Widia lunged higher to its 20% ceiling at Rs 80.70 on Thursday following a turnaround performance by the company.

By 11:30 IST, the scrip of the engineering company recorded volumes of 1,790 shares on BSE. At its upper circuit, the outstanding buy position in the scrip was 7,761 shares. The scrip has now risen 38.2% from its 52-week low of Rs 58.40 on 31 March 2003.

Yesterday, the company announced results for the quarter ended 31 March 2003, that showed profit before tax at Rs 4.80 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 2.70 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company achieved a net sales growth of 42% to Rs 50 crore.

Incorporated in 1964, Widia (India) basically manufactures hard metal products, mining tools, special-purpose machines, metal castings, formings, jigs and fixtures. It exports to countries like Japan, Germany and the South East Asian countries.

Last month, Widia India introduced in India parent Kennametal's advanced manufacturing solutions for Indian automobile manufacturers, automobile ancillary manufacturers, ordinance units of the defence sector and the aerospace industry.

The advanced manufacturing solutions encompass processes and products from initial concept to full production, including application support, standard tooling, turnkey packages, engineering packages, training, automation and inventory management.

As on 31 March 2003, the promoter held 76.68% stake in Widia India, while the public held 22.80% stake.