Doreen Power Generations and Systems made a stellar trading debut yesterday, as its share prices trebled despite the company’s slide in net profits in the first half of the fiscal year.

The company’s shares, which were offered for Tk 29, hovered between Tk 55 and Tk 90 before closing at Tk 83.7 each on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The power generation company raised Tk 58 crore by issuing two crore ordinary shares worth Tk 10 each through its initial public offer.

Doreen Power’s six-month net profit stood at Tk 3.94 crore with a basic earnings per share of Tk 0.66 at the end of December 2015, down from Tk 7.41 crore and Tk 1.24 respectively in the same period a year ago.

However, the company’s post-IPO basic EPS was Tk 0.49 as of December last year and net asset value per share stood at Tk 34.64.

Doreen Power also became the turnover leader, as 85.37 lakh shares changed hands at Tk 67.1 crore on the premier bourse, accounting for about 15 percent of DSE’s total turnover.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on November 30 last year approved the IPO of Doreen Power, which has three plants that generate and supply 66MW to Bangladesh Power Development Board and Rural Electrification Board under two agreements for a period of 15 years.

Doreen Power is the 20th listed firm in the fuel and power sector that accounts for around 13 percent of DSE's total market capitalisation.

Meanwhile, stocks closed almost flat with DSEX, the benchmark index of the premier bourse, increasing by only 4.12 points or 0.09 percent, before finishing the day at 4,413.85 points.

The market took a breather after substantial swings in the benchmark index. “Stocks were unable to make a significant headway as the debut of Doreen Power made market players trade more on this stock,” said LankaBangla Securities. “Investors were also closely watching the first quarter's economic data to gauge the strength of the recent uptrend in market,” the stockbroker added.

The day's turnover, another important indicator of the market, jumped 34.6 percent to Tk 427.66 crore with 12.66 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands.

Losers beat gainers 150 to 119, while 49 securities remained unchanged on the DSE floor.

Keya Cosmetics was the day's best performer, gaining by 9.58 percent, while Mutual Trust Bank was the worst loser with a 15.46 percent fall.

Chittagong stocks also closed almost flat with the bourse's benchmark index, CSCX, declining by 5.04 points or 0.06 percent to end the day at 8,248.59.

Losers beat gainers, as 120 scrips declined and 86 advanced, with 37 securities closing unchanged on the Chittagong Stock Exchange. The port city bourse traded 1.15 crore shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 41.82 crore in turnover.