Shares of Page Industries hit an all-time high of Rs 47,001 in intraday trade on Wednesday after the BSE rose nearly 2%t.

Shares of the apparel and apparel maker have risen 17% so far in July in hopes of strong growth prospects. By comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 4.7% over the same period. The stock surpassed the previous high of Rs 46,705 set on April 26, 2022.

The growth of organised retail has opened up more opportunities for branded games like Page Industries. The company is the exclusive licensee of JOCKEY International Inc (USA), which manufactures, distributes and markets the JOCKEY brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan and the UAE. Page Industries is also the exclusive licensee of Speedo International in India.

Increased consumer spending and increased fashion or brand awareness are making consumers more aspirational and discerning. Going forward, the company expects the growing urban female population and female corporate workforce to be better growth opportunities.

In its FY22 annual report Page Industries said: “As lockdowns caused by the pandemic gradually ease, we expect mall openings to re-emerge as an important channel for major department stores. During the pandemic, new or first-time shoppers acquired by the brand in categories such as athleisure will be provided with the foundation”.

Going forward, the company aims to expand production capacity by adding infrastructure and facilities. This will allow for scalability and the addition of machines and manpower to meet expected demand growth. In addition to this, the company has significantly expanded its presence by opening several Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) as well as large multi-brand stores, ensuring the brand’s availability and accessibility across the country.

That said, Page Industries has expanded its MBO network by more than 60% during the pandemic and added nearly 55,000 locations to its current MBO network of about 1,15,000 locations. The many new stores that are less than a year old are also expected to help boost sales, which will drive sales and revenue.

Meanwhile, Page Industries plans to report its earnings for the April-June quarter (Q1FY23) on August 11, 2022, and declare its first interim dividend.

Analysts at ICICI Securities expect the company’s revenue to grow by 147% YoY in Q1FY23 (good footing due to Covid-19 impact in 1QFY22) to Rs 1,239 crore, mainly due to Its range of products and distribution (three-year CAGR: 14%). In addition to this, volumes are expected to increase by 113% year-on-year, while realizations are expected to increase by 16% (due to higher prices and a change in product mix in FY22).

Also, the brokerage firm expects the EBITDA margin to rise to 22.2% in Q1FY23 from 6.8% (lower base due to pandemic impact) in Q1FY22. “Subsequently, we expect Page to report a net profit of Rs 190 crore against Rs 11 crore in Q1FY22 (net profit of Rs 191 crore in Q4FY22),” analysts previewed the results.