Value Destroyers: Shrimp feed producer stock surges after correcting 75% from peak

Shares of Apex Frozen Foods Ltd. surged as much as 10% on Tuesday, August 12, in response to their June quarter results.

For the quarter, Apex reported a 39% growth in its revenue to ₹258.2 crore, while its Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 46.2% from last year to ₹15.5 crore.

EBITDA margin expanded by 30 basis points to 6%, while net profit was up 2.5x to ₹9.1 crore from ₹3.8 crore last year. The profitability was also aided by a jump in other income.

Apex Frozen Foods made its stock market debut in 2017. The company is a producer and exporter of aquaculture products.

Shrimp stocks like Apex and its peers like Avanti Feeds and Waterbase have witnessed selling pressure recently after the Trump Administration had imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports, along with another 25% tariff later for buying Russian oil and other commodities, taking the total tariff levy to 50%.

Currently, Indian shrimp exports to the US face an effective customs duty of 17.7%, including 5.7% in countervailing duties and 1.8% in anti-dumping duty. That would now rise to 25%.

Apex Frozen Foods, in its March quarter investor presentation, disclosed that 53% of its overall revenue came from the United States.

After its listing, shares of Apex Frozen Foods made an all-time high of ₹941.4 on December 7, 2017. From those levels, the stock is down 75%, having delivered negative annual returns every single year since its listing, barring 2024, when the stock had risen over 20%.

Despite this steep correction, the stock is still trading above its IPO price of ₹175.

Shares of Apex Frozen Foods are trading 10% higher at ₹243.78. The stock is down 7% so far in 2025.