Tasty Bite Eatables (BSE CODE 519091) - A Worth Buy

Media and analysts are often give publicity to a company only after it has grown substantially and leave very little on the table for retail investors. We have seen this many times in the past like in the case of TRF , Bajaj Electricals .etc. Tasty Bite Etables (TBE) seems to be such a story which is yet to be unfold. TBE (BSE CODE -519091) is now promoted by Preferred Brand Foods India Pvt.Ltd which is the Indian arm of US based Preferred Brand Foods Inc. Promoters hold close to 75% share in this microcap (total equity is just 2.56 crore) Two Hyderabad based investors also holding another 6% in this company.Total share holders of this company altogether is only 1648 as per December share holding pattern ,which makes it a low liquid counter.

The company is based in Pune, India,manufactures and markets a range of shelf stable, all-natural, ready-to-serve ethnic food products under Tasty Bite brand name. The company offers Indian and Thai food products, including entrees, meals, rice, and sauces. It also produces special diets, such as vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher, and vegan foods.95% of its income coming from exports . In India the company markets its products to institutional users, including hotels, quick-service restaurants, and other retail and corporate customers. .
Company is performing exceedingly well in recent years and its product getting very good response from US customers. Now ,Tasty Bite is the largest selling Indian Ethnic Food Brand in US.
Even in a difficult qtr for almost all export companies due to unfavorable $ value ,company could post more than Rs.7 /- EPS in December qtr v/s a loss in last year same qtr. For the nine months ended December ,company posted an EPS close to RS.20 v/s a loss of Rs.2/- in last year.

At a time of rising food prices world over ,cost of raw materials is playing a major role in food companies profit. Tasty bite is procuring more than 60% of vegetables from company’s own farms which is located in Pune , is an added advantage for the company.
Company is expected to post an EPS more than Rs.25/- in the full year v/s Rs.5.5 in last year. Tasty Bite is lead by Ashok Vasudevan and Ravi Nigam both having vast experience in this field and headed companies like Pepsico and Britannia in India. Considering the pace of its growth and commitment shown by the management it should be a dark horse and should touch at least Rs.400 – 500 in future. Current Market Price (CMP ) is Rs.165

More details about the company is available from :

For US operations : www.tastybite.com

For Australian operations : www.tastybite.com.au/

KOPRAN - This old Lion may roar again

Price when posted : BSE: Rs 29.00 ( 4.88 % ), NSE: Rs. 28.95 ( 5.08 % )

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Once Kopran was the largest manufacturer of Amoxicillin in India and it was the feather in the cap of Parijat Group led by somanis . In 1994 its share price touched a high of Rs.830/-.Its name later heard in association with KP stocks scam along with other companies like Ranbaxy,Cadilla, Nirma ..etc.Anyway after that Kopran sold off its prestige brands like `Smile` to other companies and its share price nosedives even to Rs.6/- .
Later all Parijat group companies (Oricon Enterprises,Kopran and Excel Glasses) goes through severe working capital crunch . In 2007 Parijat group started its efforts to revive their companies one by one with the help of Clearwater capital partners (a P/E fund specializing in reviving ailing companies due to lack of sufficient working capital)and fresh fund infusion by promoters . As aresult of these efforts On better financial performance , share price of Oricon Enterprises moved from a one year low of Rs.20/- to the current level of Rs.360/-. After the case of Oricon , Kopran is now showing signs of some revival.After a long time company has posted some promising results in December qtr. Company posted a turnover of Rs.40 crore v/s 30 crore and net profit of Rs.1.12 crore v/s a loss of 6.6 crore in this December qtr compared with last year same qtr. It seems to be an early indication of some good days ahead .Now company decided to focusing on international markets through its formulations and API`s business. If you have some patience ,add some doze of Kopran in your portfolio.This may turn to be another multibagger....

Modi Naturals - P/E Players may change its Future

At a time of rising food prices ,everyone is searching for cheapest and healthy food items. Modi Naturals (Foemerly AnilModi Oil) is a company producing rice bran oil since 1974 and it is the largest producer of rice bran oil in India since 2003.Due to High quantities of anti-oxidants and vitamin E ,Rice bran oil is considered as the cheapest and healthiest edible oil. Even though Modi Naturals is the largest company in this field its profit margins are very thin since company sells its entire products to re-sellers and doesn’t own any brand name. Creating a brand name requires huge outlay mainly for advertising .So, till recently company was selling its products in bulk to re-sellers.

Now company decided to move into the retail segment by introducing branded products. This will improve the margins of the company and help to earn substantial profit. In order to augment fund for this expansion company decided to issue 2640000 Convertible warrants to three foreign investment funds (India Max Investment Fund,Prime India inv.Fund and Rahn and Bodmer Co) ,which will completed by March 2010.



In last financial year company posted a turnover of Rs.120/- Crore and a Net Profit of Rs.3 Crore (EPS Rs.7.27) .It already issued a bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1 in September 2009.Currently it is quoting at a price of just Rs.14/- .This low P/E may be re-written with the success of its brand building efforts and funds interest in this company,like JVL Agro (Jhunjhunwala Vanaspathi)