Nicco Parks & Resorts Ltd.

Year of investment: 2004

Status: Active

About

It’s the biggest and only amusement park company operating our of Eastern India.

Rationale

When we first bought into Nicco, it was a small operation in the outskirts of the city of Kolkata. Over time though, it has grown in scale to encompass not only an amusement park but also an entertainment zone, numerous convention centers and several restaurants. We remain the largest public shareholder in the company.

Eveready Industries India Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2013

Status: Exited fully in 2017

About

It’s the largest manufacturer of dry cell batteries commanding more than 50% share. It also manufactures flashlights and has diversified into householding appliances and LED lights.

Rationale

In 2013, the trigger to enter the business, was due to a change of guard in the management and the next generation had taken over the reins. The battery business found pricing power and cash just flowed in. This was also a reason to exit. The cash flows were used to enter the highly competitive appliances segment with a lower margin profile. We exited with more than tenfold returns on a mid-single digit stake in the company.

Bata India Ltd

Year of Investment: 2008

Status: Fully exited position in 2012

About

Bata is one of the worlds leading footwear brands with a network of more than 1500 stores across India. Its an extremely popular and loved brand in india, that needs no introduction. It has successfully transitioned to a new age brand, keeping its age old legacy intact.

Rationale

We made this investment at the height of the global financial crisis back in 2008. The company was going through a very rough time leading up to 2008. Post which, in a couple of years, they came back stronger than ever before.

JK Tyre & Industries Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2016

Status: Active

About

JK Tyre is amongst the top 20 manufacturers of tyres in the world. In India, they are the largest makers of Truck/Bus radial tyres with a market share of over 30%. They were the first company to pioneer radial tyre technology in India.

Rationale

In 2016, they made a strategic acquisition of Cavendish tyres, which was also a trigger for us to invest. Today, they’re present across all types of tyres with CV being their forte. We remain the largest public shareholder in the company and are optimistic on the growth prospects in the coming decade.

Venkys India Ltd

Year of Investment: 2006

Status: Active

About

Venkys India Ltd. is part of the Venkateshwara hatcheries group, based in Pune. They are pioneers of the poultry sector in India. Its parent company controls the breed stock for layers and broilers and has a dictatorial position in the market.

Rationale

Venkys India is an integrated poultry unit that buys breed stock from its parent and is engaged in downstream activities like feed, processing and poultry healthcare products. It is also the only manufacturer of Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) eggs in Asia. Their supply processed chicken to some of the most popular QSR chains like KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds etc. We remain the largest public shareholders of the company.

Muthoot Capital Services Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2016

Status: Fully exited position in 2018

About

Muthoot Capital Services Ltd. is part of the ‘Blue Muthoot’ group from Kerala. Its an NBFC which primarily provides 2-wheeler financing across brands on a pan India basis.

Rationale

When we chanced upon Muthoot, it was clear that they had been through a lot of operational challenges in the last few years and were set on a growth trajectory going ahead. They did well in terms of disbursements and profit growth. But, their foray into non 2-wheeler segments and high gross NPA’s are what made us exit our position. We made a tidy profit in the process.

Universal Cables Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2016

Status: Fully exited in 2018

About

Universal Cables is an MP Birla group company that makes LV, HV and EHV cables. Specifically in EHV it has a leading market share which includes supply and installation services.

Rationale

We identified Universal Cables as being the market leader in underground EHV cables in India. Channel checks suggested the same. They grew very well for a couple of years, post which their working capital started to bloat and cash flows began to get choked up, due to which they had to pile on more debt. We took a conscious call to exit this business armed with a three-fold return.

Speciality Restaurants Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2017

Status: Active

About

Speciality Restaurants is one of the first restaurant chains in India, set up in 1992. They own brands like Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, Episode One, Sweet Bengal and Sigree. They’ve recently set up their first restaurant in London called Chourangi.

Rationale

We had been tracking this company since its IPO in 2012. Unfortunately, over the next few years, the over expansion post money raise led to losses. We entered at a time we felt that the company had stabilized and should turn around. Covid played spoilsport and the company had to shut even more restaurants. We firmly believe in the potential of its brands and see a turnaround in the offing. We remain the largest public shareholders in the company.

Escorts Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2012

Status: Fully exited in 2017

About

Escorts Ltd. is the one of the largest tractor manufacturers in India. In the last few years, it has also made inroads in the Construction & Material handling equipment and Railway Equipment businesses.

Rationale

In 2012, the company was in a dire state, to say the least. Forget growth, there were questions on its survival. There was a massive internal restructuring that was taking place. Externally, there was drought for 2 consecutive years which majorly impacted tractor sales. By 2015, not only did the tractor market pick up, but Escorts Ltd, was ready to capture a larger part of the market as well. We believe that selling in 2017 was a mistake, as we couldn’t forsee a cyclical industry like farm equipments doing well over a prolonged period. We underestimated the strength of Escorts Ltd. Nevertheless, we made a very handsome return on our investment.

La Opala RG Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2010

Status: Fully Exited in 2016

About

La Opala is India’s largest manufacturer of Opalware. They first put up a manufacturing plant in the mid 1990’s, when all of the Opalware was being imported into India. Today, they export to several countries and have a dominant position in India, with a market share of more than 55% in the industry.

Rationale

Back in 2010, La Opala was doing about INR 20 crores worth of revenue annually. The products had very good acceptance in the markets and they had just come off a major capital expenditure programme which essentially would quadruple capacity. At the time of exit, revenues stood at INR 250 crores and profits were up multiple times. We chose to exit due to the severe competitive intensity building up within the industry. It remains one of our best performing investments to date.

Huhtamaki India Ltd.

Year of Investment: 2013

Status: Fully exited in 2020

About

Having started life as Paper Products Ltd., post a takeover by Huhtamaki in 1999, this company emerged as the largest flexible packaging company in India, with all top FMCG companies on its client roster.

Rationale

We invested when it took over the next largest player, Positive Packaging Ltd. in 2013. That would essentially have doubled size and given rise to tremendous synergies in operations. The process was very slow and synergies never materialized. We took a call to exit our position fully in the aftermath of covid, taking a loss.