REC share price locked at 8% upper circuit to hit 52-week high: What drove the rally?

REC Share Price Today: Shares of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) were locked at 8 per cent upper circuit at ₹382.75 apiece on the BSE, hitting its 52-week high mark, after the state-owned firm's yearly disbursement crossed ₹1 lakh crore for the first time ever on Friday, December 1. In the corresponding period of eight months to the financial year, the disbursement was ₹47,035 crore.

“For the first time, REC crossed disbursement of ₹1,00,000 crore in a year. In corresponding period of 8 months of FY 2022-23 the disbursement was ₹46,075 crore,'' said REC in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.

Also Read: REC Q2 net profit rises 39% to ₹3,789.9 crore

The stock has tripled in value so far this year, rising over 240 per cent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. On Friday, shares of REC opened at ₹355 and gained 7.81 per cent to hit a 52-week high of ₹382.75 apiece, against a previous close of ₹348.55 on the BSE.

REC reported a 38.71 per cent year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September to ₹3,789.90 crore. During the same period last fiscal, the company had registered a net profit of ₹2,732.12 crore.

“Owing to the improving asset quality, increase in lending rates and effective management of Finance Cost, REC is able to record its highest ever quarterly profit," REC said in a statement.

The domestic equity market witnessed healthy gains on Friday with the benchmark Nifty 50 hitting its fresh record high of 20,291.55 in the intraday session on all-round buying after India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the July-September quarter exceeded expectations. Nifty 50 finally closed 135 points, or 0.67 per cent, higher at 20,267.90.

Mid and smallcap indices also hit their fresh record highs during the session. Sensex ended the day at 67,481.19, up 493 points, or 0.74 per cent. Sensex remained 446 points away from its all-time high of 67,927.23 which it hit on September 15 this year. Shares of REC settled 7.23 per cent higher at ₹373.75 apiece on the BSE.