NSE and BSE jumped 1.5 times, with around 6.4 lakh shares changing hands.

The stock has soared 51% over the past month, compared with a 3.4% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. Regarding material price changes, Ponni Sugars (Erode) clarified on December 21 that it has no company-specific information to report under Regulation 30 of the LODR other than the information we provide from time to time.

“We understand that prices of sugar securities surged on a positive outlook for the sugar sector based on media reports of the government’s decision to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on ethanol and optimism that the government may allow more sugar exports,” the company said.

Ponni Sugars (Erode) announced its September quarter (Q2FY23) results on October 28, saying that the company is confident enough to continue and sustain its good performance in the second half of FY23 (October to March). Unless incalculable, FY22/23 management remains sure of another year of encouraging results.

India’s sugar production in 2022-23 is expected to hit another record high, thus sustaining the current phase of unending surplus. The country needs to increase exports over the next 5-6 months before the new Brazilian crop will expand production. As a result, the export window narrows, and the inexplicable delay in export policy announcements becomes smaller.

However, the ethanol blending programme is progressing well and will consume around 4.5 million tonnes of sugar this season. Since sugar prices remain stable, this should fine-tune supply-demand parity.

“Thankfully, the most problematic years of drought have passed. Our area of ​​operations, like the rest of Tamil Nadu, has benefited from abundant monsoon showers over the past two years. Moreover, the benefits for our sugarcane in the Mettur Reservoir, which supplies the district, are full. Our aggressive promotional efforts through planting subsidies have resulted in a surge in sugarcane planting. As a result, sugarcane crushing this season has hit a record high since the opening of our sugar mill,” the company said.