Trend

When the chips are down

Passionate Investment Management, has bought close to 300,000 shares since the beginning of the new fiscal

The downturn notwithstanding, the promoters of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Motilal Oswal (pictured) and Raamdeo Agrawal, are keeping their faith in the broking business. Promoter group company, Passionate Investment Management, has bought close to 300,000 shares at an average price of ₹78.75 since the beginning of the new fiscal (between April 1 and April 20) to increase its holding from 52.64% as of end-March to 52.87%. The promoters, who currently hold over 70% stake, have seen a massive erosion in their net worth. Since its high of ₹431 in early 2008, the stock has plummeted more than 80% to its current levels and so have the company’s financials. Revenues fell from an all-time high of ₹692 crore in FY08 to ₹330 crore for the nine months of FY13 while the profit has plunged from ₹161 crore to ₹72 crore over the same period. Given that retail appetite continues to be weak in an increasingly volatile market, the future for broking firms appears far from rosy.