Shares of Sapphire Foods dropped nearly 1.5% during the trade session on 25 August, a day after the promoter offloaded a 2.55% stake in the company.

The company’s promoter, Sapphire Food Mauritius, sold 16.25 lakh equity shares in the franchisee of Yum! Brands Inc. through open market transactions at an average price of Rs 1,355 per share.

Wtcnam Common Trust Funds Trust Emerging Markets Opportunities Portfolio later bought 11.14 lakh shares or a 1.75% stake in the company at an average price of Rs 1,355 per share.

The company’s promoters include private equity players such as Samara Capital Partners Fund II Limited, Sagista Realty Advisors Private Limited, and Ironman Investments Limited, who hold around 44.86% stake in the company.

Sapphire Foods is one of the largest franchisees of Yum! Brands on the Asia continent and operates more than 700 Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell restaurant outlets across India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

The company’s net profit for the April-June quarter saw a decline as the company posted a net profit of Rs 248 crore from Rs 381 crore in the year-ago quarter.

However, on the revenue front, the company saw a 20% YoY increase in restaurant sales growth for the June quarter of the current fiscal year at Rs 652 crore.

During the June quarter of the current fiscal year, the company opened 35 new restaurants, which included 17 KFC and 16 Pizza Hut outlets in the Maldives, taking its overall restaurant count to 778.

At 3:30 pm, the shares of Sapphire Foods closed at Rs 1,375.05 or 0.80% above its previous close on NSE.