Astral shares rose 9% in early trade on May 16, a day after the company reported strong fourth-quarter earnings.

Its net profit for the January-March period surged about 38% year-on-year to Rs 199 crore on the back of better operating performance. Lower raw material prices and the use of lower-cost inventories helped EBIDTA margins expand 492 basis points year-over-year to 20.5% in the fourth quarter.

Revenue also rose 8% year-on-year to Rs 1,506 crore based on solid performance by its business units.

Shares of Astral were trading at Rs 1,728.15 at 10:40 am on the National Stock Exchange, up 8.3%.

About 34 lakh shares changed hands on exchanges, with a one-month daily average of 4 lakh shares.