Shares of large wire and cable manufacturers witnessed one of of its worst days at Dalal Street amid Adani Group's foray in the sector, hit sentiment.. Shares of KEI Industries, Polycab India, RR Kabel, Finolex Cables, and Havells India tanked up to 15 per cent on the BSE. In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Adani Enterprises informed the market that Kutch Copper Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company has incorporated a 50:50 joint venture company -- Praneetha Ecocables Ltd -- with Praneetha Ventures Private Limited.
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KEI Industries share price plunged 14.55 per cent intraday to a low of Rs 2,802.10 per share. Polycab India share price, meanwhile, fell 9.58 per cent intraday to Rs 4,920 per share, Havells India share price 5.5 per cent to Rs 1,470.8 per share, and Finolex Cables 4.7 per cent to Rs 827 per share. Adani Enterprises, on the flipside, added 1.6 per cent in the intraday trade. This move positions Adani as the second major conglomerate to enter the cables and wires sector, following the Birla Group, which announced its foray into the industry last month through UltraTech Cement with a capital expenditure of Rs 1,800 crore.
Notably, shares of smaller wire and cable manufacturers were rising today, likely on hopes of mergers and acquisitions ahead. Universal Cables share price, for instance, rallied 4.6 per cent intraday, Cords Cable Industries share price 2.7 per cent, Plaza Wires share price 2.2 per cent, Ultracab India share price 3 per cent, and Jigar Cables share price 5 per cent.Meanwhile, analysts believe that the entry of Adani and the Birla Group is unlikely to impact the FY25–28 earnings of cables & wires (C&W) players. However, they will be watching for any additional announcements by the companies that could have a longer-term effect on the demand-supply dynamics of the C&W sector.