Shares of Usha Martin rose 8% to Rs 198.75 on the BSE in heavy intraday trade on Wednesday. Shares of the steel products company have rallied 50% over the past month, compared with a 0.41% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. It hit an all-time high of Rs 198.95 on January 2, 2023.

Last month, Usha Martin rose 50%, the biggest monthly gainer on the S&P BSE small cap index. In contrast, the small-cap index has lost 2.5% over the period. Moreover, the company’s market value has more than doubled over the past year, gaining 115%, compared with Sensex’s gain of just 0.39%.

Usha Martin was quoted 5% higher at Rs 191.70 at 2:06 pm on doubled volume. As of the time of writing, a total of 5.64 million shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE, representing 2% of the company’s total share capital.

Last month, the exchange sought clarification from the company over the sharp rise in its share price. In this regard, the company stated that, as far as it is aware, there is currently “no material relevant information and/or announcements that may have an impact on the company’s operating performance or the company’s trading stock price movements.”

Usha Martin is the world’s leading manufacturer of steel wire rope and manufactures steel wire, LRPC strands, prestressing machines & accessories and fibre optic cables. Usha Martin’s wire rope manufacturing plants in Ranchi, Hoshiarpur, Dubai, Bangkok and the UK produce the broadest range of wire ropes used in various industries worldwide.

In the first half (April-September) of the current financial year 2022-23 (H1FY23), Usha Martin’s consolidated net profit rose 39.3% year-on-year to Rs 161.2 crore. The company’s revenue rose 30.6% year-on-year to Rs 1,579 crore. During this period, higher realization and better volumes contributed to revenue growth. However, the EBITDA margin contracted 76 basis points to 15.5% from 16.3% in H1FY22.